The 24 Hour Project

The 24 Hour Project was brought to the Peterborough theatre scene as a seed of an idea back in 1998.

Local actor Ray Henderson planted that seed and it’s blossomed into what is the 27th event, which takes place around the city this weekend. The event culminates in a dynamic collection of performance at the Gordon Best Theatre on Saturday, November 3rd.

Bringing together a mix of some of the city’s brightest theatre stars, cross-pollinated with people new to the craft, The 24 Hour Project injects a hefty sense of the unknown into the theatre mix for a short but memorable journey from story inception to final performance before a live audience.

This is how the day “plays” out!

Friday at 8 pm is when a gaggle of writers gather to begin crafting the various pieces to be performed the following night. Working in teams, it’s anyone’s guess what will be cooked up. This process takes all night, and takes place in various homes and venues across the city. Imagine what the creative process is like, as the wee light of Saturday begins and tired writers find their third wind.

At 6 am, the directors meet at Showplace to coordinate who’s taking on what work. This group looks at the varied pieces that were created through the night and, in what must be a wild game of drawing straws, choose the selections and move forward to the task — choosing talent.

This brings us to 7:30 am when the actors meet for breakfast at the Spill Café. This is the pivotal moment where the casting takes place. People are sorted and given roles (which they likely had no concept they’d be playing the night before).

Throughout Saturday, the actors rehearse the works in a very compressed time frame, all with an eye to performing them before a live audience that very night. For each piece, all the players get to work with a crew on the stage of Showplace — giving stage folks a chance to lend their skills to what is being created before their eyes.

It’s a pretty gutsy event, both for the actors and for those behind the scenes. Literally anything could happen and, according to Ray, it usually does. There have been some pretty exciting moments over the years and this Saturday should prove to be quite memorable.

Billed as “5 Plays Written, Rehearsed and Performed in 24 Hours”, expect the unexpected. Add this fun night to your calendar and prepare yourself for a night to be remembered! The final performances of The 24 Hour Project – Edition #27 takes place at the Gordon Best Theatre this Saturday, November 3rd at 8pm; tickets are $10 at the door (see our event listing for details).

If you like what you see, and you want to get involved next fall for Edition #28 — consider the seed planted for you, find Ray and pass along your name for consideration next time.

Ray Henderson’s Top Five Reasons to Attend Saturday’s Performances

1. Not your typical theatre – It’s filled with people taking big chances, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, always entertaining.
2. Improv – If you know Ray at all, you know he’s a big supporter of the local Improv Acting scene. He’s a member of regularly performing group The Citiots.
3. Energy – If you like your energy high or nervous, you’ll love the culminating process of The 24 Hour Project.
4. Surprise – Anything can happen and, as the saying goes, probably will.
5. Community – These are some of the Peterborough area’s greatest creative risk-takers, and the chance to see them letting it all hang out is not to be missed.