When you first think of Co-op you might imagine a bunch of theatre students setting up an insanely hilarious production, and while you would be right there is also by far more that is considered as I quickly learned by speaking with Hannah Crowley, one of the Directors of this year’s production.
Co-op wasn’t always what it is today, it started out as a production of an already well established play Crowley told me “Well, I know it used to be a proper play, where they would get like 35 to 50 freshers together to do a production of, say, Macbeth” according to the parents and past alumni who used to attend.
Co-op is part of the freshers fest run by DU Players, and that means that anyone who hasn’t acted with Players before is free to audition for a role. The auditions all happen during freshers week and roughly 50 people are chosen to participate. The intense rehearsal schedule acts makes sure that only those who are truly dedicated stick with the show. The cast meets up Monday to Friday, 7pm-9pm to rehearse but also to improvise, which proves essential to the atmosphere of Players and in fact the show. Although the basic plot originates each year during the summer, the cast and the games they play further influence and colour the final script. Crowley says, “We kind of started to think that it would be funny if this happened, or even that certain things would suit someone really well”.
This year’s play is set in the 1930’s on an archeological dig site, and it follows a professor and his students as they search for the lost library of Alexandria. However, as is typical in a Players production, there’s plenty of time travel and wormholes to keep everyone, including the actors, on their toes. Crowley was particularly excited about the wide variety of people who are acting in Co-op this year, from Erasmus students and first year drama students to those who study theoretical physics or law and just love drama and want to make friends. Making friends is mainly what Co-op is about, Crowley assures me.
Crowley knew she wanted to get involved with Players before college and like so many do, decided to audition during Fresher’s Week: “It was the only show we auditioned for.” She was successful, and played the Lord of Evil in the 2013 co-op Apocalypse Dawn, A Cosmic Journey. I myself went to see this play as a first year and was blown away for the first and certainly not the last time by Players. The production itself is always an incredibly impressive one and you’ll certainly recognise members of the cast from your lectures.
Crowley considers the five producers to be the backbone of the show. After all, a production of this calibre is not cheap to stage. They deal mainly with the fundraising, taking the cast out and organising everything from bag packing, to bake sales and traffic light parties, in order to raise the €5,500 it take to stage this impressive feat. Other members of crew are not amateurs in the slightest, with most of them having several Players shows under their belt. There are over 180 costumes that need to be styled, sourced and created, not to mention sets and props that need an equal amount of work.
After hanging around the Players room in the morning, I could tell the incredible effort everyone seemed to be putting in. From set designers finalising details for the week ahead to seeing an ominously large stick of dynamite being made, the energy in the room was impressive — even at 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning. Crowley really wanted to encourage anyone who feels like this might be something they’re into to come and audition next year, or better yet to get involved in the upcoming Michaelmas 2 plays, as auditions will be commencing soon.
You can see come and see this year’s co-op, The Infinity Chapter: A Quest Through the Multiverse every Monday to Saturday at seven with a matinee performance Saturday at 1pm.
