Thursday Night Breakdown

The earliest of the early roll in around 7pm, the keg's been tapped long ago, nametags, themes -

"The world would be a better place if there were seven plays about..." Pressure to be witty. Pressure to remember that it has to be a phrase/sentence/nonsense that can inspire seven plays, seven writers. Remember that nobody will know it's you if your theme is lame.

Introductions. Kisses. Hugs. Somebody fucked up Trick's nametag (was it intentional?), so he'll be "Pat" for the weekend. "How are your rehearsals going?" "How were your holidays?" An actress gets told, "You're no longer a virgin, but your kisses are still sweet."

Shawn Belyea calls the room to attention at 8pm. Introductions. Virgins have to introduce themselves, Belyea introduces the Veterans. Cheers all around. Boos for everybody who isn't here. Boos for a few people who are here (you know who you are).

14/48: A Survival Guide. Belyea challenges himself to do it in "less time than a 14/48 play." 10 minutes. He comes in at 9:46. Writers: 6 pages. Directors: 8 minutes, pre-tech. Actors: Learn your fucking lines. That's all you have to do. Designers: Scene changes should take less time than the plays.

Go Big or Go Home. Belyea uses Troy Fischnaller as an example - he turned a character dead from a car accident into something halfway between the Exorcist and Kriss Kross. It wasn't in the script.

The theme is pulled...it's REUNIONS. Each group of artists meets to discuss the weekend, they finish, and the meeting and greeting continues. Writers leave and do their thing. Everybody else goes home and gets sleep.

The rats come out and pick up the scraps. It's the Secret of Fucking Nimh in here.