Slam – Photo courtesy of Plan B
Twenty-four hours. Five playwrights. Five directors. Fifteen actors. This is the tried and true recipe for Slam, an annual production by Plan-B Theatre Company. In twenty-three hours, five short original plays grow from infancy to full maturity. The twenty-fourth hour is when the audience is invited in to the Jeanne Wagner Theatre to see five world-premier short plays that were all created in a day.
This year marks the ninth-annual Slam but when the idea was initially conceived nobody predicted it would become an integral part of the theatre’s offerings. “When we decided to start doing this in 2004 we didn’t know we would end up doing this more than once. It’s evolved into a key component of our programming with new playwrights,” says Jerry Rapier, Producing Director for Plan-B Theatre Company.
With maturity comes experience. The production has been around for almost a decade and the method and runs like a well-oiled machine. On Friday, May 11 at 8 p.m. the playwrights will meet with Rapier and the design team. They go over lighting options and Rapier goes over a few rules. “We give them parameters that are all very practical parameters but we don’t give them any artistic limitations. They have the freedom to write what they want to write,” he says. It’s also explained there will be no props and actors will be dressed in black. “The plays work better when they’re not trying to work so many elements into a production.”
Each playwright returns home by 9 p.m. and the clock starts ticking. The playwrights turn in for a twelve-hour-long writing session. This year expect to see work written by long-time Slam veterans Matthew Ivan Bennett and Eric Samuelsen, who have each been a part of the production for eight of its nine years. Julie Jensen and Jenifer Nii have written for four Slam productions and Elaine Jarvick is making her Slam debut.
At 9 a.m. the playwrights return to the theatre with a script in hand. “The most common conversation that happens with the playwrights when they all get back together is a comparison of how many hours they’ve slept,” Rapier says.
A team hustles to make copies of the fresh scripts. “While they’re doing that I tell the playwrights who is directing their plays and which actors are in their play. They form this instant family,” Rapier says. Directors and actors are randomly assigned. The playwrights have a few moments to commiserate with their new kinsfolk but by 9:45 the playwrights are “kicked out” and actors go to work memorizing lines while the directors figure out how to put the show together.
Rehearsals run from 9:45 a.m. until 7:45 p.m. There are slumps and moments of anxiety during the process, but Rapier explains, “The truth is everyone wants the evening to be a success. It’s a really supportive environment all the way throughout the day.”
Eight o’clock marks the start of the 24th hour and the audience arrives. When the curtain rises the theatre is filled with anticipation. Rapier observes there is a unique quality to Slam because the viewers are rooting for the actors to do well and it creates a dynamic where the actors and the audience feel they are in it together. “It is the ultimate experience in trust and adrenaline and instinct. And the audience is very aware of all of it. Very rarely is there so much collective energy from the audience to the stage,” Rapier says.
By the end of the night, Slam attendees may have glimpsed a piece of work that will become a full production. Amerika by Aiden Ross, Miasma by Eric Samuelsen, and Mesa Verde by Ivan Bennett are all plays produced by Plan-B Theatre Company that began at Slam. “Our focus is developing new plays by Utah playwrights,” says Rapier. “This is a great way for people to see how strong and talented our talent pool is here. From writers to directors to actors.”
Dale Thompson has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College and an Masters degree in communications from Westminster College. Her writing career includes work for a local theatre, journalism in Park City, and freelance contributions for various nonprofit organizations.
