This is a headline about a show that has no title

By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com

Hyperion Players’ latest production, [title of show], will stage for one weekend only at The Switch Theatre, 10029 126th St, Fishers.

No, dear readers, The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper has not decided to bow at the altar of AI. The title of the show is in fact [title of show].

(Author’s note: As this article is being written, my headline placeholder reads, “Hed goes here.”)

The Reporter spoke with Hyperion director Lauren Taylor about what audiences can expect from this fun and funny musical that takes audiences behind the scenes to watch the process of drafting a play.

“[title of show] was created by the authors Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell over only three weeks,” Taylor said. “It was originally a show written to be in a musical festival in New York. Jeff and Hunter are the authors, and they’re also the main characters in the story.”

Two struggling writers hear about a new musical theatre festival. The deadline for submissions is only three weeks away. With nothing to lose, the pair decides to try to create something new with the help of their friends. One of the authors suggests they write about what to write about. They make a pact to write up until the festival’s deadline. The title, [title of show], is taken from the space on the festival’s application form which asks for the “[title of show].” In the span of 90 minutes, you watch as they write and perform their show at the festival and learn lessons about themselves as people, friends, and artists.

“This show is different in that it’s showing you the process of how you get from beginning to a finished product,” Taylor said. “You really get to see their artistic process, the things that they talk about, the things that they are dreaming about while they’re writing this, what they want to accomplish, and how their relationships change. There are parts of it where they acknowledge that they are writing a play and that the audience can see them. So we have a little bit of meta going on there. Then there are parts of the play where they’re just straightforward acting through the scene.”

Taylor told The Reporter this play is, in some ways, reflective of how Hyperion Players itself evolved, which is one reason she chose to direct it.

“We began Hyperion much like they began their show,” Taylor said. “I was one of the founding members, and we ended up meeting in living rooms – mine, a lot. I would host a lot of that. We would just look at scripts that we enjoyed, talk through ‘If we did put this on stage, how would we do it?’ The parallels there are friends coming together in a creative process to make something that’s great that they feel excited about. That tone that comes through during the musical and really resonated with me.”

Hyperion has a history of thinking outside the box for their productions.  Staging a play about writing and performing a play on a tight deadline is just one more example of that mindset.

“If you like watching the creative process or you’ve ever wondered what they do to put a musical on stage, it’s a nice peek into that,” Taylor said. “The author has described it as a love letter to Broadway. You’ll see a lot of references to people in New York who have graced the stage.”

Taylor told The Reporter she is delighted with both her cast and crew, and she knows audiences will be as well.

“This crew is hilarious and his cast has been fantastic,” Taylor said. “These actors have exceeded anything I could have hoped for. They really get the creative process. The way that they work together is very natural. You will forget that you’re watching actors on a stage.”

[title of show] stages March 26 to 28 at 7:30 p.m. each night at The Switch Theatre, 10029 126th St., Fishers. General admission tickets are $15 each and can be purchased online at hyperionplayers.com/tickets.