Can a play be written, rehearsed and performed over the course of just one Saturday?The Bexley Theatre Arts program challenged themselves to do just that.The theater department had its first “Play in a Day” April 25, organized by student producers junior Payton Theile and senior Cyrus Turner.
Turner said he and Theile were selected by Bexley Theatre Arts Director Rebecca Rhinehart to direct this year’s high school one act.
“We approached Rhinehart with the idea of putting together a show in one day as a replacement of the traditional one act structure,” he said.
Theile said students who signed up met after school Thursday, April 23, when she and Turner divided them into groups including an assigned playwright and director.
Groups were designated based on what role applicants were interested in fulfilling, Turner explained.
“When people registered to be in this show, they selected which of the options was most interesting to them,” he said.
Additionally, the groups had elements their plays were required to implement, Theile said. These included a paper daffodil, the word “chameleon” and a rooster sound effect.
Rhinehart said having some constraints allowed the student playwrights to think outside of the box.
“I just love when you’re only given parameters,” she explained. “It makes creativity bloom.”
Groups did not meet again until 9 a.m. Saturday, April 25. The play was performed at 7:30 p.m. that night.
The first play, “Future of the Fair,” was written and directed by senior Lucy Robinson. Freshmen Vivien Luckshaw, Brody Shankle, Abby Sullivan-Kight and Max Zytcer and Robinson acted in the play.
The play was about a fairground’s broken fortune teller machine who foresees the eventual closure of the fair, and the events that follow.
Robinson explained she purposefully made the process a collaborative effort.
“I decided to take a step back and just see what we all wanted together as opposed to fully taking ownership as the writer,” she said. “I’ve worked with a lot of directors, and I find the most success in the overall production is when it’s collaborative.”
Luckshaw explained the “Play in a Day” felt less intense than previous shows she has participated in.
“It feels more like a group project than a whole theater production,” she explained. “This seemed a little more hands on.”
Zytcer said because the plays were written by members of the theater department, plot and dialogue could be changed on the spot.
“Not everything is completely set in stone, so there’s some wiggle room,” he said.
The second play, “Cousin Crashers,” was written by freshman Leo Abrams and directed by Theile. Freshmen Violet Eshelbrenner and Stella Rogers, senior Ayden Downey, sophomore Lena Mekhjian, Theile and Abrams acted in the play.
The performance told the story of married cousins in a medieval fairy land who decide to separate.
Abrams said he had never written a play before, so he took his group’s ideas and desired roles and tried to connect them.
“You can be any character you want to be,” he explained. “The character can be built around you.”
The last play, “Murder Motel, Flip it Around, Wild West,” was written and directed by sophomore Zeke Moses. Freshmen Maya Hernandez-Romito and Lily Turkovich, sophomore Izzy Coey, Turner and Moses acted in the performance.
The play was about a country singer who is murdered in his motel room while on tour.
Moses said he wanted to create a unique and engaging experience.
“My intention was to make this the least formulaic show possible,” he explained.
Rhinehart said she let groups create their plays but offered feedback during their final dress rehearsal.
Additionally, freshmen Jonah Goodman and August Sribnick handled technology and props for the shows.
Theile said “Play in a Day” was a new experience for everyone, and since there were no auditions, anyone could be a part of it, which created a very welcoming environment.
“It’s more of a bonding thing,” she said. “I think it takes a lot of the pressure off, because the show’s allowed to be kind of stupid.”
Theile added if the theater department were to do “Play in a Day” again, she would make some organizational changes but was otherwise happy with how it turned out.
“I’m so happy we got people to sign up,” Theile explained. “I think if we had more time, we could advertise and promote it more, but we did get these dedicated thespians to spend their whole Saturday here.”
Robinson explained the show was a fun twist on the usual theater experience.
“I have been doing theater for so long, so I think it’s super refreshing to do something in the same realm but completely new,” she said.
Robinson added she was happy with how her play turned out.
“I’m so proud of how it went with all the ups and downs,” she explained. “It didn’t go perfectly but that’s part of ‘Play in a Day.’”
Published and digitized May 2026.
