Due to the pandemic, those in the world of theatre have been challenged to creatively think of ways to continue the production of their work. Instead of putting their theatrical activities on hold, students-turned-founders, Jake Lane, Lana Stringer and Steven Day decided to create the Overnight Theatre at Samford.
According to their website, “the Overnight Theatre is a creative outlet for artists of all kinds to assemble, explore, collect, and share self-written and produced pieces of various genres, tones, and styles.”
Lane shared why he, Stringer and Day decided to start the theatre.
“We started the Overnight Theatre amidst the initial quarantine when everyone was stuck at home and had just finished classes for the semester,” Lane said. “We wanted to create a place where people were still able to collaborate with each other, even though they weren’t able to be face to face in the same space, creating theatre.”
Initially, the Overnight Theatre was set up where an actor or actress was paired with a writer and they were given a day’s amount of time to create an original piece of theatre.
While the theatre will still operate in the same manner as it was originally started, now that campus has reopened, participants of the Overnight Theatre will be to watch their original work along with other theatre students in Boren Courtyard.
“Every other Thursday we meet at 9 p.m. to watch everyone’s pieces that they made over the last night, and we are all socially distanced and spread out, people are encouraged to bring a blanket to sit on and wear their masks,” Lane said.
While the Overnight Theatre has a lot planned for this semester, Stringer was also able to give advice not just for those involved in the world of theatre, but for all individuals.
“There’s a choice to sit at home and let it defeat you but what we’re asking people to choose is to create and to find something good in everything that’s going on,” Stringer said.
For more information about the Overnight Theatre, students can visit their website, https://www.overnighttheatre.com.
Staff Writer
