Oakland to present short plays in 24 hours

Staff report

Youngstown

The Oakland Center for the Arts will present Play in a Day on Feb. 22, a special event in which a group of writers, directors and actors will create and perform a series of 10-minute plays in about 24 hours.

The event will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Oakland’s theater at 220 W. Boardman St., downtown. Tickets will be $5 at the door.

The writers — Alan Stevens, Eric Alleman, Jaye Mills and Rebecca Goodlove — will meet at the Oakland on the evening of Feb. 21 where they will be given the details of their cast. They will then be locked into the theater for the night to write a script.

The next morning, each of the directors — Shane Glaese, Vaugh Schmidt, Mary James Boldish and Pete Rydberg — will select the script he or she wants to produce. The actors and directors will then rehearse all day and perform the play in the evening for an audience.

The concept of 24-hour theater is nothing new, and other theaters in the region — most notably Trumbull New Theater — has done if several times in recent years.

But it will be a first for the Oakland.

At least one more writer and director is being sought, said Alan Stevens, who is also coordinator of the project.

Those interested in being involved, including actors and tech people, must attend a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Oakland.

“The best part about Play in a Day is that you get the full theater experience in just one day, rather than the months that it usually takes,” said Stevens.

“This is the perfect opportunity for people who have always wanted to do theater but don’t always have the time.”