Thank You for the evening!

The 2nd Annual
Southern Oregon
24•7 Project
(2008)

Wow!

Monday night, January 14, 2008 was a huge success and we enjoyed seeing about 450 people in the audience at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater for our annual fund-rasing event. If you were among those who attended, we are very appreciative of your support and participation. If you missed it…well, make your plans for 2009!

Bill Varble over at the Medford Mail-Tribune liked it, too.

“In short: Fast, fast writing. Terrific acting. Good music. Deft, daffy directing. Laughs. Thrills. Amazement.”

Click here to see what else he said.

The Playbill

If you'd like to read or have a copy of the playbill, then you have two choices. And remember—as stated in our Erors und Omission Statemint—this playbill was produced on the day of the event, so please forgive our misteaks and typoos!

Seven plays and 48 miracleworkers

There were forty-eight, extraordinarily special and talented people who volunteered their skills and time to provide the evening with its raison d'etre. Among these were the playwrights and the directors, whose productions were (in order of performance):

Who else?

Of course, the above list only comes to twenty-one names. Who else was there?

Being as fortunate as we are in the Rogue Valley, we called upon our friends in the theatre community to supply us with the best actors in town. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival—always generous and always chockfull of talent—is home to many of the actors who came to support us and the event. Various high schools, Oregon Stage Works, and other groups supplied the remainder. Here's the complete list of actors. An asteriks (*) is supplied when someone is a member of Actor's Equity.

What happened?

What happens when you have just 24 hours to conceive, write, and produce a new one-act play? Orchestrated chaos, is one thing that comes to mind. An opportunity for creative genius to show its true nature is another.

Sunday night, January 13, 7:00 P.M.

Early Sunday night, the seven playwrights gathered in a room at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford, OR. Janet Rodkey, in her last event as president for ArtWork Enterprises, presented the rules of the game. First, each playwright was expected to provide a full one-act play of 15 to 20 minutes in length. Second, they would randomly select their cast size, cast members, and a required prop. Third, there would be a randomly selected, required line of text that some character in their play must utter.

By 7:30 P.M., the room was full of actors and directors as well. Everyone seemed excited to learn how the teams would shape up. With little more fanfare, Ellie von Radics donned her giant Mad Hatter's chapeau and the drawing began.

One by one, the playwrights came forth and drew from a set of playing cards. The number of the card indicated the number of cast members they would receive.

Each name produced a buzz of anticipation.

Next, the playwrights took turns drawing names of actors from a hat. Each name produced a buzz of anticipation as the on-lookers considered what synergy might occur between writer and performer.

In the third round, each playwright randomly selected the name of a musician. This year, we had everything from marimba, to electronics, to percussion, electric guitar and bass. The energy continued growing with the addition of each musician.

Next up were the props. The AWE production team had discussed the implications and potential for each prop before adding it to the table. Again using random selection, the playwrights chose their own destiny: handcuffs, a blue pilates exercise ball, a pineapple, binoculars, a large thermos, a canoe paddle, and a large pink gorilla!

Finally, it was time to determine the single line that must be used within the text of each play. A youngster in the audience was coaxed to the table and handed a pair of dice. The kid looked ready for Vegas as he rolled. The final answer: "Do you know what this means?"

By 8 P.M., the playwrights were off and running toward their 7 A.M. deadline. In less than twelve hours, they must return a full, produceable script.

Monday morning, January 14, 7:00 A.M.

David Walper was up by 5 A.M., checking the e-mail for incoming scripts. A few made it shortly thereafter, and by 7 A.M. he was at the Craterian Theater, working with stage manager Jeff Tabler and production assistants Lyndi Ashker and Ashley McClain to copy scripts for directors and actors.

AWE board member Amanda Berkeley was there early, too, as she was responsible for the Craft Services table—the buffet our teams would rely upon for snacks, nibbles, and coffee throughout the day. Lunch was graciously sponsored by Grilla Bites, too, adding an extra bit of nourishment for our volunteers.

Within an hour, the directors began to arrive, eager to give the first read of the rest of their day. There were a lot of grins, quite a few giggles, and some outright laughs as they discovered just what their playwright counterparts had conceived.

Monday morning, 9:00 A.M.

There's an unwritten rule that you never call an actor before 10 a.m.

There's an unwritten rule that you never call an actor before 10 a.m. Well, we broke the rule and asked our actor friends to appear by 9 a.m., given the short period of rehearsal we allowed. One by one they came, then by car loads from Ashland and OSF. By nine o'clock, the space was full of talent and excitement, and by a quarter-past, they were off to the rehearsal.

Monday evening, 8 P.M.

At curtain-time, Janet Rodkey opened the show with a brief introduction and introduced our master of the ceremonies, Ray Porter, who took control of the show and introduced each segment for the audience. From that point on, the evening had a magic of its own, keeping the audience laughing and ready for each new play in its turn.

By eleven o'clock, the party ended and the crowds dispersed. The cast and crew were invited over to Johnny B's for more fun and relaxation after a hard day's work. John Bach, Eric von Radics and Tami Marston took to the stage and entertained us with some rock-a-billy and country tunes. Then it was time to go home.

The Rest of the Story

Not only did the team create and present seven new plays within 24 hours, we also created a full playbill, complete with cast information, play names, and synopses. Without the support of long-time AWE printer PrintFast, we could never have achieved such a tight turn-around.

Michael Berkeley, Steve Christensen , and Ellie von Radics were diligent in capturing events of the 24 hours using their digital cameras. We'll upload a slideshow of the day to this site. Bookmark the site now to make sure that you find it again.

Finally, we had a long, long list of people we thanked in our program. All of them deserved to be named again, but we'll hold ourselves to just a few. First, Stephen McCandless, Kathy Balint and the entire staff of Craterian Performances are wonderful partners for this event. Without their support, knowledge, and good will, the Southern Oregon 24•7 Project could not blossom as much as it has.

Next, we had some last-minute help from neighbors in Medford who responded to our need for extra rehearsal space. Henselman Realty and Rogue Community College were there when we needed support. They deserve some of the applause.

And In conclusion…

We at ArtWork Enterprises feel blessed to be supported by the wonderful residents of Jackson County, organizations such as Craterian Presents and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the individuals who have so much talent and yet give so freely of both time and talent to help groups such as ours.

To everyone involved, thank you! And we'll see you next year!

 

Poster 24•7