"FLY BY NIGHT is a surefire recipe for dangerous and unexpected theater."      J. COOPER ROBB Philadelphia Weekly

FLY BY NIGHT is Philadelphia's original 24 Hour Play Producing Marathon that ran monthly for more than two years straight from 2001 through 2003 spawning more than 100 new plays and new collaborations between dozens of artists. In the 2001 Fringe Festival FLY BY NIGHT treated a large roving audience of fringe-goers to five separate site-specific performances on the streets of Old City. This year Thieves Theatre is calling back all alumni and inviting new friends for a special encore performance of FLY BY NIGHT at the FridgeFest on September 10, 2005.

The challenge for the artists participating in FLY BY NIGHT this year will be to incorporate their writing, directing, and performance with both the FridgeFest art installations at the Spirit Wind Performance Space in Old City. Audience members throughout the previous week's FridgeFest performances will be arranging the magnetic poetry on the FLY BY NIGHT fridge door and "commissioning" the writing of scripts by the playwrights.

Read the Fly By Night manifesto and join the roster of artists. First time writers, directors, and actors are all encouraged to participate.

Email Wally Z@ with any questions or with your intention to participate.

5 writers, 5 directors, 15 actors, 24 hours, 9pm curtain come what may…

HOW IT WORKS:

At 6:30pm Friday, September 9th all participants gather at Spirit Wind Performance Space

Actors and Directors

  • collectively chose one magnetic poetry line from Fly By Night fridge door.
  • randomly be assigned one of the fridge installations as your totem.

    • Writers and directors will be asked to incorporate aspects or art objects from the installation into the production

Writers

  • draw randomly the team of 3 cast members and director (with pre-chosen art installation and magnetic poetry line) for which to write.
  • go home to write a ten minute script (about 12 pages) in 12 hours.
  • deliver 4 copies of their scripts by no later than 10am the following morning

At 10am Saturday actors and directors regather at rehearsal space to begin reading scripts and rehearsing.

Then at 9pm that same evening … SHOWTIME!