STERLING — It’s an end of the academic year tradition at Sterling College: the One-Act plays. At 7 p.m. this Saturday, May 8, in Culbertson Auditorium, Sterling theatergoers will have the chance to see five different one-acts ranging from dramatic and emotional to highly comic and absurd, all directed by students in the Directing Class.
Sterling College student Micah Bachert will direct “Clowns With Guns” by Chris Evans. This unusual script takes a theatrical and absurd look at the repeated and seemingly endless cycle of school violence in the United States.
“When Shakespeare’s Ladies Meet” by Charles George is just what the title suggests. Six of Shakespeare’s heroines get together to discuss the universal topic of love. It is being directed by Brayden Jackson.
Nick Amezola is directing a one-act entitled “The Katrina Project.” It is described as an emotional journey into the hearts and souls of Hurricane Katrina’s survivors and is based on actual interviews, collected stories, and found texts, providing a voice for the greatest natural disaster in our country’s recorded history.
A pure out comedy is on slate with the one-act “Throwing Smoke” by Keith Reddin which is being directed by student Dylan Werth. This play deals with the tragicomic problems of a minor league baseball coach whose team is so dispirited by the opposing pitcher (who is “throwing smoke”) that they have all defected.
Finally, in “The Enigma Variations” by David Ives zany hijinks ensue as a pair of lookalikes named Bebe W.W. Doppel-gängler solve an identity crisis with the help of Dr. William W. Williams and his nurse Fifi. The one-act is being directed by Matt Eilts.
Sterling College theater faculty member Sasha Hildebrand who teaches the Directing class said, “The One-Acts always bring out some of our veteran theater students but also several students who have never been on our stage – or perhaps any stage before. It’s always exciting to see new faces.”
The One-Acts will be offered without charge for admission. Masks and social distancing will be encouraged.
