Wesleyan students and faculty perform one-acts

On Thursday, April 3, Wesleyan students and faculty performed A Night of One Acts, composed of four unique one-act plays, three of which were student-directed.

First Oz, directed by Allison Reding ‘25, was a wacky comedy with a weighty message which borrows iconic characters and themes from The Wizard of Oz as Beth (aka Dorothy) goes on an inward journey to reckon with her sister’s death. As she travels through her subconscious, which mirrors the beloved Oz, her encounters with the quirky bunch of Ozians shed new light on her circumstances and provide the closure she needs.

Riverview, Tape 23, directed by Norah Mukana ‘25, starred just three actors to capture the complex relationship between Kathy, a reporter, and Lydia, a witty old woman in a retirement home. Kathy tries to get to the bottom of Lydia’s life story as she spins a web of clearly fabricated tales, a winding conversation that eventually brings them both to find unexpected common ground.

The Soup Show was an original sketch comedy written and directed by Ellie Simmons ’25, framed as a live taping of “The Daily Soup.". We witness a gender reveal party gone horribly wrong, then an overly-intense math club meeting, and a “boys’ night” which ends with an alien invasion and the arrest of one of the show’s hosts.

Lastly, Check Please was a comedy directed by Caroline Mitchell '15, high school theater director, which featured an all-faculty cast. The show bounces between a series of bad first dates for an unlucky bachelor, played by Brooks Hanrahan, high school English teacher, and an equally unlucky bachelorette, played by Melissa Thorson, executive assistant to the head of school. Some bad date encounters include an overzealous football fan, a kleptomaniac, a man wearing a burlap sack, and a mime who can’t leave her work at home.

“Participating in this show was some of the most fun I’ve had here at Wesleyan! Even playing such a tiny role, I have a newfound respect for our student actors and the immense hard work they put into each production. I’m grateful Caroline asked me to be in Check Please, and that I got to share that experience with so many amazing faculty members," shares Abby Hooper, fine arts administrative assistant.