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Tuesday, March 19
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Bloomington Playwrights project perform 30 plays in 60 seconds

Volunteer Carrey Jaroski takes tickets at the door of the Timothy J Wiles Theater thursday for Bloomington Playwrights Project's show "The Blizzard: 30 Drinksin 60 Minutes!"

Three televisions acting as timers loomed on the sides of the audience and counted down from 60 minutes, as actors from Bloomington Playwrights Project raced to perform 30 different plays before time ran out.

It was hectic — a race to finish. It was entertaining — swells of laughter accompanied each act. But it wasn’t impossible — just under two minutes remained after the final play ended.

The feat was titled “The Blizzard: 30 Drinks in 60 Minutes” and is put on annually to raise money for BPP.

“It’s like playing in a basketball game while running in a track meeting and singing in an opera while chewing gum, all at the same time,” said David Sheehan, BPP associate artistic director and an actor in “The Blizzard” for several years now.

The show Thursday night was preceded by a wine and beer tasting in the lobby of BPP’s Ninth Street building. Patrons socialized while sipping on drinks from a few local businesses, including Upland Brewing Company, Bloomington Brewing Company and Oliver Winery.

IU senior Stephen Plummer said he has friends who are a part of BPP and decided to attend the play to support local theater.

“It’s a small atmosphere, really funny and fast-paced.” Plummer said. “I’m really looking forward to the chaos most of all.”

After enjoying the free drinks, guests seated themselves inside Timothy J. Wiles Theater and the eight actors of BPP explained how the show would work.

Red plastic cups numbered one through 30 lined three shelves on the stage. The audience shouted out the number of the play they wanted the actors to perform, and they prepared as quickly as possible in order to begin.

Audience members were given pamphlets before entering the theater with names of each of the plays.

Jessica Reed, the managing director for BPP, said the idea for the fundraiser was inspired by “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” a weekly 60-minute, 30-play show by the Neo-Futurists.

Corresponding with the theme of the performance, drinks, each work involved either a product from one of the night’s sponsors or the notion of drinking in general — and getting drunk.

The actors went from play to play, shouting out jokes and interacting with the audience while they hustled to change props and costumes.

“For some actors it’s an exercise in cutting loose and being a little crazy, and for some actors, it’s just a little crazy,” Reed said.

Tables were set on either side of the stage, covered in beer and wine bottles and cocktail glasses for use as props.

The lengths of the plays were inconsistent, something Reed said made the show “unique and fun.”

 They each required a different amount of setting up, from a few seconds to nearly a minute, causing actors to race the clock to prepare the stage and ?themselves.

“The Blizzard: 30 Drinks in 60 Minutes” will show again at 7:30 p.m. both today and Saturday. Tickets are available on BPP’s website, newplays.org. This particulars performance’s sponsors include Bloomington Brewing Company, Upland Brewing Company, the Back Door Bar, Opie Taylor’s, Oliver Winery, B-Town Diner, Springhill Suites and Scholars Inn Bakehouse.

“As a person attending ‘The Blizzard,’ it really is amazing to watch an ensemble of actors rush around on stage and remember the props each play requires,” Reed said. “It’s very high-energy.”

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