11th Annual 48-hour Play Festival: ShakesFluencer
What happens when famous influencers get dropped into a Shakespeare play?
Oberon takes pointers from Leo Messi? Beatrice and Benedick get set up by Ariana Grande?! Macbeth is swayed by… Coco Chanel?!? Anything can happen at Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s 11TH ANNUAL 48-HOUR PLAY FESTIVAL, co-produced with the Foothill College Theatre Arts Department. Join us as our writers explore what happens when famous Shakespearean plays meet notable characters of influence who don’t belong in their stories!
Tickets will be available for purchase the week of February 24th.
CALLING ALL ACTORS!
Sign up for SVS' 48-hour Play Festival lottery. YOU MUST BE AVAILABLE THE ENTIRE WEEKEND OF EVENTS TO PARTICIPATE; please scroll below for the schedule. Registration closes on Saturday, March 15th. Actors will be chosen by lottery and receive confirmation of acceptance by Tuesday, March 18th. A total of 24 actors will be chosen to participate. Please note that half of the acting slots will be reserved for Foothill students; two alternates will also be pulled from the lottery and contacted to perform in the event they are needed.
Teams are assigned and writers draw, at random, a Shakespeare play and an influencer element on which to base their script. All teams will also be given a required line of dialogue, prop, and surprise requirement to incorporate into their pieces.
Audiences decide which play is the festival favorite!
Writers
Kristin Hall • Ross Harkness • Melinda Marks
Nino Greene • Daniel Martinez • Doll Piccotto
Directors
Vinh Nguyen • Marley Rose-Teter • Patty Reinhart
Elyssia Tingley • Tonya Mara • Christian Vaughn Munck
April 4–6, 2025
7 PM
Foothill College
Lohman Theatre
12345 El Monte Road
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Friday night kickoff, Sunday’s rehearsals, and the performance will take place at the Foothill College Lohman Theatre; Saturday’s rehearsal will take place at a venue in San José.
*Tickets are for the 7 PM performance on Sunday, April 6th.
SCHEDULE
Friday, April 4th • 6 PM
Play Festival Kickoff: Teams are assigned, and writers draw, at random, a Shakespeare play and an influencer element on which to base their script. All teams will be given a required line of dialogue, prop, and surprise requirement to incorporate into their pieces. Directors will collect actors' contact information for distributing scripts and planning rehearsals.
Saturday, April 5th
Rehearsals will take place at a South Bay venue; the address will be shared with participants at kick-off. Scripts are due from writers at 12 PM. Writers are required to email a copy of the script to their director (who will send it to the cast) and 48-hour Play Festival staff. Actors will have all day to hunt for costumes and props and rehearse like a Shakespearean madman!
Sunday • Daytime
Rehearsals take place at Foothill College. In addition to actors’ independent work, each team gets a 30-minute slot onstage between 11:25 AM and 3 PM to rehearse. A tech run-through of the entire festival will start on stage at 3:30 PM.
Sunday • 7:00 PM / SHOWTIME for ShakesFLUENCER ($15 Admission)
Theatregoers will be given a ballot to determine which play is the Audience Favorite; team members are not permitted to vote.
For additional info click here to email SVS Artistic Director Angie Higgins.