Written By: Luci Fischer
If you enjoy theater in short reel-like spurts, UNW Theatre’s One Act Festival is for you! The festival contains 13 10-minute plays that are student directed. The students directing plays are Alaina Posavad, Carter Lambert, Finley Gustafson, Joshua Fisher, Joylee Christensen, Katie Simon, Kaylee Selin, Krister Kahl, Kylie Schumacher, Olivia Lundberg, Savannah Hunter, Simon Luckow, and Will Gaspar. These plays are combined into one show that will perform May 7-10 and tickets can be purchased at unwtickets.com.
Alaina Posavad’s play, “A Stitch Here or There,” is about a sock that is thriving in its natural habitat, the sock drawer, until its pair is taken away resulting in its world being turned upside down. The sock then has to learn how to live without its other half and how to deal with that grief in a world of complete sock pairs.
Carter Lambert’s play titled “What’s in the Box?” explores curiosity and how far one will go to satisfy their curiosity, always considering the saying, “curiosity killed the cat.”
Finley Gustafson’s play, “Some Assembly Required,” stems from the frustrations we’ve all felt putting together IKEA furniture. However, this piece of furniture is not like any IKEA furniture you’ve ever bought; this dresser comes with an intention of its own.
Joshua Fisher’s play, “Stop Rain,” shows a struggle between a birth mother and adoptive mother as the adoptive mother tries to protect her son from the screw-ups and chaotic life of the birth mother.
Joylee Christensen’s play, “Job Interview,” displays a narrative of a mother and teen facing an interesting interview at Build-A-Bear Workshop where they face unusual challenges, displaying the pressures of securing a job and mocking the extremes of corporate culture.
Katie Simon’s play, “Midnight Bandits,” follows a trio of art thieves that planned for everything…except a roommate dispute.
Kaylee Selin’s play, “A Great Looking Boat,” shows the story of a girl who takes over the task of reading The Odyssey to the blind Mr. Caragianis when her friend bails on the commitment. Through this she realizes how little she herself can actually see.
Krister Kahl’s play, “Last Cookie,” depicts the struggles that two roommates go through when the unfortunate incident occurs of there being only one cookie left.
Kylie Schumacher’s play, “The Same Thing,” tells the story of a man and a woman discovering if they are each other’s perfect match by unraveling their fate.
Olivia Lundberg’s play, “Superhero,” is about a girl that has been ignored, insulted, and discarded all of her life until through her friendship with her superhero neighbor, she finds her inner superhero.
Savannah Hunter’s play, “On the Porch one Crisp Spring Morning,” depicts the story of a mother and daughter who sit calmly on the porch one crisp spring morning…and then try to kill each other.
Simon Luckow’s play, “I Can’t Think of it Right Now,” follows Marsha and John, who have seen many movies, as they scramble to try and figure out the title of the one Marsha is thinking of.
Will Gaspar’s play, “Worst Date,” shows a couple, Nick and Emily, on a very carefully planned date that goes horribly wrong due to unexpected events while Nick tries to display the sweet intentions behind the ill-advised plans.
Michael Kysylyczyn (Communication Studies, ‘26), who is in “Assembly Required,” says,
“These One-Acts are such a great opportunity for theater majors and non-theater majors alike to hop into the spotlight. Directed by Northwestern theater majors, all of the productions are undoubtedly going to have a humorous, delightful charm. I can’t wait to get started with my own production and see what my friends are working on!”
Auditions took place Saturday, March 30 and the casts are now in the preparation stage. The show will be performed in the Black Box Patsy Miller Studio, which has limited seating, so get your tickets soon!
