As the sun slowly set on the Texas Union Theatre on Saturday, five UT students gathered hard at work to write, direct and act. Participating in Campus Events + Entertainment’s Play in a Day event, the challenge asked writers, directors and actors to collaborate and produce a play within less than 12 hours, between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., before performing it the following evening. Returning from a two-year hiatus, the event tests students’ creative limits.

“It’s a great way for students to come in and practice their storytelling, writing skills and improv skills,” said Jackson Barlow, the Creative Arts + Theatre Committee chair. “If you (aren’t) ready for something (with) a larger time commitment, or you’re afraid of doing a larger show on a bigger stage, this would be a great way to take a (few) baby steps in that way.”

Beyond serving as a creative outlet, the event allows creatives to immerse themselves in the theater community. 

“For me, writing is a way to ease the stress that I’m feeling,” said David Chen, an arts and entertainment technologies freshman. “I felt a sense of connection talking and making this wonderful play. This whole thing has been exactly what I felt I needed.” 

The brainstorming and writing of the script took Chen six hours, with rehearsals beginning the following day before the performance. After the planning day, the actors brought their own costumes and props and ran through the performance as many times as possible, practicing audio and scene changes. 

“We tried our best to (learn) as many lines as we could to make this more immersive, rather than just sticking to our phones,” radio-television-film freshman Mara Narvaez said. “But since it was a day, we had to rely on our phones in the end.” 

The concept created by the five students explores the idea of a hero falling in love with a villain in a 20-minute performance featuring two songs. Chen held a brown pizza box with the words “scene change” written boldly while actors moved furniture and props, which the audience received with whoops and cheers. 

“Opportunities like these let us meet new people,” Narvaez said. “I really enjoyed getting to know everyone here and making new friends.”