The next time some Allen Community College Theatre students step on the stage, they’ll do so with more empathy and a better understanding of what it takes to make a production happen.
Four ACC theatre students and a member of the faculty moved into the director’s chair this year for the annual Student-Directed One-Acts. Their debut performances will be offered at 7:30 tonight through Saturday at the ACC Theatre.
Trevor Belt, who directs the theatre department, said he enjoys giving students the chance to experience a different aspect of production. They’ll also learn leadership skills that will be invaluable whatever they do after ACC.
“You need to know about acting to be a director, and vice versa,” Belt said. “And it’s good for them to learn how to be in charge of their peers.”
There are six performances, with Iola’s JieJie Means handling two of them. The final piece is a dance number created and choreographed by Means.
The Perfect Proposal
Director: Lexie Vega, Iola
Albus Huskey of Lincoln and Rachel Shaffer of Moran play the-couple-that-should-have-been.
But they’re just friends.
Huskey’s character is ready to propose to his actual girlfriend, played by the enchanting Means.
Shaffer’s character arrives just in time to stop …. Errr, help, him.
She asks him how he plans to propose, and offers several suggestions to deliver the perfect proposal.
That, of course, leads to hijinks with an assortment of props and carefully timed physical comedy. For example, Shaffer uses a fishing pole and pretends she’s fishing. Huskey is “hooked” and hilariously hops toward her as she reels him in.
At another point, Shaffer literally rips the rug out from under him.
Shaffer and Huskey have an adorable chemistry, which led Vega to cast the pair.
Vega hopes to direct and teach musical theatre after she leaves ACC, so her perspective was a bit different. She also has experience directing the Children’s Summer Theatre Workshop.
She had a vision of what she wanted going into the play.
“I’m giving it to three other brains and they have absolutely different visions,” Vega said.
“It’s completely different but it’s everything I wanted. Each of them brings a little piece of themselves to it, which is my favorite part.”
Lobster Boy
Director: Terri Fahnestock, Iola
If anyone can pull off the subtle intensity required in Lobster Boy, it’s Maxwell Kays of Bonsall, Calif.
Kays enters the theatre and approaches a podium in front of a large white screen. He’s dressed as some sort of professor, and he’s quiet, reserved and serious.
He stands alone in front of the audience, giving a lecture complete with a powerpoint presentation.
What follows is a carefully unfolding story of two brothers, which gets more and more horrifying with each slide.
Kays expertly plays the part with a deliberate and disturbing detachment, with brief glimpses of emotion until a final, painful crescendo.
ACC Communications instructor Terri Fahnestock directed the play. She has a theatre background and wanted to try her hand at something different. 
Matterhorn
Director: Blake Hess, Garnett
In the happiest place on Earth, you’ll find the most unhappy couple in Kraise Baker of Yates Center and Jazmin Havens of Pittsburg.
The story unfolds as they’re waiting in line for the amusement ride the Matterhorn at Disneyland — and arguing the whole time, taking breaks only to yell at their invisible children.
They’re both fed up with their marriage but they don’t want to get divorced, so they’ll have to negotiate.
Havens plays the role with the right touch of irritation and contempt. Baker is more sensible, but also sick of it.
It’s an amusing and relatable tale, which is why director Hess chose it.
“It’s just absurd,” Hess said. “You’re watching this couple come to terms with the state of their marriage while waiting in line for the Matterhorn.”
Hess also liked the chemistry between the actors “but at the same time, they seem like a mismatched couple.”
Hess was pleased with how the performance turned out, considering the setbacks with illnesses and snow days that caused many of the rehearsals to be done via Zoom.
The Incompleteness Theorem
Director: JieJie Means, Iola
Reuniting after a breakup isn’t easy. In fact, it can be downright awkward.
Austin Michaelis of Overbrook and Vega take the stage for a picnic, punctuated by weird silences that quickly make it apparent why they broke up.
Michaelis immediately retreats to his phone, and Vega is frustrated to realize he hasn’t changed. He’s quiet, socially awkward and can’t seem to talk about anything except math.
She finally gets him to open up about his love of math and his personality totally changes. He’s endearingly passionate and excited. She’s cautious but hesitant, clearly hurt. It’s everything she wanted — except not about her.
Means liked that it’s not a typical love story and leaves the audience to make their own interpretations about what happens.
“It’s beautiful how communication can be an artform itself,” Means explains.
Vega and Michaelis bring a lot of themselves into the roles, she said. Michaelis isn’t exactly a math nerd, but he has much in common with his character. Vega’s talent allows her to handle anything that’s thrown at her, Means said.
“I wanted real. They’re real.”
She also learned about leadership.
“It can be tough but also very rewarding to see your piece turned into a story and your vision come to life. It’s what I wanted it to be.”
Off the Map
Director: Rachel Shaffer, Moran
A married couple — Bobby L. Lewis of Iola and Marissa Friend of Garnett — gets lost in Antarctica, consulting a map that turns out to be a metaphor for their relationship. They’re at a crossroads about becoming parents, and they’re trying to get their relationship back on track.
A frustrated Friend exits the stage, and Lewis encounters a friendly local resident dressed to the nines in a penguin suit.
A real penguin suit.
Baker returns with a side-splitting turn as a penguin to help Lewis heat up his marriage.
There’s so much to enjoy. Penguin sex. Giving stones. Regurgitated krill. Belly slapping.
Krais makes being a penguin look delightful and fun.
Shaffer wanted to embrace the absurdity in her play. It’s just fun, she said.
She chose her cast because they are fun to be around, too.
“They’re hard workers and I can tell they also embraced the absurdity of it.”
Learning to direct was a very different experience, she said.
“Acting and directing are different languages. You really have to learn a different language, and be able to translate those thoughts to others. Then, you see it all click.” 
Grief
Creator: choreographer: JieJie Means
When Belt asked Means if she wanted to include an interpretive dance as one of the short-act plays, she didn’t hesitate to accept.
She’s a longtime dancer and choreographer, but she’s never before worked with theatre students who had little to no dance experience.
Havens returns in the lead role, with Vega, Michaelis and Huskey coming on and off the stage to dance with her. Each time one of her dance partners leaves, Havens is heartbroken.
Like her other piece, Means said this story is all about communication. The first story was about how two people communicate with each other. This is about how someone communicates internally.
“I want people to feel the emotion of heartbreak and watch someone go through what we all go through,” Means said. “I had in mind what I wanted, and working with them helped me make it better. I’m very proud of it.”
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