The first ever student-run Pop-Up Play Festival, also known as the “24 Hour Play Festival,” will occur in Rugby Theater on March 8 and 9.

Over the course of these two days, participants will write, cast, direct and perform in original plays.

After festival coordinator and Chronicle Assistant Features Editor Zoe Redlich ’20 met other aspiring playwights who participated in festivals at their own schools during a theater summer program, she said she decided to create a similar opportunity for Harvard-Westlake students.

“I think our school could use a few more relaxed, fun and creative opportunities for students to try something new,” Redlich said.

The festival has been in the works for five months now, with coordinators working hard to make this festival possible, coordinator Michael Lehrhoff ’20 said.

“It requires a lot of disciplines, whether it be communication, working with the school and the theater department,” Lehrhoff ’20 said. “It’s fun to dive into those different sectors.”

The festival coordinators hope to make this a permanent addition to the upper schooltheater program, Redlich said.

“The theater department is really excellent and if more people could explore it that would be amazing,” Redlich said.

In addition to enhancing the theater program, Redlich said she hopes to connect people who do not normally interact with each other and provide students a relaxing experience.

“I’m hoping that people who don’t get to be involved in theater get a chance to try it out,” Redlich said. “I think that a lot of the time, the activities we do at school have a certain level of stress and pressure, and I hope that this festival can be a place for creativity without that. I want people to look back on this fondly.”