DCU Drama Society held their 24-hour musical on Thursday last in The Venue in aid of the Bee for Battens foundation.
The musical, Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, was adapted from the YouTube sensation of the same name, which starred Neil Patrick Harris.
The aim of the 24-hour musical was to start with a 24 person cast on October 24th and to build a show from scratch. Between 5pm on the 24th and the opening of the show at 8pm on the 25th, Drama Soc cast the show, built the set, sourced costumes, set up lighting and rehearsed, with few cast members getting more than an hour of sleep.
Aisling Sinclair, a first year Multimedia student and key member of the musicals production team, said that the hardest part of the event was starting from scratch. “We had nothing at the start, no scissors or tape or anything. Everyone had to disperse and go home and grab as much as possible.”
Resourcefulness was key in the production she said; “There were so many problems, you had to be a bit nuts to do it. We had no paint brushes so I had to paint the washing machines with my hands.”
To highlight how rushed production was, first year Mark Young, who played the lead antagonist Captain Hammer, said that he had “never heard of the show” before auditions on Wednesday.
Young went on to praise the Drama Soc committee members for the help they gave the less experienced cast members, referring to them as “a firm maternal hand”.
Proceeds from the sale of tickets will go to the Bee for Battens campaign. Battens Disease is a rare neuro-degenerative condition that affects babies, young children and juveniles. The campaign aims to find a cure for the disease and to provide support for the families of children who contract it.
Sean Defoe
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