Every other spring, Northwestern’s theatre department displays a series of one act plays written by students in the fall, but it’s not always the case that these plays come together in a week’s time with limited resources.
This year’s eleven plays were written by students in the playwriting class during the fall semester. After being written and read, these plays were assigned to directors this semester, but with a twist: the directors only had one week to cast, rehearse and block the plays, and they were given no special effects and limited props.
“One of the biggest challenges was to figure out how to portray the action in each scene, as well as time progression, with very little set, few props and no tech,” said Kristen Samek, director of Daniel’s Game.
While the directors may have been limited in their resources, they still found ways to overcome those big challenges by using their creativity and problem solving skills.
“I used simple techniques when I could to show progression of time,” Samek said. “Since the actors did not have a lot of time to change outfits between scenes, I had them add or remove an article of clothing to what they were wearing, such as a scarf or a jacket.”
Another of the challenges presented to the directors was time management. The plays were cast right before spring break, and the directors had less than a week to prepare and hold rehearsals after break with the show opening Saturday the 19. This experience put a lot of responsibility on both the directors and the actors to memorize their lines over break.
“My actors were all very busy and involved people, but somehow they had the patience and integrity to work with me on making a schedule that gave us enough time to feel comfortable before going onstage,” said Mikayla Dehnke, director of What’s Mine Isn’t Yours.
While Dehnke may have had the challenge of busy scheduling to work around, she was able to compromise a solution with her actors so they would feel more prepared.
“I wrote really rough blocking notes in my actors’ scripts so that over break, while memorizing, they could get a feel for the ideas I had in my head,” Dehnke said. “Then our first rehearsal we marched through the entire play, knocking out all the blocking and diagnosing all the issues we stumbled on.”
While the situation may not have been ideal to the directors, they were still able to put together the plays and perform them to a full house of students, faculty, staff and community members who were overall pleased with the performances.
The experience may have been hectic at times for some directors, but it will serve as a learning experience for both actors and directors.
“I learned that even with a very short amount of time and minimalistic tech, one can make amazing art,” said Warren Duncan, director of Mysterious Neighbor.
While the one act plays may be over for the season, Samek has some advice for those wondering whether or not they should try something new outside of their comfort zones.
“Just try new things, even if you are hesitant, even if you are afraid, even if you have no idea what you are doing,” Samek said. “More often than not, there will be people who you can talk to who will be more than willing to help you through it.”
