One night, One play, One crew

While majority of playwrights, directors and actors are given ample amounts of time to write, coach and learn their material, for participants of "The 24 Hour Plays," time is of the essence.

The format for the highly anticipated event was developed by a company in New York and is in its fifth year at UT.

This year, just over 50 students partook in the rushed festivities, including five playwrights, five directors and 40 actors that collectively formed five groups plus two technicians.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday night, actors were randomly drawn from a hat to be placed in a group with a director and playwright, and from there the clock began ticking.

Most participants in each group were able to go to their respective homes and get some rest before a day of hard work, but for the playwrights the night was just beginning. They worked through the night to create a script that would then be handed over to the director and actors the next day.

In terms of the final product, Holly Monsos, chair of the department of theatre and film and self-proclaimed "food caravan" for the event said, "You get a whole range, from funny to serious."

There is no physical award given to the winner, but there is certainly motivation driving the groups forward.

"Survival is pretty much the only prize," Monsos said.

Tyria Allen, a senior majoring in theatre, has been taking part in "The 24 Hour Plays" for four years.

Her first year was spent as a playwright, staying up through the night to come up with ideas to put together a show and incorporating props. She has spent the last three years as an actress. Allen also hopes to try her hand at directing.

She enjoys the reward that comes from the performances and the opportunity of stepping into the theater and being able to say "Okay, let's make a show."

Allen hopes that the audience experiences "the joy of art, and to see it's actually possible to put on a production in such a short time."

With hopes of graduate school and eventually landing a spot on television, Allen has found experience on how to move quickly because of her participation in these plays. She also finds that thinking on your feet "makes you stronger."

For Allen, it's exciting to be in a show and "make it blossom."

"I like the acting. I really do," she said.

Christopher Douglas, a sophomore majoring in psychology with a minor in theatre "took a lot of experience" away from the event, though he found it to be exhausting.

Although it was tiring to both memorize and rehearse lines and blocking within approximately 10 hours, he also felt that it was "fun and entertaining."

Since none of the plays are perfectly polished, Douglas thinks that the audience's enjoyment comes from the spontaneity.

"What you see is what you get," he said.

Despite his love for acting, the real reward for Douglas is "hearing people laugh."

Luckily, the sound of laughter rising from the audience is a prominent part of "The 24 Hour Plays", providing comics with the perfect outlet for their talents.

Jillian Albert, a junior majoring in theatre and psychology, also likes making people laugh.

"We work so hard, and [the plays] are always so funny," she said.

Albert's favorite part of the event is performing, as well as watching the other plays; however, with such a tight time schedule, she said, "You're always curious about the others, but you don't have time to watch."

She also enjoys meeting new people. "It's cool to see non-theatre majors in main roles," Albert said.

Seeing the hard work of others come to life is also exciting for Emily Wessendarp, a first year graduate student in the speech pathology department.

While she is "very proud of everybody" and their successes, she realizes that "The 24 Hour Plays" event doesn't just benefit the actors.

Wessendarp believes the event "brightens people's days."

"If talented members from both in and out of the theater community can come together and leave a few faces with a smile, there is good reason to believe in the power of performance," she said.