"Immediate Theater Experiment"

Ten-minute plays are something of an anomaly in the theatre world, but for seven consecutive Sundays at 5:00 these brief dramatic pieces will be coming to Hepburn Zoo through the student initiated Immediate Theatre Experiment.
Student producers Lilli Stein ’11, Daniel Sauermilch ’13 and Matt Ball ’14 have put on two plays so far, the first a cerebral meditation on the value of challenging theatre by Howard Barker. Directed by Stein, the second capitalized on the absurdly comedic circumstances that find three chimpanzees locked in a cage with typewriters and paper until they manage to write Hamlet from memory. While Shakespeare remains a mystery, the chimpanzees find themselves recreating familiar plot points, the most memorable of which involved a declaration of independence via poison to their jailor’s nightcap.

The play, David Ives’s “Words, Words, Words,” was a pet project for Stein, who has always wanted to stage it.

“We’re looking to produce more text-based works with less reliance on sets, lighting and sounds. It’s very unconventional,” Stein said. “We want to hit as many types of theater as possible, and this whole project is an excuse to do it. In the past the theatre program has been quite oriented toward full-length production put on towards the end of term. This breeds better theater because it is intellectually stimulating in a cock-eyed way.”

The project takes its inspiration from a similar spurt of 10-minute plays arranged by Carl Forsman ’93 during his time here, but unlike the older version this one also features original work by student playwrights Sauermilch and Stein.
“I can’t speak for other playwrights, but for me ten-minutes are very challenging,” Sauermilch said. “You need to be more organized and know exactly what you want. Ten pages goes before you know it, and you can fill it with all kinds of things. Mine is 15 pages, so it’s not even really a 10-minute, although it will probably take that much time.”

Ten-minute plays are a kind of odd-one-out in the theatre world. Published 10-minutes are rare, with most playwrights drafting them for fundraisers and festivals at the request of their hosts. To put things in perspective, a short play — not even a one-act — aspires to around 50 pages, compared to the 10 pages designated for this genre. The unusual nature of a 10-minute play lends it a rebel quality.

“To me at least, it’s very much about being rough and a bit sloppy,” Ball said. “It’s alright to make mistakes; we’re worried to make mistakes, but we’re trying not to be.”

This dynamism is evident in everything relating to the project, from the eclectic lineup to the barely contained excitement that comes out when each of the three discuss their plans and ideas.

“Matt talked to me about [the project] in January. It sounded kind of crazy,” Sauermilch said. “Originally we thought we’d do a production every weekend on Saturday, and we’d have to help strike — take down — the Saturday production’s set, program our lighting and then do our show after the close of theirs.”

Luckily reality intervened in their favor, and the Sunday time slot was adopted. Other ideas have also come and gone, including the short-lived concept of getting people excited about the events by making them subscription-only. At any rate, it looks like the project may become a permanent fixture in the theatre department, with tentative plans for its continuation and expansion next semester.

“Coming to Midd, I’ve realized that it’s so easy to create,” Ball said. “The College has money and people are passionate. My friends and I joke around that this is make-your-dreams-come-true land. All you need is space, people who are interested, and time — time is the big thing.”

The next play in the series comes to the Zoo Sunday, March 13 at 5:00. The piece is written by Sauermilch and tells the story of two people involved in a difficult friendship.