MonsterPiece

Here we are. The end of the year. It’s been a long road we’ve traveled together, you and I. I know that we are really close at this point. And that’s why I know that I can tell you, in confidence: I’m so horny. Like, outrageously horny. It literally hurts. But I won’t be satisfied with just one partner. No. There’s room in this boudoir for three. So I’ve called up a few of my good friends from 1-800-Livelinks and we’re going to have a really good night. I’ll tell you all about it:

Climbing into bed first we have the annual “Wesleyan Melodrama,” co-directed by Sarah Horn Elmaleh ’07 and John Cusick ’07.

A project founded by Eliot Fisher ’05, the Melodrama is a “loving satire of Wesleyan,” Elmaleh said, “and also a musical.” Written by a group of near-literate monkeys (this year: Cusick, Edward Bauer ’08, Molly Gaebe ’07, Kate Heller ’09, and Dylan Marron ’10), the “Melodrama” is set in the Old West, using the familiar set of character and plot devices to satirize current on-campus politics and stereotypes.

“The show had a way of tapping into the collective awareness of the student body,” Elmaleh said. “And teasing it, letting us make fun of ourselves and celebrate each other at the same time.”

A new script is developed each spring, and is performed within the same semester, keeping the in-jokes and self-references pertinent and fresh. And, they sing! Including an original score of catchy-ass tunes by Cusick, a full band of keyboards, guitar, banjo, and fiddle bring the proverbial house down, while the cast of local funny-folk break it down for us, Old Western style, about President Bennet’s farewell, ResLife mishaps, and the ongoing “Keep Wesleyan Weird” movement.

Elmaleh directed alongside her creative and romantic partner, Cusick. I, similarly, once tried to embark on an artistic project with my significant other. I ended up burning his house down. Elmaleh, on the other hand, seems to think this is a perfectly productive arrangement.

“We can butt heads without doing any serious damage, which I think is useful in a creative partnership,” she says. Right, Sarah. Take my advice…just make sure he’s not inside the house, okay? I learned that the hard way.

“The Wesleyan Melodrama” opens in the WestCo Café next Thursday, May 10th and runs through Saturday, May 12th. Performances at 8:00 p.m. each night, with an extra performance on Saturday at 10:00 p.m. Written by: Edward Bauer ’08, John Cusick ’07, Molly Gaebe ’07, Kate Heller ’09, and Dylan Marron ’10. Directed by: John Cusick’07 and Sarah Elmaleh ’07. Original score: John Cusick ’07. Starring: Edward Bauer ’08, Tom Crosby ’07, John Cusick ’07, Jo Firestone ’10, Molly Gaebe ’07, Devon Golaszewski ’08, Kate Heller ’09, Marina Kastan ’08, Zach LeClair ’10, Dylan Marron ’10, Anna Martin ’09, Sean Richards ’10, and Anand Venkatachalam ’08. Band: Rory Bradley ’07, Anna Gevalt ’09, Emilie Phelps ’07, and Ben Seretan ’10. Stage managers: Jess Chayes ’07, and Mark McCloughan ’10. Set: Nick Benacerraf ’08. Lighting Design: Anna Martin ’09. Lightboard: Gavin Robb ’07. Props: Edward Bauer ’08 and Sean Chin ’09. Costumes: Tori Amoscato ’08 and Rachel Silverman ’09.

Next in our little love-nest is the first annual 24-Hour Play Festival, coordinated by Anthony Nikolchev ’08 and Jess Chayes ’07.

Spearheaded by Nikolchev, the Festival commences May 12 at 10 p.m. and will last until 10 p.m. the following night. Here is a basic layout of the process: Nikolchev and his co-organizer Chayes will choose eight playwrights, eight directors, and approximately sixteen actors from the sign-up sheets. At 10 p.m., the festival begins as the eight playwrights arrive at the ’92 Theater. They will receive guidelines for writing a ten-minute play, which will remain undisclosed until the appropriate time, as to ensure that all writers are given a fair advantage. These authors will then have the following ten hours to create their scripts, without leaving the premises of the theater.

At 8 a.m., the team of eight directors and the pool of actors will arrive. Each director is assigned two actors to collaborate with on a production of one of the eight scripts invented in the previous ten hours. At this point, the writers will be allowed to go home and sleep. Directors and casts are given ten hours to rehearse and prepare for the final performance. Likewise, this process is to remain within the space of the ’92 Theater. Each group will be given approximately one hour to rehearse on-stage. At 6 p.m., these teams will be released for a quick break—two hours to nap, freshen up, etc.

At 8 p.m., the writers and directors will return, along with all incoming audience members, to view the final products. These performances will end at 10 p.m., marking the conclusion of a 24-hour period of sweaty, intimate, and exhausting theater.

Nikolchev hopes to attract a more eclectic crowd of artists for this project. By offering an opportunity to create engaging theater without the overwhelming time commitment, which, frankly, can be a little intimidating, he hopes to get people involved who usually don’t usually participate in theater on campus. Additionally, he anticipates the final performances to yield exciting and impressive works.

“When you have a short amount of time to make something it sometimes comes ends up being your best work,” he says. “You don’t have time to second guess anything.”

He hopes the success of the Festival will inspire an annual tradition on campus. So for all you water polo kids who still haven’t signed up, positions are still open. To get involved, sign up on the callboard of the Theater Studios, or contact Nikolchev at an********@******an.edu

The 24-Hour Play Festival begins at 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 12 and ends at 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 13. The Festival concludes with two hours of performances, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are free and available at the theater before the show.

What a wild orgy this has been. “The Wesleyan Melodrama,” a tradition of yester-year, continues to share the fruit of its bountiful loins. Meanwhile, the fledgling 24-Hour Play Festival brings into the sack vitality and promise that really gets me hard. Well, enjoy the party everyone, it’s going to be a wild ride.