BYU NewsNet - UVU, SCERA host theater competition

Ten minutes to set up, 60 minutes to perform and 10 minutes to tear down is all the time the performers get before they are disqualified.

Utah Valley University and Orem’s SCERA are hosting the American Association of Community Theater’s state and regional competition festival Thursday through Saturday at Mountain View High School in Orem. The competition includes performances from UVU and SCERA, as well as from the Cheyenne Little Theater and Painted Past Production from Wyoming and Colorado’s Littleton Main Street Players.

“We are excited to be hosts for this event with UVU,” said Adam J. Robertson, SCERA’s president and CEO, in a news release. “It expands our relationship with our community’s university and allows us to expand our mission while offering a new and exciting event to local audiences. It’s really a win-win for everybody.”

The competition has a set of strict rules. Each set has to fit in a 10-by-10-foot box on the stage and only the actors are allowed to set up. Each performance has 10 minutes to set up, up to 60 minutes to perform their piece and 10 minutes to clear the stage. If a company goes over any of those times by even a second, they are disqualified from the competition.

“This is the first time [SCERA has] ever done anything like this,” said April Berlin, operations manager for SCERA. “It is a little stressful because you might go over your 60 minutes and then you’re out. It first took them 45 minutes to get [the stage] set up originally, so they’re working hard to cut that to 10 minutes.”

The companies will each perform standard-sized plays that were modified to accommodate the 60-minute time limit.

“Part of what makes the show really good is if they can take a really well-known play and do it in an hour,” said Melissa Larson of the UVU Theater Department. “Most shows run about an hour and a half so it’s an art in itself to cut a show to fit.”

The winner of the competition receives a trophy and the opportunity to represent the state in the national AACT competition held in Tacoma, Wash., on June 23.

Tickets are $15 for an all-festival pass or $6 for individual day tickets. Tickets are available at the SCERA, 745 S. State St., Orem, or by calling 801-225-ARTS, online at www.scera.org or at Mountain View High School auditorium before each block of performances.