DramaLit Blog 1.0: BU School of Theatre

This weekend we had our annual Boston University 24 Hour Play Project.  The theme was ‘Ages of Humanity’ inspired by Jaques’ ‘Ages of Man’ speech from As You Like It, but made more inclusive for this day and age.  What an amazing experience!  I Organized the project and co-facilitated the day with Amber.  It was a whirlwind of e-mails, facebook messages, meetings, rehearsals, tech, coffee, lack of sleep, creativity, stress, and inspiration.  It was so worth it!!  It was an incredibly rewarding experience.  I am always amazed how performances always seem to “come together” magically at the last moment.  I believe in this magic so strongly, I have begun thanking the muses before and after each performance that I am involved in.  I really believe that they exist.  It’s either muses, or our own energy coming together to create something larger than ourselves.  or perhaps that and the muses are one in the same.  Anyway, it was not until I was sitting, watching the show that I started to realize how amazing this is!  We did this entirely for us.  I was so proud to think that everyone involved gave over their weekend to this project by either staying up and writing all night Saturday, or showing up at the CFA at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning and staying for 14 hours to rehearse and perform.  I was moved in some way by each and every piece (and I am glad to see that some of the pieces sparked conversation, see Kate’s blog post below) and I found myself amazed that what we put together in such a short amount of time was actually quality theatre.  We are talented!!  Bold choices were made, and everyone committed fully to bringing their pieces to life. Going into my thesis it was incredibly important reminder that we as theatre artists really can make something out of nothing, and it can be great!  All we need is a concept and willing collaborators, who I feel so lucky to be surrounded by everyday!  What power.  On the way home, I felt so proud, of myself and of everyone involved.  I felt lucky to be a part of a community that can pull this thing off so effectively.  And for almost the first time after being involved in a performance, I didn’t feel like I needed validation from others.  Witnessing the performance was reward enough for the hard work I put in.  What a learning experience as a theatre artist!  We can do anything we put our energies into!