The Theatre Department will perform a free musical at 6 p.m. Sunday in Fulks Theatre to raise money for water relief efforts. There’s a catch however – the cast has only 24 hours to rehearse.
Matt Silar, senior theatre major from Chicago, Ill. will direct the 24 HR Musical and said the 40 cast members in this production won’t know what the play is until Saturday at 5:30 p.m. They start rehearsals 30 minutes later and have until 6 p.m. on Sunday, when the show starts, to perfect the musical.
“We announce the show, and they’ll get their roles, they’ll get their script and they’ll get their music,” Silar said. “Then at 6 p.m., we send them off to rehearse 24 hours straight.”
Silar and other organizers posted a list of 10 potential musicals on the 24 HR Musical Facebook page, and that list has been winnowed down during the week. The final musical will remain on the Facebook page at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Silar started the 24 HR Musical with the non-profit theatre company Awaken in Chicago, and this is the first time one will be performed on a college campus. The production is partnering with Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honor society, which conduct fundraiser each year to raise money for charity. This year, that cause is water relief efforts.
Silar, treasurer of Alpha Psi Omega, said water relief effort is important to him because it is a basic right that everyone deserves to have, yet so many don’t.
“We were staggered by the fact that it’s a 24-hour event, and in that 24 hours over 5,000 children under the age of 12 will die from waterborne illness,” Silar said.
Rachel Faulkner, president of Alpha Psi Omega and choreographer of the musical, said she hopes students come to enjoy a great night with friends even if they can’t give a donation.
Faulkner, senior theatre major from Bloomington, Ind., said the audience should expect to see the actors make many mistakes because of a lack of sleep and short preparation time.
“There will be so many lines dropped,” said Faulkner, “and dance numbers where they get in the middle of the choreography then they just stop because they can’t remember the rest.”
Silar said the unfinished quality of the production is part of what makes the 24 HR Musical fun for participants and attendees.
“This is an opportunity to accept that the show is not going to be perfect,” Silar said. “People are going to see the cast flub.”
Some of the lines or numbers may even be completely unrehearsed due to a lack of time, Silar said, and it will be completely up to the actor how that piece turns out.
“I promise there will be songs, numbers and scenes that are beautiful because they are so raw and honest,” Silar said.
Silar said the 24 HR Musical is a chance for students in the theatre department to do what they love for a good cause.
“Everybody comes together to see that it’s so much more than just the show that night,” Silar said. “It’s about doing what we love for a bigger purpose.”
