Play On! is a show that has every actor’s production nightmares all put into 3 extremely hilarious acts. The show goes through the worst tech week you could possibly think of. Act 1, they’re still blocking the show and receiving last minute edits from the playwright. The set isn’t done, they don’t have all of the props and they haven’t even seen the costumes. Act 2 is the tech dress rehearsal, which is even more of a nightmare. The cast can not seem to pull themselves together. On top of all that, Phyllis, the playwright, keeps interrupting them and even reveals one of the major plot points of Murder Most Foul, no one gets murdered. The ending of Act 2 leaves us to Act 3, opening night.

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My concept for this show is based on what I have personally experienced in community theatre on many different levels. The set does not get finished until the very last minute and not a lot of the set pieces coordinate. We decided to start the show with a seemingly dramatic but accurate first tech rehearsal set: Missing facing, a big hole where the window frame should be , no doors on the french doors, sideboard with no cabinet doors, etc. When it came to picking furniture, I tried my best to keep it low cost and accessible, not only for budget purposes, but also for the real community theatre experience. We either used what we have, borrowed from someone, or checked craigslist to find the rest of the pieces. Between Act 1 and 2 all of the furniture and set pieces are placed on the set. Between Act 2 and 3, we dress the set (which includes 16 pieces of art in 3 minutes). There are many moments throughout the show that directly use the set in the physical comedy as well. The ultimate goal of this set is to add to the chaos of this already chaotic murder mystery. ​

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