This year’s Student Directed One Act Play Festival (SDOAP) brought together a mix of original productions and adaptations of existing ones, highlighting student talent through stories that ran from scary to heartfelt to funny, with multiple directors, actors and writers contributing. It reflects both creativity and the fun environment of theatre.
Among the featured shows is Skye’s the Limit, directed by senior Blaise Barbier, a dark sci-fi drama about a young scientist, whose invention of teleportation leads to consequences which causes him to spiral into paranoia. In contrast, The Very Entertaining and Mostly True Stories of Mr. Handsome, Mr. Wonderful, Bamboo Robert Gandy III, or Bubba or also known as VEMTS, directed by senior Hudson Kerr, offers a heartfelt and comedic look at family memories and growing up as a teen prepares to leave for college.
One of the productions, Going Shopping, directed by senior Chloe Walker takes place in an abandoned mall where two sisters become separated and encounter mysterious ghosts tied to the place.
“The idea came from her fascination with “liminal spaces” [those strange in-between environments that feel both familiar and unsettling]”. Walker said. “I really like the idea of people just having to walk around in this space and I’ve always loved ghosts as a storytelling tool”.
While the setting may feel surreal, Walker emphasized that the story is grounded in something real.
“It’s really easy to feel disconnected.” Walker said “but connection doesn’t come from the world around us. It comes from the people we share it with.”
She also highlighted how the rehearsal process deepened the work.
“Nothing gets made if you don’t trust a crazy idea first,” Walker said, reflecting on the challenges of writing and directing.
The collaboration was especially evident during rehearsals. Actor freshman Lennon Cantrell described a flexible process where scenes were blocked based on who was available rather than on chronological order.
“We would block each scene not in order just whatever was convenient” Cantrell said. “Once all the scenes were staged, the cast ran the full show and focused on improving difficult transitions, and refining moments that needed attention.”
In addition to the main productions, the festival opens with two shorter student director pieces: On the Porch One Crisp Spring Morning, directed by senior Sherman Horne; and The Big Matzo Ball directed by senior Noah Sanders. These provide the students even more chance to explore directing and storytelling. It also provided a wonderful opener.
For the students involved, SDOAP represents more than just performance: it’s a shared experience through long rehearsals, experimentation and trust in one another; they have built something entirely their own. The goal is not just to entertain, but also to create something meaningful.
