UCF's student organization Project Spotlight will be showcasing five one act plays April 12-15, 2012 in the University of Central Florida's Black Box Theatre. This semi-annual event gives students the opportunity to produce, act, and direct plays.
The One Act Festival (nicknamed OAF) addresses an educational need for students to take larger roles in the production process, in addition to the work they do with the theatre department.
The short plays and directors are selected by the officers of Project Spotlight. This spring the plays are The Unwanted by Walter Wykes, Road Trip by Melissa Landy, House of the Holy Moment by Cary Pepper, Brutal Imagination by Cornelius Eady, and Stingray by Sam Liguori.
Roger Thatcher, President of Project Spotlight has helped choose many of the shows that OAF has produced. "I have spent about three years now, on stage and off and the experience is different every time. We're really excited about having original pieces by students this semester. That captures the spirit of what OAF is all about."
Two of the plays, Road Trip and Stingray are written by students in the UCF theatre department. Melissa Landy, who wrote Road Trip, also had an original piece in the fall semester One Act Festival.
Sam Liguori is the writer of Stingray and is ready for the experience and feedback about her show. "The thing Stingray has gotten the most praise for is the easefulness of the dialogue used by the characters. The play structure of broken timelines is something I plan on pursuing in future works as well allowing both the abstract and concrete nature of the script to combine together. Stingray can be considered a Theatre for Social Change piece in its elements of dealing with the mentally unstable. I ask the question to the audience 'Does a diagnosis actually make a difference?'"
Musical Theatre senior Angela Damato is directing Stingray. "Directing a student written show was a slightly intimidating experience," says Damato, "since I want to be true to the playwright, but she has allowed me freedom to guide the process and room to grow and make mistakes. It's also a blessing to have her with us, so we can directly ask her questions as opposed to leaving everything up to interpretation. I'm excited to see what she thinks about the final product!"
Project Spotlight's One Act Festival will be held in the Black Box at the University of Central Florida's Theatre at 7pm April 12, 13 and 15. There will also be a matinee on Sunday, April 15 at 2pm. Admission is free and open to the public. More information about Project Spotlight and the One Act Festival can be found on Facebook.
