News

YouTheatre, high schools to collaborate in 24-hour sprint

By Bill Moss, Published: January 10, 2013

The Flat Rock Playhouse YouTheatre and Henderson County high school theatre programs will partner on a first-of-its-kind project this weekend to write and perform short plays in a 24-hour stretch.

High school theatre students and teachers will team up with YouTheatre artists to write, direct, and perform four 10-minute plays in 24 hours.

Four writing teams made up of one FRP mentor and four student writers from each high school will convene Friday at 5:30 p.m. Each writing team will have six hours to write a 10-minute play. The scripts will be sent to the high school theatre teachers who will serve as directors.

Each cast will include students from all four high schools in effort to encourage cross-county artistic sharing. Students will receive their freshly written scripts Saturday morning, learn lines and blocking, and with the directors decide on any technical elements for their final performance.

Saturday afternoon, Playhouse technical artists will join the actors and directors in the FRP Downtown theatre where each cast will have 50 minutes to add lights, music, and costumes. After each group has had their individual time, there will be one dress rehearsal where each cast will see the other plays performed for the first time.

At 7 p.m. the doors of Playhouse Downtown at 125 South Main Street, will open to the public, and, ready or not, the show will go on. Admission is free and donations are welcome.