Whisks, sausage, drama: Students create plays in 24 hours

Fiona Jones, News Reporter

February 9, 2026

Junior Musical Theatre major Ireland Wolfe (left) and Freshman Theatre major Emory Heckman (right) argue due to past relationship issues during Plays in a Day produced by the WKU Student Chapter of Alpha Psi Omega at the Lab Theatre in Gordon Wilson Hall Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Natasha Gomez)

With only one day to prepare, students produced, wrote, directed and acted in two short plays for WKU’s Plays in a Day event Sunday.

The first play, “Whisk,” followed a man who, alongside his husband, went through his belongings from his deceased mother’s estate, and reminisced on the memories associated with each object. Their conversation culminated in the discussion of an old whisk, evoking the protagonist’s memory of coming out to his mom.

The second play, “I Ordered Sausage and All I Got Were Two People Beating The Shit Out of Each Other. Welcome to Waffle House, Version 1,” depicted two roommates, one of whom cheated with the other’s girlfriend, as they argued over heartbreak, depression and cheap sausage.

Junior Musical Theatre major Ireland Wolfe (right) and Freshman Theatre major Emory Heckman (left) fight over a figure that was left behind by a woman both of them dated during Plays in a Day produced by the WKU Student Chapter of Alpha Psi Omega at the Lab Theatre in Gordon Wilson Hall Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Natasha Gomez)

Chase Beal, a freshman acting major and actor for Plays in a Day, provided a rundown of the 24-hour process. Saturday at noon, the participants gathered and received writing, directing and acting roles.

The writers had seven and a half hours to write their plays before they sent their finished scripts to the directors, who, alongside their actors, held a short rehearsal that night. The next morning, the actors and directors ran through the plays again several times before the performance.

Haley Hart, a senior psychology and acting major and the producer for Plays in a Day, assigned the roles for each play and said she hoped to give participants a “challenge” by providing them with three props to address in the script.

Junior Theatre Ashton (right) goes through belongings of his deceased mother and reminisces while Freshman Musical Theatre major Chase Beal (left) provides comfort during Plays in a Day produced by the WKU Student Chapter of Alpha Psi Omega at the Lab Theatre in Gordon Wilson Hall Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Natasha Gomez)

Despite the lack of time for preparation, other participants in the production described Plays in a Day as a low-stakes event. Lib Boyd, a senior musical theater major and director of “I Ordered Sausage and All I Got Were Two People Beating The Shit Out of Each Other. Welcome to Waffle House, Version 1”, said there isn’t enough time to perfect each performance.

“A lot of it is being okay with small things that are not where I’d like it to be, but it still is a good show, and it’s all in good fun,” Boyd said.

Emory Heckman, a freshman theater major and an actor for Plays in a Day, also emphasized the low stakes of the event.

“It’s really fun because there’s literally zero stakes,” Heckman said. “You can go up there and you can really suck, and nobody cares… They’re proud of you for being brave enough to go up there and do it.”