Redeye Theatre Project

Festival of Plays

Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.

Studio…

Redeye Theatre Project

Festival of Plays

Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.

Studio Theatre, Basement of the Cathedral of Learning

Redeye Theatre Project will produce its second festival of eight, brand-new plays by student playwrights. The plays, each approximately 10 to 15 minutes in length, will be performed by a company of undergrads, grad students, alumni and local high school students in Pitt’s Studio Theatre.

Oh yeah, and they’ll do it all in 24 hours – the writing, the directing, the rehearsing, everything.

On Friday at 8 p.m. the clock begins ticking. Playwrights begin writing. They are not allowed to have any pre-existing dialogue for their piece, though rough character sketches and outlines are permitted.

At 8 a.m. on Saturday the directors and actors show up to begin rehearsing the products of a long night’s work. Rehearsals run until about 7:30 p.m, when the doors of the theater open in anticipation of the 8 p.m. performance.

A mere 24 hours later.

The first festival, held in October, was wildly successful, as the company performed to a standing-room-only audience of 120 people.

The brainchild of Pitt undergraduates Cory Tamler and Sarah Heffner, the aptly named Redeye Theatre Project seeks to promote interdisciplinary exchanges between members of different departments.

Its process draws attention to the collaborative nature of theater itself. Its two creators also wanted to provide those with busy schedules the opportunity to express their creativity.

The night promises to be one of fun and excitement as eight world premiers take center stage in the Cathedral basement. And the next time you complain that you don’t have enough time to do anything, just look at what can be done in 24 hours.