What do a coconut, a waffle iron and four writers have in common?

You don’t have to be MacGyver to find out.

The Millibo Art Theater brings you the third year of FourPlay, a festival that asks local playwrights to write a short work in 44 hours. Plays are limited to three or four characters. Writers were given the theme Sept. 14 and had to submit their play by Sept. 16.

Twenty writers submitted works this year, an increase from last year’s 14. The plays were then evaluated by a panel of seven judges, who narrowed it down to the Top 4.

— “Predator and Prey” by Michele Berdinis Fagin– “What Matters Most” by Amanda Hall– “Actors” by Hanna Rockey– “The King of Washington Square Park” by Warren Epstein

“We’re in the thick of it now,” says Jim Jackson, who is executive director of the MAT. “There are only four days to rehearse.”

The winning plays were selected based on originality and relevance to this year’s theme, “survival of the fittest.”

“We wanted a theme proactive enough for the writers to work with,” he says. “It’s not just a sketch. It’s a play, so there needed to be conflict resolution and character development. The amazing thing is everyone approached it really differently.”

So what do a coconut and a waffle iron have to do with it?

Nothing, really.

“It’s the first year we’ve added props” says Jackson says. “They were selected randomly and will have to be on the stage and in the script.”

Jackson goes on to say that the props were introduced as a way to make sure the writers weren’t using pieces they’d already written.

“As a longtime journalist, I’m particularly drawn to anything with a deadline,” says Warren Epstein, one of this year’s playwrights and former GO! editor. “Usually I’m really fast, but this year, on Friday night, I was sweating. … I started toying around with the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’ and I thought of the chess sharks in Washington Square Park in New York.

“From there, it turned into a love story.”

Jackson says the tight deadline challenges the artists. The short rehearsal schedule helps keep each of the shows fresh.

“It’s exciting because the audience is discovering the play at about the same time the actors and directors.”

There’s just one weekend to catch the plays in this season of FourPlay. Last year, the shows were spread out over two weekends. 

“Two of the three shows were full last year, so with condensing it into one weekend, there should be a good turnout,” Jackson says.

Rehearsal image from Amanda Hall’s play, “Things That Matter Most,” which features Danine Schell and Peter Nicholas. Photo by Courtesy of the Millibo Art Theatre