Holyoke Community College, Phillips Festival

About this event

This October, Holyoke Community College (HCC) will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Phillips Festival, an evening of short plays written, directed, and staged in 24 hours. To produce the Phillips Festival, HCC alumni, students, faculty, and staff register to participate as writers, directors, actors, or members of the stage crew. Writers meet with the actors the night before the show — this year on Friday, Oct. 2 — to receive props, prompts, and character assignments. They have until 6 a.m. the next morning to write their plays. Two hours later, actors and directors gather for a full day of rehearsals. The original plays will be performed Saturday, Oct. 3 starting at 7:30 p.m. in HCC’s Leslie Phillips Theater. The festivities, however, begin at 6 p.m. with a green carpet pre-show in the theater lobby. Funds raised from the festival enable the HCC Theater Department to hold master classes, make capital improvements, and hire guest artists. The festival was first organized in 2016 by HCC alumni as a tribute to Phillips, who died in 1988 after inspiring legions of HCC students. To participate in the festival as a writer, actor, director, or stagehand, register at hcc.edu/phillips-register. Festival tickets can be purchased in advance at hcc.edu/phillips-2026 or at the door on the night of the show. Tickets cost $15 (general admission), $10 (students and seniors), and free for HCC students with ID.

Description from explorewesternmass.com