BWW Blog: Monica Furman - Food for Thought, Creating Original Work

The first two weeks of fall semester were nothing compared to the heavy-hitter that was the third. I found myself (*gasp*) actually having to put in homework hours at the library, at home, and in rehearsal spaces; the semester had finally begun.

On Tuesday, CAST (Coalition of Artistic Students in Theatre, the umbrella organization of all the theatre department clubs I had mentioned in an article before) had auditions for our three main sub-organizations-Beyond Stage, Guerilla Shakespeare, and Cross the Line. Beyond Stage produces original musical parodies, Guerilla Shakespeare performs Shakespearean plays using Chapman University's campus as their set, and Cross the Line creates original devised work based on social issues. We call them the "main sub-orgs" because they require year-long commitments, while other organizations may require a few days or weeks. In addition, one leader from each sub-organization sits on the CAST Board, who make sure our season of student-produced works happen as well as various events and initiatives throughout the school year. We learn various acting techniques, methods, and exercises throughout our classes and CAST creates opportunities for students to put those concepts to practice while providing fun spaces to fail, a crucial aspect to student programming.

One of CAST's first events of the school year was our 24-Hour Play Festival. This is the first opportunity freshmen have to perform (they're not allowed to audition for mainstages until their spring semester) and also network with the upperclassmen. This past Friday, playwrights arrived in Moulton Hall (our theatre building) at 7pm with one task-write a one-act play in twelve hours. On Saturday at 7am, directors showed up to cast their plays and subsequently start rehearsal with their actors for a festival that would be performed at 7pm that night. "24-Hour is really cool," said CAST President and Theatre Studies senior Lena Romano, "because the time constraint forces people to be super creative and think outside the box in a way they might not if they had more time." Each year, the festival is full of inside jokes and references to past plays and professors as well as a sold-out audience.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend or participate in this year's 24-Hour Play Festival because I had already purchased tickets for Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge at Center Theatre Group that Saturday night. I missed the Broadway run but managed to score onstage tickets for the LA transfer. I loved the ensemble-work and avant-garde nature of Ivan Van Hove's direction and the play, set in Brooklyn, reminded me of home. I also enjoyed seeing the production with a few alum of the theatre department; the theatre professor coincidentally sitting behind us muttered, "Chapman people are everywhere."

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