Twenty-four hours 'til showtime
Rachel Sherrill, Collegian Staff Writer, 2/12/2002
It has been said that pressure can be one of the greatest fuels to the success of the creative process.Never has this been truer than in the case of junior theater major Hank Willenbrink, who discovered that lack of time can be a formula for genius.
There they were at the classic downtown Tulsa Nightingale Theater, eight talented playwrights trying to create brilliance in less than the time it takes to get a decent night's rest. Scattering like mice to find their perfect writing spot, the playwrights searched for the area they would call home for the next few hours.
Playwright Hank Willenbrink found himself deciding on the main area of the Nightingale. He turned the heater on high, blasted his given audio prompt, and decided it was time to get down to the business at hand. Living on an endless cup of coffee, tasty veggies, sugar-filled donuts and other goodies, the night was Hank's to control. At times the weary feeling of a sleepless night began to prevail, but one look at the script that was growing before his very own eyes was enough to sustain Hank to keep going. But the night was not without problems. With pressure also comes tribulation, and it was around 3 a.m. that artistic crisis finally found its way directly into Hank's lap.
Hank found himself staring down at his script with disgust. He hated the beginning of the play, he was tired and the creative pressure that the time variable brought began to seem more like a frustration than a help to the success of his script. It was time to make a major change. So, with only a few hours left and the anxiety over what the outcome of his creation would be, Hank decided to stop, step back and start his script completely over. It was a bold move, but for Hank the risk was worth it if it meant getting away from the mediocrity he felt his play put out. He turned on "Kid A" by Radiohead and let the rebuilding process begin only to find that his new conception actually could work well if it was combined with his original script. It was a great triumph.
"I sat myself down and made myself live within the thoughts, rather than trying to shape them as they went by," he said.
The night slowly ticked on and the written form of the creative pressure Hank was experiencing began to take shape. With only a few rare moments of joking around with the other participants, Hank stayed focused until the morning came and brought with it 40 actors ready to perform to eight completed scripts.
With the arrival of the actors came something else: a new twist to Hank's already memorable experience. When Hank handed his script to be read by the director for his play, he found himself puzzled by the director's response. The director wanted to run Hank's script backwards. It turns out the papers were not in correct order, causing the director to read from end to beginning. The director asked Hank to read it backwards and decide what he thought. The end result? They both loved it, along with all the actors. It was decided that the script would be performed backwards, making for one very unique production.
"I was writing about the Apocalypse.how can you put a linear form to that?" Hank said.
It was only one more spontaneous twist that made this evening truly distinctive for all involved.
So, with the script decided, it was time to rehearse with only a few more hours remaining until the premier of Hank's apocalyptic comedy, "End Times." It was a crazy but exhilarating time as the plays were practiced, the costumes assembled and the direction finalized.
Then the moment arrived for the premier of the eight original 24-hour plays. Performing to a sold-out audience, the evening was not only a success but a triumph for the participants who not only received the opportunity to step out of their comfort level, but also the opportunity to be a part of something great. Hank explained his feelings as the night culminated and then finally came to an end.
"I couldn't help but be over energized when the audience was there, because I was in the midst of fear, nervousness, and anxiety before the play went up," he said. "Then, when it came down, I was refueled by the applause. And I went home and slept for 15 hours."
The Tulsa version of the Twenty-Four Hour Festival was the idea of former University of Tulsa student Jonathan Scott Chin. Looking to bring a bit of experimental theater to TU, the festival was an opportunity to stretch beyond what was normal and expected. Participants of the festival included many TU students such as Joe Glasser, Laural Lane, Justin Pier, Kent Meister and former TU graduates T.J. Clark, Brad Gruen, Nathan Hunt Lane, and Katie Irish. With a team of talented and creative people, the festival became a blissful experience for all involved.
Here in our very own city was this amazing idea of what pressure can do to make people reach beyond themselves. Theater majors have always been taught to take their time and rewrite their scripts over and over, but here was a trained writer telling himself that he had only a few more hours to complete a play that was expected to be intensely brilliant. It was ludicrous, but for some oddly fascinating reason, it worked. Listening to Hank's story and the idea of the festival as a whole made me think about life as we make it exist. Sometimes, we find ourselves so caught up in doing everything right that we forget to take chances and risks and be spontaneous. We forget how fun and how surprisingly successful pressure and intuition can be to the creative process of life. In the famous words of John Lennon, "Life is what happens while your busy making plans." Do yourself a big favor and remember to look up from your appointment book every once in a while to check and make sure that you are still taking the time to live your life to the absolute fullest. The Twenty-Four Hour Festival is just one example of what amazing things can happen when you forget about what is "right" and remember to just follow your heart.