I was very fortunate recently to see the One Acts. The One Acts are a pair of student-directed plays. They are both, as the name would imply, one act long, and as such, are very short. This challenges the actors and stage-workers to convey a meaningful performance in a relatively small amount of time. A challenge which they accomplished very well.
The first play, “The Leaning Tower of Pisa,” was a very sentimental story about a chance encounter at a train station which leads to discussion of coming and going, both physically and mentally. The set, costume and lighting all helped immerse the audience into the play. The second play, “Time Flies,” followed two mayflies who realize they only have 24 hours to live. Panic ensues. This play used sound effects to alert the audience to the urgency of the characters’ dwindling time. Both plays were comedies, and both drew huge laughs from the audience.
CNU Theater enables students to handle the responsibility of directing. It ended up being a huge success. At Christopher Newport, the academic departments are all very excited to try new things and give the students weighty responsibilities. Students learn to be leaders in their own right, which is very important when seeking a degree. Factual smarts are great, but when paired with real-world experience, the possibilities are endless.
