What can you make in 24 hours?

5/28/2023

Red Eye asks that question twice a year, and the answer is a unique theater experience

Before 7 p.m. Friday, May 26, 2023 six one act plays did not even exist yet. By 7:30 p.m. the next night they were being performed in front of a live audience.

That is Red Eye Theatre.

Seven writers gathered for auditions Friday night from which they picked out a cast to write their play around. The theory is the writers don't have a full-blown idea and has not written a single word

They sat through 35 auditions, picked the actors they would into their concept, then get some caffeine and commenced to writing an original play.

By 7 a.m. on May 27 their script had to be completed and in the hands of the show's producers and organizers Nicholas Hess and Brooke Lawrie. Six scripts were delivered from seven writers (two co-wrote their submission.)

An hour later the actors, who hopefully slept more than the writers, showed up to get their scripts, meet with the directors and begin memorizing lines.

Some of the actors had no prior stage experience, some of the directors had never directed before and some of the scripts were from first-try writers.

This is truly a unique experience.

Oh, and no props, set design, lighting, blocking or anything had yet been conceived. Over the next 12 hours everything was to be ready for opening curtain at 7:30 ish.

During the day each cast found a different section of the Barrow-Civic Theatre to set-up rehearsal space. They learned lines and began to think about movements on stage. The directors assembled a props list and developed a stage design. The behind-the-scenes crew then went to work finding the props and costumes for the six plays.

None of the plays, for logistical purposes, were supposed to have elaborate anything. There isn't the time or crew to have too many scene or costume changes, and the audience imagination is sometimes required to round out the experience.

Play themes ranged from a musical Red Riding Hood's revenge to the contemporary societal dilemma of a newspaper closing.

This unique experience for actors gives insight into the creation of ideas and for writers, it gives an understanding of strict deadline and the reality of the compromise of "it is as good as it can be for now." Directors and tech learn to think on their feet and fly by the seat of their pants.

For props, costumes and design it is an exhausting straight out sprint to get everything together. That's Red Eye."

At the end of an intense 24 hours art, that is akin to improvisational jazz, was made - something that cannot be duplicated, nor should it be. This project is a lived-art experience.

It is a playground for creatives and a classroom for the young and old to feed off what each brings to the table.

Whether it is an experience passed down from the more experienced in the room to the youngsters and first-timers or it is the youthful optimism that reminds the older folks in theater just why they do love it so much, they all learn from each other.

Red Eye happens twice a year at the Barrow-Civic Theatre, Memorial Day weekend and again Labor Day weekend. It is the brainchild of Nicholas Hess and has been a consistent workshop experience since 2017.

It draws thespians from all around the region with many who delight in returning to test themselves and just have fun creating something completely unique.