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In William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Friar Laurence cautions the lovestruck Romeo to go “wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” But in the case of Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s 48-hour Play Festival, making haste is what it’s all about.
Over the course of the festival weekend, teams of directors, writers and actors have just two days to come up with brand-new short plays inspired by the Bard and incorporating certain thematic elements.
This year’s festival, which culminates with a show on March 29, is titled “ShakesDATE,” with a theme that would probably be of interest to Romeo: “What happens when famous Shakespearean characters are foisted into the modern world of dating?” Expect concepts such as dating apps, ghosting and voice notes to appear alongside Shakespeare’s timeless interest in love, lust, jealousy, missed connections and romance.
Festival teams are assigned and assembled on Friday night. The writers draw a Shakespeare play and a thematic element to base their script on, and all teams get a required line of dialogue, a prop and a surprise element to incorporate, according to the festival’s website. The writers then have until noon on Saturday to deliver a finished script for a 10-minute play, and the director and actors have the rest of the day and evening to “figure everything out and put everything together,” as participant Melinda Marks put it.
On Sunday, there’s a rehearsal and a tech run-through, followed by the performance Sunday evening.
Marks has been a part of many of the 48-Hour Play Festivals as a writer, including the inaugural one in 2014, and served as a director once as well. This year, they are looking forward to participating as a writer again.
“I like to go into it just embracing the chaos,” Marks said. “You always get a new group of people and an interesting dynamic.”
Writers and directors like Marks are typically invited by the theater company, while actors apply to become part of a lottery system. Twenty-four actors, plus two alternates, are selected (half of the slots are reserved for Foothill College students, as the festival is currently partnered with Foothill College Theatre Arts and performs on campus, at Lohman Theatre).
Marks’ first entry as a writer, back in 2014, was a play about the deceased characters of “Hamlet” trying to sort out their family differences together in purgatory. Lauren Doyle was an actor in that play (as well as the writer of a different piece that year) and has also returned to the festival as a writer several more times, as they will again for “ShakesDATE.”
The festival “is probably my favorite annual theater event in the Bay Area,” Doyle said. “Being given two days to write, rehearse and then perform, that’s a pretty big challenge; this is what I look forward to every year.”
Past years’ themes have included “Shakespeare in Place” (on Zoom, during the pandemic); “ShakesBINGE,” for which Doyle wrote a mashup of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and last year’s “ShakesFLUENCER,” for which Marks’ script included a cooking video for a pie made of human meat, a la “Titus Andronicus.” With such little time for preparation, it’s an exercise in quick thinking, creativity and teamwork, and a chance to have a lot of fun.
“I always hope that whatever I write is funny enough to me that I feel proud to send it in, and, ultimately I just want whatever I write to serve the success of the director and the actors,” Marks said.
Being a Shakespeare aficionado is not required for participation, although having some familiarity helps. Marks is working on a doctorate in early modern history so they have a fairly deep knowledge of many of Shakespeare’s works, but it’s not essential.
“The goal ultimately is not to show your knowledge of Shakespeare but to use it as an inspiration point,” Marks said.
And to enjoy watching the show, “the artists, the actors, the director and everyone does a great job of making it fully accessible to the audience,” Doyle said. “You don’t have to be a Shakespeare buff at all; it’s just a bonus.”
Accessibility and inclusivity is a hallmark of Silicon Valley Shakespeare in general, Doyle said, and anyone can sign up for the chance to be picked from the actor pool lottery each year. Marks and Doyle said the festival is a great way to get involved with live, local theater.
“You don’t have to be a veteran performer by any means. Silicon Valley Shakespeare is very warm and welcoming,” Doyle said.
Why is Shakespeare’s work such a good match for a quick play-making frenzy?
His oeuvre “is very flexible. Shakespeare is great for gender-bending; you can apply Shakespeare to any situation. You can kind of mess with Shakespeare a little bit,” Doyle said.
His work, they added, maintains relevance, whether presented traditionally or in contemporary adaptations. “He touched on so many themes that come back time and time again.”
“48-Hour Play Festival: ShakesDATE,” March 29, 7 p.m., Lohman Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills; $15; svshakespeare.org/festival.
