Creative talents tested as students produce original shows in 24 hours

The creative abilities and talents of Central Wyoming College students will be tested as they create four (or more) original theater pieces in a 24-hour period.
Here’s how it works. In a non-stop one day marathon, multiple casts rehearse at least four original, short productions and then immediately perform them.   Directing, set building, costume creation, lighting design and acting—all come together in just one day.
The production is called “4 (or more) in 24” and is presented to an Arts Center Theatre audience on Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. The actors, directors and technicians meet at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 on the Arts Center stage to prepare for the show.
 “Anyone who shows up will be cast or put to work as a theater technician,” said CWC theater director Mike Myers, who borrowed the 24-hour idea from a liberal arts college that his son, Sam, visited this summer. He invites community actors to participate by showing up at that time.
CWC theater majors are submitting original scripts, and four (or more) will be selected by a panel to be produced. Myers said the directors, four students with previous experience, choose their actors by pulling names from a hat. The directors, who get to preview the script one day ahead of time, can single out the roles for the actors they have randomly selected.
Anyone’s name that is not drawn, along with those who have expressed non-acting jobs, are expected to be theater technicians who will provide set pieces, costumes, props, lighting, sound cues, a program and other needs for the show.
“The kids are going to be exhausted,” Myers predicts, “running on adrenaline and caffeine.”
For this show, the audience will be seated on the Arts Center stage, surrounding the actors on three sides. Myers believes this project should be of interest to theater audiences. “I’d be quite excited to see something that was put together in one day,” he said. “It will be a rare experience.”
Only 125 tickets will be sold at $3 each. The proceeds from the tickets are being used by Myers to purchase food for the crew as well as materials for scenery, props and costumes.
Once the actors and crew come to the Arts Center they will not be allowed to leave until after the shows are finished and the theater is cleaned up. Myers is the only one allowed to leave so he can make the necessary purchases.
The 24-hour project gave theater students one more opportunity to create and perform. The theater season was cut short this fall due to a late start to the semester and the demand for the theater by outside groups.
“The students love the idea,” said Myers, who spent some time developing the “rules” for “4 (or more) in 24.”
“I thought about it quite a while on how to make it work, and to make it fun,” he said. He is not requiring involvement in the production as part of a class project though theater scholarship recipients are required to participate.
For more information, contact Myers at (307) 855-2217 or email him at mmyers@cwc.edu.