The pressure's on for TheatreASAP

The San Antonio Theatre Coalition will be hosting its annual TheatreASAP: High Speed Drama, in which local playwrights, directors and actors have 24 hours to put together and perform a one-act play.

Playwrights will gather in the early evening at the start of the event to pick their props and draw a San Antonio-related line of dialogue, then begin writing under a 12-hour time constraint.

“I usually like to toss around an idea for a play weeks before I even begin writing, but for this event, the first idea I come up with, I have to go with,” playwright Mellissa Marlowe said.

Marlowe has been working on short plays to “get in writing mode” for her return to script-writing. Her participation in five previous productions give her some insight into writing a good script during crunch time.

Twelve hours after playwrights have pumped out a one-act play, directors and actors come together to memorize, rehearse and stage the scenes in another 12 hours.

“Working in this kind of ‘shotgun theater' is liberating,” three-time actor-turned-director Matthew Cassi said.

“After my first year acting, I came back thinking I was a pro,” he said. “But you're working with a new director, a new writer, a new cast and even a new audience every time.”

Melissa Hernandez | 210SA contributor