Stay Up Late

Students at The College of New Jersey present a 24-hour theater competition.

By: Jillian Kalonick

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TIMEOFF/JILLIAN KALONICK
From left: Bethany Allinder, Christine Scarfuto and Gabe Alonso are part of the team planning ‘Wired!’, TCNJ’s play festival. Students will present six one-acts at the college Jan. 29.


   It’s an odd fact of college life — staying up all night is a whole lot easier than getting up early.
   In a 24-hour period, a group of more than 60 students at The College of New Jersey in Ewing will write, direct, produce and perform six one-act plays in Wired!, a theater competition. The pieces will be staged on campus Jan. 29 at 8 p.m., after many students have been awake for more than a day straight.
   "The arbiters are the three people who stay up more or less throughout entire day," says Gabe Alonso, part of the team organizing this year’s Wired!, a co-production of the college’s Inter Greek Council, All College Theatre and Ink, a writing organization. Arbiters call the shots throughout the process — if Wired! were American Idol, the organizers say, the arbiters would be Randy, Simon and Paula.
   "If you’re a writer you could also be an actor, director or stage manager, as long as it’s not for your show," says Mr. Alonso. Instead of crashing after their scripts are done, like the other writers, those who have double duty must stay awake through performance time.
   The day goes nonstop beginning at 7 p.m., when six writers or teams of writers are given a theme around which to structure their play. Last year students wrote scripts that took place in Bucks County, Pa.
   Throughout the night the three arbiters throw them curve balls by requiring different plot twists, story lines that cross over, and dialogue. At 7 a.m. — when, it is hoped, the other players can drag themselves out of bed — arbiters pair writers with directors and cast actors in shows. In 12 hours the one-acts must be rehearsed and tuned, and actors must memorize their lines. At the end of the evening, the plays are judged by faculty members who award prizes for best performance, script and overall production. Then, everyone crashes.
   "By the end of the night, people are starting to get a little edgy, a little shaky," says Mr. Alonso, who grew up in Plainsboro. "It’s a high-intensity two days. (Last year) the response was a lot better than any of us expected." Wired! sold more than 200 tickets, and the organizers were surprised at the quality of the plays.
   "I was so convinced that they were all going to be really bad," says Christine Scarfuto. "I was not very optimistic. You only have seven hours of rehearsal time total. I didn’t know how you could write a really good, funny, smart one-act play in seven hours, but these people did it. It was really amazing."
   "The plays were all very different," says Wired! organizer Brian DeGroat. "One was farcical, stereotypical but funny. One was a social satire that focused on corporations and the corporatization of America. These plays give the writers an open forum to say what they want, within the framework of what the arbiters provide. It was interesting to see what came out and how it got produced."
   When Wired! was first presented last year at TCNJ, "It was a traumatic day for me," says Bethany Allinder. "I woke up at 8 a.m. and I was half an hour late. I found my show rehearsing, and I had to play a 90-year-old woman. I had to learn the walk — it’s hard to do that in eight hours — and the voice. We had a break for lunch at one and I was crying in my room. I was like, ‘I’m never going to learn this.’
   "Our show won as best show," she continues. "And no one dropped a line because you’re just so focused."
   "It works — the whole day you rehearse and it’s really high-intensity rehearsal," adds Ms. Scarfuto. "You just go, it’s definitely not improv."
   Although many students in Wired! have been involved in TCNJ’s All College Theatre or have prior acting experience, any student may apply to be a writer, director, actor or production staff member, no experience necessary.
   "A lot of people were first-time actors from last year, and they turned out to be tremendous," says Ms. Allinder. "I was nervous. I was like, ‘I’m an actress, I’ve been in a couple plays,’ and I had to work with newbies. I was cocky at first, I’m not going to lie, but it definitely worked. It was amazing fun."
Wired! will take place at Cromwell Main Lounge, The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, Jan. 29, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $4. Seating is limited. For information or to reserve tickets, e-mail: [email protected]. On the Web: www.geocities.com/wiredtcnj