Those involved in the Bloomington Playwrights Project will need a lot of energy and focus before curtain call this weekend during the Ike and Julie Arnove PlayOffs. The fundraising event will challenge theater veterans and novices alike at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Timothy J. Wiles Theater at Bloomington Playwrights Project.
The competition requires playwrights, directors and actors to create a full production within 24 hours. Playwrights and directors are assigned teams of actors Friday, and teams are given a line of dialogue, a prop and theme on which the play should be based. The play is then performed Saturday evening, and those in attendance vote on who wins the competition. The event raises funds for the Bloomington Playwrights Project, which supports local playwrights and the creation of new plays and productions.
“There are a couple of different ways that we engage people. One is though the actual performance,” said Jessica Reed, managing director of the Bloomington Playwrights Project. “We also ask all those participating to raise money in the weeks leading up to the event.”
Ben Smith, a playwright participating in this year’s event, said he even find this part of the event exciting.
“The biggest reward is just the fundraising for the organization,” Smith said. “It is the biggest fundraiser for the BPP throughout the year. It provides everyone with the funds needed to continue doing new plays.”
The event is open to those with or without previous theater experience, as long as they raise money for the event.
“It brings together people that may not be actors or writers or technical people, but it builds a community of people who have a shared love of theater and a shared love of the BPP,” Smith said.
The PlayOffs, which take place yearly in honor of the World Series, aim to engage the entire community by reaching past those within the Bloomington Playwrights Project and get those in the greater Bloomington area involved, Reed said.
“The actors, the directors and the playwrights are sort of working their networks to raise money,” Reed said. “So we’re able to reach beyond our current donor base.”
Reed said the PlayOffs are a creative way to get people involved and interested in helping support playwrights in the area. She said it is important to her that the event allows playwrights to produce new material because they are properly funded.
“I hope that their involvement is more money raised,” Reed said. “The more donors that we have in this event — the more money we raise — the more we’re able to do throughout the year. I also hope people come to see the show because it is so impressive that all of this happens in 24 hours.”
