One Night Stand 2022

 

June 28, 2022

One Night Stand 2022

One of the coolest annual events in Key West, that has taken a few years off due to the Covid-19 pandemic returned this year and the island is much better for it. The Studios of Key West once again hosted the return of their summer theater project One Night Stand. The 24-hour theater experiment returned after a hiatus to great fanfare and success, and I was once again happily on-hand to document the event through photographs.

The fun event was the brainchild of Mark Hedden and Elena Devers and has been presented almost biannually until the pandemic scuttled things for the past few years. But a month or so ago, the call went out to the creative local community. The event calls for four ten-minute plays to be written, rehearsed, fully propped and performed all with-in a 24-hour time period.

It all starts with writers, directors, actors, artists, prop wranglers and stage managers gathering at TSKW on a Friday evening where a writer, director, cast, artists etc. are randomly selected and grouped together. The writers are responsible to deliver a completed scrip by 6 AM the following morning, once again based on a randomly chosen genre and setting with only a chosen prop and line of dialogue that must be included.

The prop this year was the haunted Robert the Doll of Artist House fame and the line was “What the Hell is an NFT?”.  Once the play is delivered, the directors, actors and prop masters get busy starting at 8 AM on Saturday, they must learn, rehearse and then perform the play (twice) at a 7 PM and 9 PM showing. The actors are a mix of professionals and novices and the results can be all over the map.

Also on Saturday, the artists must design and create a backdrop based upon the random settings that each play has to be set in and then at 4 PM there is the one and only 20 minute dress rehearsal for the four plays. It is a hectic rush that produces all manner of fun for the two sold-out audiences.

I always go to the Friday night selection gathering, then return the following afternoon to watch the progress of the artists and maybe sit in on a couple of the rehearsals before attending the dress rehearsals and then usually both performances. I find the creative process fascinating and fun to watch and it is also cool to see the creative element of our island literally produce something special out of thin air in basically less than a day.

It takes teamwork, patience, improv skills and the ability to roll with whatever punches come your way and yet the results are always satisfying. This year was no exception as the four teams came together and many not having even met each other, created fun, whimsical, sometimes musical and often funny ten minutes of live theater.

This year was another smashing success and it was fun watching so many friends participating, from the organizers to the writers, directors, stage hands and actors, there were a ton of our friends involved and it was so awesome to see them putting their talents on display. Local reporter/ funny girl Gwen Filosa served as the MC for the night and for my money she is the funniest person in Key West and was the perfect choice. 

Congrats to all involved, when they bring this event back, hopefully in two years- if you happen to be in Key West, you should certainly check it out. A fun and wonderful, wacky and witty night out that I am pleased to have been able to see once again.