Theater

24 Hour Plays

Featuring Elijah Wood, Claire Danes, Julia Stiles and more

by Josh Kurp   |   Oct 27, 2010

24 Hour Plays

Actress Julia Stiles

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The premise of 24 Hours Plays, now in its tenth year, is simple enough: beginning at 10 p.m. on November 14, six writers, six directors, 24 actors, two musical guests and a production staff will gather at the American Airlines Theatre (227 W. 42nd St.), where each cast member share a costume, prop and “stage desires” idea to their respective playwright. From there, the writers must create a ten-minute play by 7 a.m. the following day, in order for the creative team and other cast members to have time to rehearse for the 8 p.m. performance on November 15.

Okay, maybe it’s not so simple. Exhausting and exciting, yes. Simple, well, never mind.

Now that you know how it works, let’s get to what you really want to know: who’s participating.

Performers

Leslie Bibb (Iron Man), Claire Danes (My So-Called Life), Guillermo Diaz (Weeds), Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Gaby Hoffman (Life During Wartime), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: SVU), Diane (Law and Order: SVU), Rosie Perez (Pineapple Express), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Show), Fisher Stevens (Lost), Julia Stiles (Dexter), Tracie Thomas (Cold Case), Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire) Alicia Witt (Friday Night Lights) and Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings).

Playwrights

Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity), singer/songwriter Mike Doughty, Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Lynn Nottage (Ruined) and Theresa Rebeck (The Understudy).

She & Him’s M. Ward will provide the music.

Tickets for 24 Hour Plays, which benefits the Urban Arts Partnership, can be purchased here.