Laughs erupted from Owens Art Center as theatre students conducted their annual Combat Theatre performance at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Combat Theatre is a 24-hour marathon presented by the members of SMU Student Theatre.
Just like it’s name, Combat Theatre is unorthodox.
Production teams are made with four actors, two writers,and a director.
The writers are given prompts at 8 p.m. the previous night and are told to have their scripts finished within 12 hours.
After the scripts are completed, the writers hand them to their assigned director, who has another 12 hours to rehearse with actors and build sets.
“I think it pushes kids to work outside of the set rules that SMU usually constructs about what theatre is,” Senior Ezra Bookman said.
Many students executed multiple jobs in their pieces.
Bookman, a theatre studies major, co-wrote the piece “Combat” while also playing a leading role in the performance.
“It’s a fun experience, it’s a chance for us all to collaborate even though we all have different talents and different hobbies and what not,” freshman Cynthia Green said.
The writers were given prompts consisting of a place on campus and a name of a famous woman.
This led to hilarious combinations such as Michele Bachmann’s first day at Meadows School of the Arts or Sacagawea’s exploration of the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports.
Many audience members were caught in fits of laughter after one skit that paired rapper Nikki Minaj with a sorority house on campus.
The pieces lasted between eight and 12 minutes a piece, and there were six of them in total.
After the performances were over, some of the participating members of SMU Student Theatre talked about how their last 24 hours had been.
“I’m tired. Very, very tired. It takes a lot out of you, especially since I had to write and perform, so I haven’t slept in over a day,” Bookman said.
“I slept for four hours,” Cynthia Green said.
Combat Theatre drew spectators not just from on campus, but from all over the community.
The innovative competition is held at SMU annually.
“This is my third year coming to this event, I try to make every performance I can,” Ken Burton, a retired Park Cities resident, said.
Combat Theatre brought laughs to all involved and should continue to be a staple in the SMU Student Theatre annual schedule.
The next SMU Student Theatre event will be The Rep series beginning on Feb. 21 in Owens Art Center.
