Paly’s annual Play in a Day, in which students have one day to write and rehearse an original play, will begin on Friday, with final play performances scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday in the Haymarket Theater.

Tickets are required in order to attend Play in a Day. All ticket sales will directly support the Paly theater trip to the Fringe Festival, an international theater festival in Scotland, this summer, according to freshman theater student Justin Kresner-Kerpen.

“The Fringe Festival is an international theater festival in Scotland which we have been lucky enough to be invited to,” junior drama student Caleb Jones said. “It’s also very expensive, so all the help is appreciated.”

According to junior stage manager Hannah Crown, during Play in a Day, a group of writers will assemble on Friday afternoon and will be assigned a prop and a costume. They will then have 12 hours to write an original 7-10 minute play. Actors will rehearse and perform the play on Saturday, Crown said.

Additionally, Play in a Day will feature one-acts by Jones and senior Ashley Moon.

According to Crown, the plays are mainly comedies, with a few dramas and the occasional musical.

Paly students will especially enjoy the comedies because the writers have more freedom and can write specifically for students, Jones said.

“It’s one of the few times when the writers and actors are really free to do what they want to and appeal specifically to the students,” Jones said. “They do whatever the students will find funny.”

Crown, Kresner-Kerpen, and Jones all agree that Play in a Day is about spontaneity and fun.

“It is not necessarily high brow; it is not Shakespeare but it is definitely entertaining,” Jones said. “There’s that added element of knowing that all your friends have been doing this all day long and only all day long. That makes it fun.”

Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults. Raffle tickets are also available for $1, with prizes including iTunes gift cards and an iPod.