24 actors, 6 writers & 6 directors in 6 short plays written and rehearsed in 24 Hours
Last night, November 9th, 2009 Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Brooke Shields, Billy Crudup, Eva Mendes, Naomi Watts and Julia Stiles among others participated in the 9th annual production of The 24 Hours Plays on Broadway, presented by Montblanc.
For the third time, Montblanc sponsored this annual event to the benefit of nonprofit Urban Arts Partnership, attracting some of entertainment’s biggest names as they join forces to participate in a rite of extreme live performance: writing, directing, and performing six original short plays, all in just 24 hours!
24 Hours – Writing, Directing, Performing
At 10PM on Sunday, November 8th this exciting project began with a gathering of cast and crew at the American Airlines Theater in New York. With only 24 hours to create six plays from start to finish, it is not surprising that actors, writers and directors all had to stick to a tight schedule. After casts and crews were briefed, each writer spent the night composing a ten-minute play. The following morning, directors returned to read and select their piece. A little later, the actors started with the rehearsal, having less than 12 hours to prepare for the 8:00 PM performance, yesterday, November 9th in front of a live audience on Broadway.
After six very different plays, cast and crew went off to a huge post-show bash at The Opera Ballroom at Crest in New York City, celebrating one of the most unusual, creative and thrilling events on Broadway.
24 Hours – Online Writing Contest
This year marks the first time ever that Montblanc initiated an online writing contest through which aspiring writers were invited to submit writing samples for consideration for a walk on role as a contributing writer to one of the six plays that will be written and performed within 24 hours.
In addition to the writing contest, Montblanc once again introduced a writing instrument that was cleverly integrated by one of the writers into their play. Preceded in past years by the surprise appearance of the Marlene Dietrich and Étoile fountain pens respectively, this year’s performance introduced the Special Edition Ingrid Bergman, an exquisitely crafted writing instrument created in homage and celebration of one of the greatest international stars in the history of entertainment.
