Necessity is the mother of invention – or, according to Bill Watterson’s Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes, mothers are the necessity of invention. Starting this Sunday at 10 PM, a group of six directors, six playwrights, and 24 actors will test out both as they create and perform six plays in just 24 hours. On Monday, the resulting plays will be unveiled at 8 PM at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis.

This endeavor, The 24 Hour Plays, will create and perform six new works written by Alan Berks, David Darrow, Julia Jordan, Heather Jean Meyer, Christina Ham, and Harrison David Rivers. The writers have two hours to meet the cast and directors, followed by eight hours (midnight-8 AM) to create their works. The scripts and scores will be handed off to the directors and actors to interpret, memorize, and practice over the course of 12 hours – after which the curtain will rise at the Pantages Theatre for a public performance showcase.

The cast of The 24 Hour Plays includes Sasha Andreev, Michelle Barber, Denzel Belin, Warren C. Bowles, Michael Brindisi, Cat Brindisi, Reese Britts, Serena Brook, Osh Ghanimah, Michael Gruber, Devin Kelley, Justin Kirk, Ryan McCartan, Joel McKinnon Miller, Tyler Michaels, Ann Michels, Kasano Mwanza, Hope Nordquist, Tod Petersen, Kory Pullam, Stacia Rice, Tim Sitarz, Tony Vierling, Rachel Williams, Tatiana Williams, and Sally Wingert. The directors include Jamil Jude, Lauren Keating, Christy Montour-Larson, Bill Payne, and Peter Rothstein.

The 24 Hour Plays celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis.

For this special event, the Twin Cities Arts Reader will provide special live coverage delivered by guest writers Karen “Kit” Bix, Sheree Curry, and Arty Dorman.

Come back on Sunday and Monday for live updates!

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Twin Cities Arts Reader

The Twin Cities Arts Reader is an arts and lifestyles magazine whose coverage examines arts and selected activities in the state of Minnesota and across the country. It provides Minnesota's largest source of in-depth, critical theatre coverage, and reaches more than 600,000 readers per year.

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