There are a variety of new single scene plays that premiering at the University. These plays are all written and directed by UW students.

The Original One-Act Play Festival happening Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday Sept. 14 has six student-written plays.

Saturday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. will be the first set with “Idiot’s Guide”, “Mulch”, and “Dead in the Kitchen”. Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8:30p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 14 will be the second set of plays with “Suburban Gay”, “Body of an American”, and “God Is Bipolar”.

“This has been happening every two years for the last 15 years,” says William Missouri Downs director of “Mulch” and “Idiot’s Guide”, and instructor in the theater department.

Ticket sales are going fast according to Downs. “There are only a few seats left. If students can’t get tickets though some seats will be released right before the curtain.”

Each is an original performance dealing with topics from disastrous dates to living dual lives.

“I want to see humor. I think controversial issues are always interesting too. The fresh [student] perspective and more creative aspects will be good too,” said Zach Tolman, music education major.

“You get to see it before anyone else ever does. A student written play is a new play on its feet for an audience for the very first time,” said Downs. “It is the festival of the unexpected.”

“This idea has been in my head for six years and I started working on it last year. It’s been a year long commitment,” said Cruz.

The first of these plays is “Idiots Guide” by Randy Million this first piece examines what happens when two lovers depend on self-help books to guide them through a romantic experience. The second piece in the first session is “Mulch” by Tyler Fall. It chronicles two yuppies as they spend a horror-filled afternoon with their neighbors.

The second session begins with the play “Suburban Gay” by Amy Hollon, a story of a gay man trying to set himself straight. The final play “Dead In the Kitchen” by Jaime Cruz is a story about two brothers who are hiding secrets from one another that could cost them their lives.

 “I wrote ‘Dead in the Kitchen’. It’s a story about two brothers who are keeping secrets from each other and it ultimately bites them in the rear,” said Cruz, senior in the theater department with an emphasis in playwriting. “I’m hoping that students will have a good time. We as students can still create good theater and entertain. I’m hoping people leave with good stories and entertainment. I just want to tell stories,”

“Body of an American” by Drew Lyness chronicles the lives of patrons in an Irish pub in New York City one year after the September 11 tragedy. The third and final piece is “God is Bipolar” by Amy Hollon, a story about a man who has two wives, one of whom is in a mental institution and the other who lives in town, and his struggle to keep them from finding out about each other.

“Great success have come from the playwrights in the last few years,” said Downs. “Playwriting students have become professors of playwriting, producers for HBO, working in Hollywood and having plays produced across the country, and gone on to some of the greatest playwriting programs in the country.”

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