Playwrights to show 30 plays in an hour

Thirty plays, 60 minutes.

Thirty plays will be performed at Bloomington Playwrights Project at breakneck pace as six actors rush to finish before the timer hits zero.

“The Blizzard: Game Show Edition” is a fast-paced comedic routine that is impossible to predict, BPP director Jessica Reed said.

“It’s a different play every night — they will always be in a different order,” Reed said.
Reed said the audience chooses the order the plays are performed in each night.

She said the order is determined by whoever yells the loudest in the audience, and the unpredictable nature keeps the actors on their toes.

Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 and 28 and March 1 at Bloomington Playwrights Project.

Tickets are $15 each and all proceeds will support the BPP.

“Blizzard” playwright Hank Greene said the show is designed for maximum audience participation.

“‘The Blizzard’ is very much a living and breathing piece,” Greene said. “So much is visual and about the audience experiencing it.”

The plays are all organized into different categories centering on the game theme, Greene said.

Some of the categories are “Game of Thrones,” “The Hunger Games” and video games.

Chad Rabinovitz, the producing artistic director, said the idea for “The Blizzard’ was originally adapted from a different theater in Chicago.

This year, the actors will not know what to expect on opening night because they will not complete a full run-through.

“They started rehearsal a little late because everyone has been sick,” Reed said.

She said “Blizzard” seeks to interact with the audience by combining interactive games with the plays.

“Out of 30 options on the board, nine are games that require audience participation,” she said.

The games are mixed in with the plays to keep the audience invested, Reed said.

The developed the ideas for the games, one of which involves an audience member shooting a Nerf gun.

Audience members can also win prizes, including the nightly grand prize of $100.

“The prizes are all from local businesses,” Reed said. “We have a lot of community investment.”

Reed said the BPP is very connected to the community because they try to nurture new talent and help new play ideas at the local level.

“We are the only theater in the state of Indiana dedicated to new plays,” she said. “We help people get new works out there so there is always something new.”

With “the Blizzard,” they are trying to capture the interest of people who wouldn’t necessarily watch plays, Reed said.

They want the show to be easy to digest and leave a lasting impression on the audience.

“I want every play to be a new experience for the audience,” Greene said.