“One Day Only 26,” Rover Dramawerks’ signature short plays festival from concept to curtain in just one day, will be presented on August 27th for two shows only – at 8:00pm and 10:00pm at Rover Dramawerks, 221 W. Parker Rd., Suite 580 in Plano. Ticket prices are $14 for adults and $12 for students and seniors and may be purchased online at Rover www.roverdramawerks.com or at the door with cash, check, or credit card.
The twenty-sixth installment of five short plays will be the result of 24 hours of work by approximately 40 participants – actors, writers, directors, and technicians. An entire one-act play festival will be written, produced, directed, rehearsed, teched, and performed in a single day.
The general timeline of a One Day Only: At about 9:00pm on Friday, August 26th, a motley group of writers, directors, and actors (who happened to be the first to sign up back on August 15th) get together for the first time. A brief get-to-know you session includes providing ideas for the writers (to be drawn out of a hat) and taking pictures of the actors (no headshots and resumes are allowed). Then the writers stay at the theatre and work through the night, each composing a ten to fifteen minute play based on the subject he/she drew.
At 6:30am, the directors return. They quickly read the five plays, decide who directs which play, and cast the plays from the pictures taken the night before. The actors show up around 8:00am and meet with their director and fellow cast members. The writers go home to get some sleep while the plays are blocked, memorized, and rehearsed by the director and actors.
Tech rehearsal begins around 3:00pm. Then curtain is at 8:00pm, when all of the plays are presented for the first time at Rover Dramawerks. Five world premieres! Then we have another show at 10:00pm.
Hundreds of original short plays have been presented in previous festivals, and many have seen additional performances with such organizations as Dark Night Players in Allen, Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre, Lakehill Preparatory School, Punch Drunk Comedy, and the Out of the Loop Festival in Addison, as well additional performances with Rover Dramawerks. Next Stage Press has also published 20 plays in three volumes of “The Best of One Day Only” scripts.
Rover Dramawerks produces a full season of mainstage shows and festivals in addition to One Day Only events, as well as offering summer camps for children ages 5-17. They have just announced their 17th Season.
For more information about Rover Dramawerks and One Day Only 26, please visit www.roverdramawerks.com or call (972) 849-0358.
