ACC students run the show

Students will run the show at the Allen Community College Theatre next week. The student-directed one-acts are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4-6 at the Allen College Theatre. Six students are directing their peers in plays they selected.

This is the third time Debra Francis has directed a play. She wasn’t planning on doing a show this year but theater director Tony Piazza had different plans.
“I saw this play and suggested it. Tony loved it and wanted me to direct it,” Francis said.
Her selection is a piece called “Grace.” A man is trying to commit suicide and a good angel and bad angel show up before he does. The catch is that both angels are in love with the man.
Francis said the play is a drama and cast members work well together.
“If you have a good cast it makes it easier to direct,” she said.

Lauren Perez-Engel is directing a comedy farce that fits in with the holiday season, “Rollin’ in Dough in Mistletoe.”
“I like Christmas, “Perez-Engel said. “I had two choices and this seemed to be upbeat.”
The play is about an evil money lord taking over a toy shop and a Christmas tree farm. To stop him, the characters must find golden rings to pay him off.
Perez-Engel is a Lawrence nursing major on a theater scholarship. This is her first time to direct a play.
“I wanted to try it out,” she said. “I like acting and I got a taste of stage manager before.”
Her play has seven actors and she said it has been a good challenge.
“It’s sometimes hard to keep everyone focused but it’s going well,” she said.

Jordan Garcia is directing his own original play, “In My Life.” The production is about a group of friends transitioning into different parts of their lives. They are growing up and changing. Garcia said he’s never written a play before.
“This play is 95 percent of personal experience,” he said. “I wanted to do something personal for me and relatable to everyone else.”
Acting has been a big part of Garcia’s life. Directing a play expanded the experience.
“They both have unique challenges,” Garcia said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it but it’s a way to release creativity. It’s hard but a lot more fulfilling than I thought it would be.”
Garcia is planning to continue his education in secondary education at Emporia State University. He said he would like to come back to the area and teach English and direct plays.

Carley Nelson is making her directing debut with “The Wedding Story.” It’s about a storyteller talking about a couple and their wedding, but get the facts all wrong. The couple steps off the top of their wedding cake to set the facts straight.
“The story is about these perfect expectations that no one can live up to,” Nelson said.
Nelson is a theater major and hopes to continue her education at Emporia State University.
“Directing is harder than acting because I’m telling kids my age what to do and how to act,” she said. “It’s a little awkward but I like the experience.”

Colton Schubert will direct a play by a local playwright, Nic Olson. The play “While You’re Waiting,” is about a waitress who encounters a strange man in her upscale restaurant.
The play has a bit of a flirty twist in it.
Schubert is an Iola High graduate and wants to go to Emporia State to study theater. He said he would like to teach English and drama. Directing has been a new challenge for him.
“It’s a little different directing your peers that you’re in class with,” he said. “But lots of drama teachers coach kids on acting. As a student I get free reign and I get feedback from Mr. Piazza if I need it.”

Heather Kropf is directing “Second Beam.” The play is about a couple of girls waiting for an audition for a movie. Kropf said the play is a drama and has five actors.
She helped assistant direct a play in high school but this is her first time taking on full directing duties.
“I didn’t know what to do with my actors until I got them on the stage,” she said.
Kropf is looking at three different colleges to continue her education in theater.