The WKU Department of Theatre & Dance will host the “Studio Series,” three student directed, one act plays, on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 in the lab theatre of Gordon Wilson Hall. 

David Young, theatre & dance department chair, said while the three playwrights of the productions are not WKU students, all three directors are senior theatre majors. 

Aly Ebiel is directing “Week Daze” by Hillary DePiano, which she describes as portraying the weekly routine of an individual, with all five days of the week played by five different actors simultaneously. 

Ebiel said that the main character goes through the experience of “living a little,” but overdoes it, something she notes that some college students have probably experienced.

“It follows a fun story about living your life to the fullest, but also in the way you want to and enjoy it,” Ebiel said.

Directors chosen for the “Studio Series” submitted a play proposal in November, followed by auditions the first week of the semester with the groups rehearsing since, Ebiel said. 

“We are given a lot of creative liberty which has been a challenge, but a great learning experience,” Ebiel said. 

“Annnd Scene (of the Crime)” by John Busser is being directed by Katie Hurst, with the play focusing on a man being interrogated for a crime. The two detectives interrogating the man find some interesting ways to get the answers they are looking for, Hurst said. 

“The ‘Studio Series’ as a whole is a way for the Department of Theatre & Dance to give students interested in directing the opportunity to direct a show all on their own,” Hurst said. “It also gives students interested in design an opportunity to explore that area and design certain aspects of the shows.”

All three performances include various stage managers, student sound designers, student costume designers and student set designers, along with all of the actors being WKU students, Hurst said. 

The third show of the series is “In Time” by Ruby Gray and is being directed by Hailey Robertson. Robertson describes the play as focusing on a queer love story that is split between two time periods, 1868 and 2021.

“These two different eras come together in this timeless story of finding yourself and finding what it means to love, and to be able to love,” Robertson said.

Robertson said she has been working on her concept for the show since the fall semester, putting a lot of work into it. Tech rehearsals start Monday, which are longer and more frequent than normal rehearsals, focusing on incorporating all technical elements of the show, Robertson said. 

Performances of the “Studio Series” are Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $8 and available on the WKU fine arts box office website.

News reporter Molly Dobberstein can be reached at [email protected].