Megan Harvey will be producing her senior project, “24 Hour Theatre Project”, from 7:30 p.m. March 23 to 7:30 p.m. March 24 in CFA.

Harvey, senior and a multiple-disciplinary theatre and business management major, described the process of turning months of hard work into 24 hours.

“The goal of this project is to condense an entire theatre process into 24 hours and demonstrate the job of a producer and the importance of collaboration,” Harvey said. “A typical theatre production includes four to five months of design meetings as well as four to six weeks of rehearsal with actors.”

Harvey said she got the idea of creating an entire play came from a company called StarKid.

Starkid is a theatre company that started at the University of Michigan.

“After I started doing research, I became interested in 24 hour theatre and the idea that an entire show could be created in one day,” Harvey said. “I felt this would be perfect for a senior project because it would also give me the opportunity to produce, something I plan to do after graduating from Ashland this May.”

As the producer of this production, Harvey was in charge of everything: from the budget to organizing teams.

“Part of my role as the producer was to select and organize a team of leaders and participants, divide the budget provided by the department between the areas of focus for the production, and create a timeline for the months leading up to as well as the actual event,” Harvey said. “During the timeframe, actors audition, a script was written, memorized, designed, marketed and finally performed. This poster presentation will provide insight into the process of what it takes to produce theatre in 24 hours.”

Both Ashland University and Harvey have never done a production like this before.

“Because this is a newer concept for educational theatre, I have done a great deal of research,” she said. “This has included contacting schools who have produced similar projects, interviewing the artistic director of the Basement Arts student run theatre at the University of Michigan and reading a great deal on producing.”

This is not just open to theater majors.

Anyone and everyone is invited to make a team.

“Everyone involved in the project will help in someway,” Harvey said. “Theatre is a collaborative art form. Without the writers there would be no script. Without the actors and directors, nothing would be presented to an audience. Without the designers and the people constructing the sets and costumes, the actors would be on a bare stage and naked. Every job and person matters. A producer can pick a team but without the team, there would be nothing.”

If interested, contact Harvey at [email protected].

“This is the first time anything like this is being produced on the AU campus and we have many people involved from many different majors and organizations,” Harvey said. “You will not want to miss this.”