Junior Avery Mitchell said she directed a show that included VSCO girls, as well as directing a parody of the movie “Tall Girl” on Netflix, showing that students included pop culture references into their performances.

This is the fifth year the theatre department has put on plays created in 24 hours. Every year, each play has to contain set criteria that theatre director, Grif Sadow, gives the prior night in order to see what students can create out of it. Each year the students blow him away with witty performances.

After watching students go through the challenge of creating a play, Sadow believes, “the play gives people an opportunity to actually do things that they don’t normally do in theater.”

These 15 minute plays are created in 24 hours. There are three jobs to sign up for: acting, writing and directing. Actors are chosen based on specific skills directors look for when auditioning. Writers have to create a 15 minute play, including the criteria Sadow gives them, and turn it in before midnight the day prior. Directors have to block and help the technicians set up their play prior to performing in front of an audience at 7 p.m.

“In 24 hours [the play] goes from being written to being put on in front of an audience,” Sadow said.

“Every play needs to have a packet of goldfish,” Sadow explained the criteria set for the writers. 

Auditions are judged on specific talents actors portray. Therefore students who choose actors for the plays describe the auditions as being oddly specific and based on short situations.

“It’s a lot of specific audition stuff like who can do a British accent and stuff like that,” Mitchell said.

“You’ll be like, pretend you’re late for work, go run around the room or something, you just make them do and that’s how you cast your members,” sophomore Krister Kahl added.

Mitchell mentioned students in the 24 hour play challenge also participated in other plays, making it difficult to compromise and work together.