Student Blog: Just Another Minute: An All-New Musical Celebrating Connection in An All-Virtual World

Orson Welles once said that "the enemy of art is the absence of limitations." Creators of theatre, such as University of Delaware music students Tara O'Connor and Liz Vex, have proved this to be as true as ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the availability of a venue or funds during a season of uncertainty, the future of shows with the student-run Harrington Theatre Arts Company (HTAC, which normally puts on two productions for the community per semester) was up in the air. That is, until O'Connor came up with an idea to write a musical for HTAC from scratch: Just Another Minute. She recalls,

"Candidly, I was walking home from the music building and almost had a lightbulb moment where I thought 'Hey, if we can't buy the rights to a show, why don't we just write our own?' The thought of creating original musical material had always been floating around in my brain, but on that particular day, it felt right to take on the challenge and see where it would lead me."

Fellow music student Liz Vex (who is both the co-creator of the show and O'Connor's roommate) hit the ground running.

"I had already written and produced a musical before, so I was ready for the challenge. It took one night at midnight for Tara and I to really sit down and write our idea for the show and the characters scene by scene. Three hours later, JAM was born."

The story they created that night follows a young journalist, MC, who is trying to make her way up the corporate ladder while also trying to find her way in life. She takes a risk by embarking on an independent news story to interview strangers in Philadelphia in an attempt to understand what keeps their hearts beating. Through serendipitous connections and thoughtful (and sometimes musical) conversations, we learn about what it means to be connected in our world through MC's eyes. But, in short, Director Jane Haracz (also a UD School of Music student) whittles the show's meaning down to one thing:

"This show is about hope in hard times and not letting yourself feel lonely."

Putting on an all-virtual production has had its own set of hurdles. Just Another Minute's Production Manager Conner Holm, who is at the forefront of the process from start to finish, says,

"It's been really interesting to say the least. On one hand it's really isolating and difficult to navigate. However, it's also an amazing exercise in creativity. No matter what obstacles have been thrown our way, we have managed to overcome them."

For a show centered around finding connections when feeling isolated, Just Another Minute is a timely, yet feel-good story. Haracz continues, saying that although the material hits close to home, "people should see this show because the world needs more theatre these days, and this is such a happy piece that is bound to lift your quarantine spirits!"

Holm agrees.

"This show is really a reminder that everything's going to be okay. As a college student living through a pandemic, life can be really stressful and the idea of being thrown into the real world in only a couple years is terrifying.... however, this production shows that life can be so much more. There is something beautiful about the small things and interactions in our lives; it's not all about jobs and success."

Just Another Minute celebrates not only the hard work and talent of the cast, staff, and pit, but also the resilience of its audiences - and the human spirit as a whole.

To stream this innovative and uplifting work, purchase tickets at tinyurl.com/buyJAMtickets for April 2nd and 3rd at 8pm EST. To learn more about the production or HTAC in general, go to udhtac.org, follow @htactheatre on social media, and keep up with the hashtag #WriteYourOwnStory.