Three plays directed by students, “This is a Test,” “The Whole Shebang,” and “The Quiet Place,” will be part of the “Student One-Act Plays Festival,” taking place at El Camino’s Campus Theatre.
Before being able to direct these plays during the fall semester, students went through a process that started in the spring semester.
According to the official website of the festival, students took a directing class in which they read various plays.
After an intensive process, which included being handpicked by Ronald Scarlata, theatre professor and adviser, a production committee selected a lineup of potential one-act plays and talented directors.
“After interviewing six students, and reading 12 plays, we picked three of the plays we see have most potential,” Scarlata said.
After reading various plays, students ultimately had to decide between two of them.
For Maya Hardison, her choice was easy when deciding between a comedy and a drama.
Hardison ultimately chose to direct a comedy, “This is a Test,” written by Stephen Gregg, which is about a student named Alan who gets an anxiety attack when he is faced with a test during school, and he feels like if he doesn’t pass this test he won’t have a future.
“What makes this story so great is that it’s relatable to anyone. I’m pretty sure everyone has had an anxiety attack at least once in their life,” Maya Hardison, art major, said.
In this story the audience will get to see the kind of pressure high school teachers put on students and why many students feel like failures when they don’t pass something as simple as an exam, Hardison added.
Just like Hardison, William Boschelli and Blaise Avey had to go through the same process.
“The Quiet Place,” directed by Boschelli, is a story similar to Hardison’s in the sense that it shows the pressure teenagers go through, but it does so in a different way — Boschelli’s story is more about drugs and teenage peer pressure.
In Boschelli’s story, the setting is a cemetery and it starts off with the play’s protagonist, Sheila, overlooking it. While she is sitting there, thinking about her boyfriend Danny, his brother appears to make all the arrangements for the funeral.
Through this tragic incident, the audience will see Sheila’s struggle to tell the truth. She is pressured, by Danny’s former gang, to conceal evidence from the police, as they try to solve his death, which was caused by consuming drugs and alcohol, according to the Center for the Arts’ website.
On a whole other spectrum, is “The Whole Shebang,” directed by Avey, 20, which is significantly distinguishable from Hardison’s and Boschelli’s ideas.
“The Whole Shebang,” is a story with an interesting perspective about the universe we live in, according to the Center for the Arts’ official website. The play asks one simple question: “What if the entire universe was just some nerd’s science project?”
During this story, the main character is striving to get his “Master of the Universe” degree by presenting a thesis on the creation of the heavens and the earth. He presents his thesis to a panel that includes two professors and a dean interrogate.
“The audience can expect to learn the value of human free will and how we are special,” Avey said.
Besides the three plays, there was going to be an improve session directed by Rita Chavdarian, but it had to be cancelled due to a family emergency, Scarlata and Chavdarian said.
All three plays will be shown on the days of Oct. 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. at the Campus Theatre. Tickets are on sale for $10, but students with the ASB Sticker can get their ticket at half price, if they purchase tickets 30 minutes before show starts.
For more information visit EC’s Ticket Office or call (310) 329-5345.
Last updated: Oct. 4
