Students write, direct plays for Spring One-Acts Festival
Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 2:23PM By Debra Seth
What: Spring One-Acts When: April 9 to April 10 Time: 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Where: Johnson Studio Theater Cost: $8 with ID and $15 to public
Students have their hands full with the Spring One-Acts this year.
The event is student produced, directed and performed. The performers and stage crew have only one act to translate the theme of each story. That means the student actors must be especially gifted in their craft in order to tell stories with complex themes and messages in less than half the time it takes to perform a traditional play.
Erin Lee, junior theater education major, has multiple roles directing and writing in two separate acts. For this year’s festival, Lee will be directing Harold Pinter’s “Family Voices,” and has also written her own piece called “Stars.”
“I took a play writing class abroad last semester, and ‘Stars’ was my final exam for the class,” Lee said. “I was working on it and considering directing when my friend Katie Manley read it to give me some feedback. She liked it so much she asked if she could direct it, and here we are.”
Students and other members of the Winthrop community will especially enjoy the uniqueness of each piece, and are very excited about the upcoming performance, she said.
“All of the pieces are really unique,” Lee said. “Some are light-hearted subjects and others are serious. I think the overall festival is very well-rounded ,and anyone coming to see it will have the opportunity to see many different topics presented on stage.”
Lee encourages students and anyone who enjoys a good laugh to come out and view the performances.
“Most of the pieces, three of the four, are comedies and for the two pieces I’m involved with, the main characters are college- aged, give or take a few years, and are going through things people our age sometimes deal with,” Lee said.
One of the biggest goals the student actors have is that they hope the audience relates to the principle characters. Lee said that since the audience will consist of mostly college-aged students, this will allow them to connect with the characters and love the pieces even more.
Students from many different majors and minors get involved in the One-Act performances each year, and Lee encourages others who think they may be interested to check out this year’s festival to see if acting could be of interest to them.
“Many times the actors are not majors or even minors in theater, but just people who want to be involved in some way,” Lee said. “It is a great way to get started with theater, so I would say to anyone who wants to get involved to come check them out and, perhaps, audition for the festival next semester.”
The Spring-One Acts Festival is going to be at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 10, and Sunday, April 11 in Johnson Studio. Late seating is not permitted once the performance has begun. Tickets are $8 with Winthrop ID and $15 for the general public.
