What can you create in 24 hours? According to Mr. David Schwingle, the department head of theatre and fine arts, “You can create so much good.”
Bake-Off is a 24-hour writing, acting and performing competition that brings together creatives from all over campus, representing a wide array of majors. Bake-Off was brought to Bob Jones University in 2009 under the direction of Mr. Schwingle and has become an event many students anticipate whether they participate or watch.
This year, I had the privilege of being able to participate as a playwright. Along with a handful of other writers, we met in Performance Hall on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 17, to receive our prompts. We were given a list of lines, props, characters and genres we needed to incorporate into our short, one-act plays. Once that meeting was over, we were set loose to begin writing.
In my head, I was mulling over many different ideas, unsure of which direction to take, but then I was reminded of something Mr. Schwingle said before he concluded the meeting: “You don’t have time to think; you need to make hard and fast decisions.”
Right then “Gam-Gam’s Last Laugh” began to form in my head. “Gam-Gam’s Last Laugh” follows a mother and her teenage children, Karen and Jason, who have been tasked with cleaning out their late grandmother’s attic. Stuffed with nearly everything Gam-Gam ever owned, the attic feels like a punishment from beyond the grave. As they clean, Karen and Jason bicker, setting the stage for plenty of humor and for things to unravel. Eventually, they discover a journal revealing the “junk” in the attic is a memorial to the mother’s childhood.
Over the next 24 hours, I and the other writers wrote furiously to meet the deadline on Thursday at midnight. Waiting until the last moment to make sure I made all the changes I needed, I finally submitted my play into the hands of the awaiting judges.
Friday, was Judging Day. Waiting for another 24 hours to hear whether or not your play made the lineup is stressful. I was constantly checking my email and Instagram to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. However long it felt like I waited, evening rolled around, and the lineup was released. I made it!
Other winners included Ivan Karpitskiy, a senior biblical studies major, for “The Pact;” Abby Lynn Gillespie, senior theatre major, for “Baseball and Bons Bons;” and Megan Winneberg, senior film and digital storytelling major, for “Falling for You.” The winning playwrights were awarded a cash prize and one free ticket to one of the performances on Saturday night.
On Saturday, the judges placed the scripts into the actors’ and directors’ hands promptly at 8 a.m. for rehearsal. Rehearsal for Bake-Off is a condensed process covering everything from costume fittings and set design to prop management and full run-throughs. Whether or not the actors felt ready, the final step of the process was upon them: performing in front of an audience.
The audience settled in, the lights came on, and the culmination of many creatives’ minds came to life in four short plays. There is a tremendous blessing in being able to see something you wrote performed on a stage and witnessing the audience’s reaction firsthand. The audience laughed, cried and applauded brand new stories wholly written and performed by Bob Jones University students.
Watching the story I’d imagined in my head performed on stage made me feel truly validated as a writer. I found myself watching both the play and my friends’ reactions as they shared the moment with me, enjoying every second. I wore an almost permanent smile until the lights came back up.
If you haven’t been to a Bake-Off before, keep your eye out for the next one because it is a fun time for all involved. In the words of Mr. Schwingle, “May we have 15 more years of Bake-Off.”
