Students at the College got a chance to show off their acting, writing and directing abilities in front of a packed Cromwell Lounge during the second annual Wired!, the College's 24-hour play competition sponsored by the Inter-Greek Council, (IGC), ink and All-College Theatre (ACT). The performances brought the house down with entertaining skits that kept the audience laughing last Saturday night.
The audience was treated to six plays that were all written and produced in only 24 hours.
During the "whole crazy process," as Christine Scarfuto, senior English major and ACT member, put it, the arbiters gave the writers and directors three twists that had to be incorporated into the plays. Dziengowski brought several props from his fraternity house that he said were literally thrown out into the middle of the Wolfe 2 elevator lobby for the cast and crew to pick out and use in their play.
The first twist, and perhaps the most hilarious aspect of the show, was that each play had to begin in a public restroom.
The second twist for the writers was to include a fictional character from Massachusetts' past. The final twist was that the writers drew numbers from a hat. Groups with the same numbers had to make their plays connect in some way.
Wired!'s three arbiters, Dave Dziengowski, senior history major and IGC president, Sarah Maloney, junior math major representing ink, and Scarfuto met with the writers at the beginning of the 24-hour process in the Wolfe 2 lounge. At about 4:30 a.m., the arbiters collected the scripts and from 5:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. they cast the actors for each script. Finally, at 7 a.m. on Saturday, the arbiters met with the writers again and the actors rehearsed until 4 p.m.
The writers, directors and actors performed their plays for a full audience at 8 p.m. and were then judged by Catie Rosemurgy, professor of English, alumnus John Elliot and three random audience members. The judges determined who would receive the awards for best overall play, best actor and best script.
"The whole concept was great," Dave Schrader, an alumnus, said.
The plays of the night included, "Never Turn Down a Kennedy," written by Daniel Klein and Bethany Allinder, "John Henry's Hammer," written by David Byrne and Sean MacPhee, "Billy's Family Reunion," written by Donna Green and Nicole Grieco, "Soap Scum," written by Anthony DeFreitas and David Weinfeld, "The Eternal Conundrum of Human Relationships," written by John Fialk, and "A Night in Sandusky," written by Will Dean and Matt Erdely.
At the end of the night, the arbiters announced the contest winners. For best overall play, the award went to "Billy's Family Reunion."
"It was very cute, very creative and original," sophomore English major Melanie Kaufer said.
Senior English major Donna Green, who was one of the writers for "Billy's Family Reunion," said, "I was so nervous but everyone did a great job."
The award for best actor was a tie between Gina Ciani of "Billy's Family Reunion" and Uzo Odegunbio of "A Night in Sandusky." For Ciani, this was the first time she had a speaking part in a play.
Lastly, the award for best script went to Will Dean and Matt Erdely for their play, "A Night in Sandusky," which focused on the life of an editor who would do anything for his client, John Grisham.
Maloney summed up the evening, saying, "It was a fantastic night and I am pleased with how everything went."
