Ways to Get Involved
We hope you will join us next year!
2023 Festival Roles Explained
We need you to help make the festival happen. Whether you've never done theater in your life, or you've been in shows since the day you were born, we want you! Here are some of the ways you can get involved:
Writer
Writers can work individually or in small teams to write a completely new one-act (~10 minute) play. The plays will be based on the prompt that will be announced when the festival begins.
Time commitment: Friday 6:45pm (9/22/23) through 6:45am Saturday (9/23/23). Writers are encouraged to go home and sleep during the day on Saturday and come back to see the live show on Saturday at 7pm. Writers are also asked to stay and assist with strike after the show, which we expect to finish by 9:15pm.
Role explained: Writers will need to be at the theater shortly before 7pm on Friday, September 22, 2023 to get set up. At 7pm they will receive the prompt and get to work! Writers are encouraged to stay and work at the theater through the night. The plays must be finished by early Saturday morning. At that point, writers will meet with their director to review the play. Writer-director pairs will be set up ahead of time. Writers can request to work with a specific director. Writers can choose to stay to help cast their play before they leave for the day.
Number of writers: We are planning to have 4 plays in the 2023 festival. So, we will only be able to accommodate a small number of writers/writing teams. We encourage everyone to add a backup role (such as writer, director, stage crew) to their application so we can make sure we have the right number of people in each role.
Director
Directors can work individually or in small teams to cast and direct a completely new one-act (~10 minute) play.
Time commitment: 5:45am Saturday (9/23/23) through the show and strike on Saturday night. The show begins at 7pm and we expect to finish strike by 9:15pm. We recommend bringing lunch and water. A pizza dinner will be provided.
Role explained: Directors will arrive to the theater early in the morning at 5:45am on Saturday, September 23, 2023. There, they will read their play and meet with the writer. Writer-director pairs will be set up ahead of time. Directors can request to work with a specific writer. After this short meeting, the writers can leave and the directors will sit in on auditions and cast their play. Then, directors and actors will spend the day rehearsing. In the late afternoon, there will be tech run throughs and dress rehearsal. Then, the shows will be performed for a live audience at 7pm on Saturday evening.
Number of directors: We are planning to have 4 plays in the 2023 festival. So, we will only be able to accommodate a small number of directors/directing teams. We encourage everyone to add a backup role (such as writer, director, stage crew) to their application so we can make sure we have the right number of people in each role.
Actor
Everyone who auditions will be cast. Actors will perform a completely new one act (~10 minute) play.
Time commitment: 6:45am Saturday (9/23/23) through the show and strike on Saturday night. The show begins at 7pm and we expect to finish strike by 9:15pm. We recommend bringing lunch and water. A pizza dinner will be provided.
Role explained: Actors will arrive to the theater early at 6:45am on Saturday, September 23, 2023. There, each actor will audition for the directors. After auditions, directors will quickly huddle and cast the plays. Then, actors and directors will spend the day rehearsing. In the late afternoon, there will be tech run throughs and dress rehearsal. Then, the shows will be performed for a live audience at 7pm on Saturday evening.
Auditions: Everyone who auditions will be cast in a play. Please come prepared to talk for about 1 minute about...anything. You can come with a monologue memorized or on paper, but you don't have to. Telling a quick story or giving a dramatic recitation of song lyrics is also fine. You will be cast. The purpose of the auditions is just to see who is the best fit for each role. We want the auditions to be low-pressure for all involved.
Number of actors: We can accommodate a lot of actors. However, once you sign up, we are counting on you to participate since the writers will write a part for each actor. We encourage everyone to add a backup role (such as writer, director, stage crew) to their application so we can make sure we have the right number of people in each role.
Stage Crew/Technicians
Stage crew/technicians will work together on the behind-the-scenes side of the show. This includes helping with lights, sets, set changes, costumes, props, etc. We are going to keep these things as simple as possible because of the short timeframe.
Time commitment: 8:45am Saturday (9/23/23) through the show and strike on Saturday night. The show begins at 7pm and we expect to finish strike by 9:15pm. We recommend bringing lunch and water. A pizza dinner will be provided.
Role explained: Crew members will arrive to the theater at 8:45am on Saturday, September 23, 2023. There, they will meet with the stage manager to go over what is needed for each play and get to work on making it happen. This could involve helping program lights, pulling costumes and props, and prepping set pieces. In the late afternoon, there will be tech run throughs and dress rehearsal. Then, the shows will be performed for a live audience at 7pm on Saturday evening.
Number of stage crew members: We can accommodate a lot of stage crew members. We encourage everyone to add a backup role (such as writer, director, actor) to their application so we can make sure we have the right number of people in each role.
Ushers & General Volunteers
Volunteers can serve as ushers for the performance and help tie up loose ends before the performance.
Time commitment: Varies. Likely most volunteer work will happen in the afternoon and evening on Saturday (9/23/23). Ushers, parking attendants, and other showtime volunteers will arrive at 4:30pm on Saturday and will be asked to stay through the show until around 8:30pm. If they wish to help with strike, volunteers are welcome to stay until 9:15pm.
Role explained: Varies, depends on need. Volunteers may be asked to help usher, serve as a parking attendant, fold programs, pick up materials, etc. This role is fairly undefined until the show gets closer.
Number of volunteers: We likely won't need too many volunteers. We encourage everyone to add a backup role (such as writer, director, actor) to their application so we can make sure we have the right number of people in each role.
A few things for participants to note
If you sign up, we will be counting on you to participate. The writers will write plays with parts for the exact number of actors who registered. The number of directors needs to be the same as the number of writers, etc. If anything happens and you are not able to participate, you need to let us know ASAP.
A pizza dinner will be provided on Saturday evening. Participants should plan to bring their own food and drink for lunch/other times during the festival.
The plays will only be performed once during the festival and the theater is small. We expect the show to sell out quickly. When tickets go on sale, please share the link with your friends and family.
The show will be recorded and available online afterwards. By participating in the festival, you consent to have a recording of your play publicly available online.
All participants are required to help with cleanup after the show on Saturday night. We're hoping that the mess will be minimal and the cleanup quick. We know everyone will be tired.
The event will take place rain or shine (the theater is indoors).
This is the first time the festival is happening, so we will all be learning as we go. Thank you for your willingness to participate and for your patience with the production team. We're working hard to make this a fun, exciting, and creative event for everyone! Send us an email if you have any questions.