The HTAC Blog

Allyson Heim on Attack Theatre

When the president of HTAC announced that we were going to be hosting a new event called Attack Theatre, a 48-hour frenzy of writing, rehearsing, and performing two entirely new plays, I was skeptical that the concept would work. I thought nothing truly great could be produced in such a short amount of time. So, I decided not to participate. However, on the night of the performance, I had nothing to do, so I dragged my roommate along and went to go check it out.

Perkins 310, our rehearsal and meeting space, had been transformed into a makeshift theater by hanging sheets from the ceiling to create a curtain. The actors had brought props and small furniture pieces from their homes. The general atmosphere reminded me of the impromptu performances I used to give for my ever-patient parents in our basement. So, I expected the same amateur quality of my childhood productions.

Happily, the professionalism of the actors and the cleverness of the writing proved me wrong. Each of the two miniature productions had a fully fleshed-out plot, developed characters, and moments of humor and poignancy. The actors delivered their lines comfortably and naturally; I had to keep reminding myself that the lines had not even existed just two days prior.

Attack Theatre was probably the most intimate theatrical experience I have ever encountered, not only in terms of the audience’s proximity to the “stage,” but also regarding the closeness of each play’s inception to its production. In this way, it backs up my theatrical philosophy that a rehearsal process is as long as the amount of time you have. If you have three weeks to rehearse a show, the show will be ready in three weeks. If you have six months, it takes six months. And apparently, if you have 48 hours, two days is plenty of time to create theatre.

The concept of Attack Theatre serves as a reminder that there’s always time for theatre, even in this age of immediacy. The condensation of the creative process during Attack Theatre brought out the best in all its participants and made for an incredibly memorable experience.