The members of the Duzer Du chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theatre Honor Society at DePauw, put on this semester’s Insomniac Theatre on Saturday.
The 24-hour long theatre festival challenges a group of already sleep-deprived DePauw students to write all night, practice all day and then perform for an audience. However, the students who participate in Insomniac Theatre relish in the lack of sleep, making this festival one of the most anticipated DePauw Theatre events each semester.
The participating students met Friday night at 7:30 p.m. for auditions. From there, the writers, directors and actors were assigned for each of the six scenes that were performed 24 hours later. Many students were faced with the challenge of both writing and acting in different scenes or acting in multiple scenes.
“Learning your lines for the skit you're in within a few hours is always tough," said sophomore Jerica Bean, "but it's even harder when you have a fairly large role in two skits. Despite this, I had a really great time in my two bits. The writers did a really great job with the limited time they had the night before.”
The scenes ranged in storylines, from an upset co-worker stealing from a newly promoted rookie to a pair of assassins being banished to a small town not unlike Greencastle. However, all the stories had reoccurring jokes and symbols, like a pinwheel, that tied them all together, making for a unique viewing experience.
The writers included culturally relevant elements, such as Leonardo Di Caprio not winning an Oscar — a perfectly timed satiric scene given the screening of the Academy Awards the next day. The students in the audience also enjoyed pop culture references such as Shia LaBeouf teaching Josh Peck how to vine and Kristen Stewart announcing Best Actor as Jennifer Lawrence made side comments about her own online fandom.
Political jokes were thrown and zombie apocalypses were fought, all leading to roaring laughter from the audience in Kerr Theatre, a reaction that meant a lot to the members of Duzer Du.
“Insomniac is really just a great way to kick start our Duzer Du spring semester," said senior Laura Loy, who played the beloved bear who beat Leo in his pursuit for the Oscar. "It’s about everyone, no matter what sort of previous theatre experience, getting together and putting on some hilarious and exciting theatre in an incredibly short amount of time. It’s a blast.”
The love for theatre was obvious among the participants, who didn’t yawn once and rarely fumbled on a line during their performances, despite the lack of sleep. For some, this Insomniac was also bittersweet. Senior Kate Porfilio reflected on her last Insomniac.
“I always love Insomniacs because it is such a crazy rush of creative energy,” Porfilio said. “It was a little heartbreaking to think this was my last one. Duzer Du is just such a strong community and Insomniacs is the perfect representation of that.”