Students perform one of the plays from the 24-Hour Play Festival. The actors had less than 12 hours to fully learn the script and prepare for the performance. “[The actors] had to memorize it in a day and also make it their own in a short amount of time,” said Toner. (Courtesy Adrienne Rosenblatt)

The HBHS International Thespian Society (ITS) brought back the 24-Hour Play Festival for the first time following the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival concluded with a performance on Saturday, Jan. 3 that featured three short plays: “Nostalgia” written by Oli Toner ‘25, “Lost and Found” written by Robin Shaw ‘25 and “Sarah” written by Anya Zoltko ‘25. Roughly 31 students worked throughout the 24 hours leading up to the performance to create the plays and bring them to the stage.

Collaboration and trust between members were key to pulling off these short plays. Due to the nature of the festival, and the time crunch, collaboration allowed students to work through all the kinks of the shows and bring each other’s visions to life. “There was so much happening at one time, but somehow we were all on the same page, and we were all on track for the show at 8:00 p.m.,” said tech crew member Adrienne Rosenblatt ‘25.

The 24-hour festival is unlike many other performing arts events at Hollis Brookline High School because it puts the entire process of creating the performance on the students, which allows students to have more creative liberties with the final product. “Everyone puts their own ideas in it and it becomes this whole different thing,” said festival writer Oli Toner.

Creating the shows also allowed students to step into new roles within playmaking such as writing or directing. “It was a good way for people to experience new parts of theater,” said Toner, who tried writing for the first time during the festival.

Overall the revival of the 24-Hour Play Festival was a big success. “I was super happy with it,” said Toner when referring to the final performance of “Nostalgia.” Rosenblatt shared a similar sentiment. “It was really fun and we should do it again,” she said.