Many college students interested in theater arts can be found in costume and character on stage acting. But four of Monmouth College’s very own have gotten to see the other side of theater as they have been working hard and directing their very own one-act plays. The students invite the campus to come watch their productions on Friday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m., in the WIT theater  in the basement of the Haldeman-Thiessen Science building.

Stacey Field, Andrew McLaren, Rissa Inman and Missy Metz have each been enrolled in a communication and theater arts class that requires them to direct a one-act play of their choice. They each recruited students for their plays, and together have worked very hard to give the campus a great show.

First up for the productions was sophomore Stacey Field’s “Post Its: Notes on a Marriage” (written by Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman), where sophomore Kayt Griffith and senior Tiela Halpin (understudied by junior Becca Busse) take the audience through a life-long marriage as their characters communicate through post-it notes.

Griffith was very enthusiastic and excited about the play, saying, “I have learned a significant amount about character development over the past month of rehearsals, and thanks to my director and co-actor Tiela, I have also learned a lot about connecting with my character’s story- no matter how different from myself that character may be.”

The second play was under junior Andrew McLaren’s direction, and is called “God” (written by Woody Allen). In this play, freshmen Janie Buckley, Jenny Erbes and Trevor Newton, sophomores Tyler Morrow and Mike Diamond and junior Ryan Burns take the audience through a wild and crazy play in which the characters search for the perfect ending to their play.

Sophomore Rissa Inman directs her version of “Sure Thing” (written by David Ives), with sophomore Kate Drost and senior Michael Heaton as her actors. Inman said this of her actors: “They are amazing and have worked so hard! Kate has worked really hard on memorizing her monologue and all the blocking! Mike took over two weeks ago and has done an amazing job! He has memorized lines and blocking so quickly! Both actors have developed characters and made the production amazing! These two have worked extremely hard!” This play deals with many different outcomes and interpretations of a budding relationship. As the actors get to know each other, the audience is taken through a comical ride of different interpretations of how a budding relationship can come about.

But the excitement doesn’t end with Inman’s play because junior Missy Metz rounds out the evening with “The Man Who Turned into a Stick” (written by Kabo Abe). Metz is very excited about the play, and said, “I chose this play because it was something that challenged me as a director. It also is an interesting play with a great message that I wanted to share with Monmouth’s campus.” With sophomore Brian Rowe playing the Man from Hell, freshman Ashley Musser as Woman from Hell, junior Ryan Burns as Hippie Boy, Marsha Clark as Hippie Girl and freshman Jon Snowdon as the Stick, Metz hopes to make a positive impact on the campus while showcasing her young directing skills.

The first night for the plays, Thursday, April 24, turned out to be a huge success. Griffith stated, “If you don’t already have something going--come! I absolutely guarantee that you will laugh, and who couldn’t use a good laugh?”

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