One Day Only 30 Call for Writers & Directors!

Rover Dramawerks

Expires On: Sep 5

Rover Dramawerks’ highly anticipated short play festival, One Day Only is back! The THIRTIETH installment of “short plays from concept to curtain in just one day” returns on September 7 at the Cox Playhouse in downtown Plano!

One Day Only was first produced in the Metroplex in May of 2000 by Audacity Productions. Rover Dramawerks teamed up with Audacity for the next three festivals, and Rover has been doing it solo ever since. All of these are productions unlike anything ever done before, even by us! For this is an event in which an entire one-act play festival of plays is written, produced, directed, rehearsed, teched, and performed in a single day. Just 24 hours.

At 9:00 pm on Friday, September 6, a group of writers, directors, actors, and technicians get together for the first time at our rehearsal space. A brief get-to-know you session includes providing ideas for the writers (to be drawn out of a hat) and taking photos of the actors (no headshots and resumes are allowed). Then the writers stay and work through the night, composing a ten-minute play based on the subjects they drew.

At 6:30 am (yes, THAT early!) on Saturday, the directors return. They quickly read the plays, decide who directs which one, and cast the plays from the photos taken the night before. The actors show up around 8:00 am and the writers go home to get some sleep while the plays are blocked, memorized, and rehearsed all day.

Then at 8:00 pm, all the plays are presented for the first time at the Cox Playhouse. That’s right – seven world premieres!

And YOU can be a part!

Rover Dramawerks is looking for 7 writers, 7 directors, and about 40 actors and actresses for One Day Only 30, and we want YOU! Experience is not mandatory, but open-mindedness, spontaneity, guts, and a can-do attitude are MUSTS.

If you’re interested, you must apply online STARTING ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 at 11:00 am at https://www.roverdramawerks.com/news (the forms will become available at that time). Do not try to sign up via any other method used in the past, as it won’t be accepted. The form will confirm that your data has been sent, and you will get an auto-response via email letting you know if you are “in” or not. Then in a few days, you will receive additional instructions.

Please note that you can only sign up for one role – Acting, Directing, or Writing – and you cannot sign up more than once. The LAST role we get from you (not the first) will be the one you get if there is space in more than one area.

Minimum age requirement for any role is 18. This requirement is due to the level of intense commitment for such a taxing project, as it has proven too much for younger participants and their families in the past.

Remember that it’s all first come, first served, and writer positions especially fill up VERY quickly! The cut-off for signing up is as long as roles are available, or Thursday, September 5 at 6:00 pm, whichever comes first.

PLEASE NOTE: Because we haven’t been able to do this since 2019, we are waiving our “no three in a row” rule for writers and directors. HOWEVER, we do encourage you to branch out if you’ve only done one thing in the past!

Also note that due to the lightening-fast nature of this project, there is no pay and no comps are provided. However, it is a TOTAL BLAST and well worth your time. You’ll also be amazed at the contacts you’ll make!

We look forward to working with you on this incredibly fun, unique project! For more information, check out https://www.roverdramawerks.com/.

PLEASE NOTE: The performance on Saturday, September 7 at 8:00 pm is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Tickets are only $18 (with discounts for students, teachers, and seniors), so even if you’re not interested in participating as an actor, writer, or director, we’d love to see you in the audience that night!

ALSO NOTE: Audience members are not needed for 24 hours – you need to be there ONLY for the resulting performance at 8:00 pm on September 7 at the Cox Playhouse in historic downtown Plano.