Ouachita Baptist University to present One-Act Play Festival

ARKADELPHIA -- The Ouachita Baptist University Department of Theatre Arts will host its student-directed One-Act Play Festival in Verser Theatre on Thursday and Friday. The performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

The one-acts are final projects for students enrolled in a directing class who are working to complete a theater degree. Seven one-acts will be performed at the festival.

"Each director is in charge of casting their one-act; leading rehearsals; coming up with the set, costume, makeup designs; and creating the best show they can in a matter of weeks," said Will Stotts, a senior musical theater major from Jonesboro. Stotts will direct "The Room" by Harold Pinter.

Scott Holsclaw, professor of theater arts and the instructor of the directing class, said he finds this year's festival special due to "the quality of the literature chosen."

"The biggest take-away for me is getting to work with the student directors, seeing their visions that they've been working on most of the semester come to life," said Autumn Romines, a sophomore musical theater major from Cabot.

Performances

• "Naomi in the Living Room" by Christopher Durang, directed by Jacob Hemsath, is a comedy about a visit between Naomi and her son and daughter-in-law. "Naomi is a schizophrenic with emotions that change at the drop of a dime," said Hemsath, a senior musical theater major from Wylie, Texas. "John and Johnna endure the friendly, yet hostile conversations as they try to get through the night."

• "Comrades in Arms" by Percival Wilde, directed by Anna Joie Valdez, is a comedy about a wealthy young widow and her admirer. "The two personalities go head-to-head in a game of masks and posturing until a devastating twist forces them to see each other for who they truly are," said Valdez, a senior musical theater major from Terrell, Texas. Performing in the play are Hannah Saunders, a senior musical theater major from St. Paul; Ryan Lynch, a freshman musical theater major from Bryant; Olivia Witcher, a senior theater arts major from Little Rock; and Stephen Vaughn, a junior theater arts major from Hot Springs.

• "Episode on an Autumn Evening" by Friedrich Durrenmatt, directed by Chris Baggett, is a drama about a bookkeeper and a novelist. "A bookkeeper approaches a novelist, noticing that the 21 murder mysteries the novelist is famed for just happen to coincide with 21 unsolved actual murders," said Baggett, a senior theater arts major from Maumelle.

• "The Room" by Harold Pinter, directed by Stotts, is a drama about characters Rose and Bert. "Rose and Bert live in a one-room apartment, safe from the outside world," said Stotts. "It is up to the audience to figure out what they're hiding from."

• "Elephant's Graveyard" by George Brant, directed by Mattie Alexander, is a drama about a Tennessee circus. "When a street parade ends in tragedy, the people of Erwin will call for the blood of a different kind of killer," said Alexander, a senior theater arts and mass communications double major from Midwest City, Okla.

• "The Actor's Nightmare" by Christopher Durang, directed by Andrew Martin, is a comedy about a young man mistaken to be an actor. "He is forced to perform in a collection of plays alongside historical actors and actresses," said Martin, a senior theater arts major from Hot Springs Village.

• "Words, Words, Words" by David Ives, directed by Nadalie Gill, is a comedy about three monkeys. Gill described the play with the question, "If monkeys typed away into infinity, could they eventually produce Hamlet?"

Email Scott Holsclaw at [email protected] or call 870-245-5561 for more information.

Entertainment on 12/04/2017

Upcoming Events