Producing a musical theater production notoriously consumes hours of time. The audition, rehearsal and dress rehearsal processes typically require at least several months of work, so imagine organizing all aspects of a musical theater show within a 24-hour time frame.
Members of Shakespeare at UCLA Sean Berquist, Matt Waters, Lyle Barrere and Sarah Wise decided to organize a 24-hour musical production for students of all majors. The production will benefit the local philanthropic organization No Limits, which helps support deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
“(No Limits) emphasizes a theater program; it builds social confidence and helps the kids a lot. … At Shakespeare at UCLA, we’re about offering theater to everybody. … We love the idea that this is giving an opportunity to kids who normally don’t have those opportunities, and we thought that was really in line with our mission as a club,” said Waters, a third-year cognitive science student.
Beginning on Friday at 8 p.m. at No Limits headquarters, the actors, producers, crew members and musicians will begin work on the musical and work for 24 hours straight until 8 p.m. Saturday, when the show will be performed in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
Wise, a fourth-year history student, brought up the idea of a 24-hour musical to Berquist, Waters and Barrere after returning from a trip to Sheffield, England, where she saw a 24-hour musical in action.
“I was really involved with Shakespeare at UCLA before I left, so when I saw they were doing a 24-hour show in Sheffield, I knew that was something we had to bring back,” Wise said. “I wrote this manic e-mail back to everyone.”
After hearing about Wise’s experience, the other producers of Shakespeare at UCLA were immediately attracted to the idea.
“(The idea was) intriguing. … It was something that’s really special for us to be able to do this and to support an organization that has a similar vision,” said Berquist, a fourth-year physiological science student.
Planning for the musical began during winter quarter when the producers contacted No Limits and held auditions for parts in the musical. However, the actors could not be told what specific parts they’d receive so that they could not prepare anything outside of the 24-hour period. Actors were thus assigned only ensemble, supporting and lead roles in the show.
“We wanted to give everyone sort of an idea of what they’d be involved in and how much they’d be awake during the 24 hours because it’s going to be an intense process,” Wise said.
Despite the fact that the producers kept secrecy a top priority, the actors and crew members involved continued to guess what the show was going to be.
“There are 10 or 12 stories floating around, and I don’t know that any of them are actually right,” said Barrere, a third-year physics student. “I’m always very amused when somebody says they’ve guessed it and they come up with this whole story about a hint that we dropped and they’ve put it all together and they have so much evidence of why it’s a particular show.”
Third-year music student and ensemble participant John Sisk found himself completely thrown off track by the secrecy.
“Going into it, I know almost nothing,” Sisk said. “I know who’s in the show. There were a large number of auditions. The process went on for some time and, for me, I did one audition because I’m ensemble, but the people that were leads did multiple auditions, and that was very extensive. Beyond that, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
While maintaining secrecy and organizing the show proves challenging, the producers assert that the biggest hurdle will simply be organizing the music, the dancing and the acting within a 24-hour time frame.
“When you only have 24 hours to prepare, it’s nice to have lines that are easy to memorize, lines that you can sing,” Waters said. “I also feel like musicals are a little bit more forgiving … than a Shakespeare show, which is something else we considered. If a few dance steps are off in a musical, as long as people are smiling and having a good time, it’s fun to watch.”
Participants in the show also anticipate the 24-hour constraints to be simultaneously entertaining and challenging.
“Discovering what people come up with on very short notice for making the show creatively successful will be interesting,” Sisk said. “It will be very entertaining and weird to learn the numbers in probably a very fast-paced and stressful environment.”
In the end, however, the primary motivation for involvement in the show has been support for No Limits.
“I’ve had to go over to No Limits, the charity we’re benefiting, a few times to meet with the people there and pick up some stuff, and I got to meet some of the kids, and it’s just really great to see them and know that we’re trying to make a difference to them,” Waters said.
The performance will be free for all students, but donations will go directly to No Limits. Before the show, a raffle will also be held and the proceeds will benefit No Limits.
“It’s really about having fun and celebrating the great thing that this charity does and celebrating theater and helping out the community,” Berquist said.