The annual Marcia Legere Student Play Festival kicks off tonight at 7:30 PM as three one-act student plays take the stage in Memorial Union's Fredric March Play Circle.
The productions star student actors with a wide range of theatrical experience. The plays are written and directed by UW-Madison students as well, giving students on campus the opportunity to showcase their creative talents in various aspects of theatrical production.
J.E. Troge's \Reclamation"" features three night janitors faced with a group of protestors. ""Elevated,"" written by Jeff Landow, involves a man and woman who find themselves trapped in an apartment building elevator. David Bauer's ""The Sy Cole Ward"" relates the comical story of several patients in the Sy Cole mental hospital.
The three plays were chosen from 20 student scripts submitted to the Wisconsin Union Directorate Student Performance Committee.
The Student Play Festival began in 1992 when Todd Bachman organized the event to provide alternative theater venues for UW students. In 1998, the festival started receiving funding from Marcia Legere Binns, a student playwright at the university in the 1940s.
The rehearsal process for the festival was tight, starting in early February. According to ""Sy Cole Ward"" director Caitlin Docherty, finding times when all cast members would be available proved challenging.
""I knew to expect scheduling conflicts,"" Docherty said, ""but last week I realized, 'All the cast is here. This hasn't happened before.' It's gotten better as we went on.""
Despite the fast-paced production schedule, rehearsals maintained an easy-going, relaxed atmosphere since all involved were students, according to actor Johnson Lo. ""It's different than a University production. ... I can meet many friends and learn from them. It's close. It's not as disciplined, but we're friendly with one another.""
As fellow festival actor Ray Ready pointed out, that relaxed atmosphere also allowed collaborative efforts to improve the shows. ""We had enough time to improvise a lot, and our director was really open to our input. It was a flexible experience.""
Student Play Festival
Where: Fredric March Play Circle, Memorial Union
When: March 8 and 9, 7:30 PM
How much: Free
