Theatre Unbound tests the limits of the art Jan. 10 at Hamline University

On Sat., Jan. 10, Theatre Unbound will unleash its annual “24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown,” a raucous evening of chance, challenge, wins and wipeouts. Central to the Smackdown are the more than 40 Twin Cities theatre artists who create and perform 6 new short plays in the span of 24 hours.

“The Smackdown has turned into its own category of theatre,” says Stacey Poirier, Theatre Unbound Artistic Director. “There’s really nothing else like it. The energy and excitement of the crowd is palpable – screaming, cheering, waving foam fan fingers. It feels more like a wrestling match or monster truck rally. It inspires some truly intense and amazing performances by the actors. Sometimes it’s brilliant and sometimes it’s a disaster of devastating proportion. The Smackdown is like the Xtreme Sport of theatre.”

“Everyone jumps in with both feet,” says comedienne Ahna Brandvik, past participant. “They make broader, braver choices. And the audience – oh, they’re along for the ride!”

Audiences will experience a (lighthearted) competitive atmosphere, including referees equipped with whistles, impromptu challenge matches between playwrights and directors, and audience participation wars.

How it works

In November, the general public suggested script ingredients via the Theatre Unbound Facebook page. In December, they are invited visit the website www.theatreunbound.com and vote among 50 finalists in the categories of: a line of dialog, an emotion, a prop, or something random. The winning ingredients must be included in each Smackdown script. On the evening of Fri., Jan. 9, the winning ingredients will be revealed to six teams of two playwrights,who will write through the evening. At 5am on Sat., Jan. 10, all the scripts are gathered up – ready or not! – and assigned to a director and a cast. Rehearsals are conducted throughout the day, with technical rehearsals skidding to a halt just in time for the performance at 8pm.

Crushinator the Corset Buster, the madcap Smackdown-Champion host, retired in the middle of last year’s event. Will she pull a “Brett Favre move” and find her way back to the Smackdown arena? Or will the new mystery host make a bigger splash with audiences? It’s anyone’s guess….

In keeping with Theatre Unbound’s mission, 24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown offers opportunities to dozens of women theatre artists. Theatre Unbound is one of a dozen or so women’s theatre companies across the nation working to shrink the gender gap on America’s stages.

“24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown” will take the stage at the Hamline University Anne Simley Theatre, 1536 Hewitt Ave., for one night only on Jan. 10, 8pm. General admission ticket prices are $18-$20, and reservations can be made by calling 612-721-1186 or ordering online at www.theatreunbound.com.