ACT FAST - 24-HOUR THEATRE FESTIVAL
April 2, 2019
Act Fast - 24h Theatre Festival is a unique theatrical event where 5 brand new plays are created in exactly one day. This micro-festival was created and produced by Mélanie Dubois, an ambitious Event Management student of Humber’s Business School, and her dedicated Faculty Sponsor, Rossie Kadiyska (Program Coordinator, Fashion Management and Promotions). It was made possible thanks to the generous support from the Humber College Community Partnership Fund.
Act Fast brought together 39 students from 8 academic programs offered at Humber College from Event Management to Theatre Production and Performance, Journalism, Media Studies, Film, Comedy Writing and T.E.S.L. This event was fully produced by students and was the first of its kind to be presented on Humber grounds. Act Fast embodies Humber values of courage and innovation and is in line with Humber’s vision of transforming postsecondary education through experiential learning opportunities, preparing career-ready students, and fostering a healthy and inclusive community.
The event kicked off on the Lakeshore Campus at 8:00 pm on Friday, February 8th when our playwrights set off to write their original scripts by no later than 5:30 am the next morning. Those scripts were printed and handed off to our directors at 6:00 am who were tasked with the first read through of these new scripts in preparation for auditions starting at 7:00 am.
At 8:30 am casting was announced and crews set off to memorize and rehearse while costumes and props were collected. Elsewhere, show programs were designed and printed while photos and behind-the-scenes footage was collected for sharing on social media, to be put on display in the theatre lobby, or edited into short video clips — all in time for the live show.
The resulting live presentation drew an enthusiastic audience of 120 people to The Assembly Hall at 8:00 pm on Saturday, February 9th who were treated to 5 distinctly different pieces of theatre that did not exist one day prior. This event raised funds for its Community Partners, Lakeshore Arts and the Regent Park Focus Arts and Media Centre, as well as the Humber College Scholarship Fund.
The success of Act Fast is thanks in large part to the culture of innovation and collaboration at Humber College. Not only was this an experiential learning opportunity, it was also a showcase of the abundance talent and drive present in Humber’s student body. It also speaks to the quality of the dedicated program coordinators and faculty members who are proud to call Humber home. Special thanks to Joyce Lamb for her support coordinating promotional efforts for this event, as well as program coordinators Tatiana Jennings and Tanya Greve for lending their support in promoting the event throughout their respective Theatre Arts programs.
