On Monday, April 10, and Wednesday, April 12, five students at Waynesburg University will be putting their directing skills on display at the Goodwin Performing Arts Center with five separate one-act plays. The performances, which will be graded as part of a “Directing for the Stage” course taught by Edward Powers, are scheduled to run from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

Seniors Emily Mielcarek and Brittany McGary, junior Michelle Frye, sophomore Megan Cook and freshman Tre’ Thomas are the directors.

The series will kick off at 8 p.m. on Monday with Mielcarek’s play, called “Scuba Lessons,” which is about two best friends who both get set up on individual blind dates. The cast consists of freshmen Holly Hendershot and Mikayla Haggerty, sophomore Elizabeth Nicodemus and seniors Michael Merten and Zack Ziegler.

For Mielcarek, an international studies major, one of the perks of directing is being able to express herself from a whole new angle.

“I love being able to use my creative expression on the other side of the stage,” said Mielcarek. “I’m so used to being on stage or being backstage helping with sets and things like that. It’s really nice to play a different role, and the creativity is a big reason.”

Following that will be Tre Thomas, the only freshman of the five directors, who will be directing

“Amicable Parting”, which goes through the relationship of a couple that is going through a divorce. The play will star sophomore Josh Sneeringer and graduate student Emily Haywood. Thomas, a pre-law and history major, said that he chose “Amicable Parting” because it had a small cast.

“It was an environment where I could get more intimate with my actors, and we could figure out different ways to do stuff, and it would be more of a collaborative effort, which is how I like to direct,” said Thomas. “I like it to be my ideas, but also a collaborative work with my actors.”

The series will continue at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, with Frye directing “Waiting for Death,” detailing a party that is crashed by the Grim Reaper. Frye’s production will feature juniors Haleigh McKee, Sara Lesher, Matt Colaluca, Cara Paraska and Ronnie Loebker; sophomore Rachel Crosbie and Ziegler.

Although Frye has been involved with theatre since she was five years old, this is the first time she has ever directed.

“I absolutely love [directing],” said Frye, an advertising and public relations major. “I’ve always kind of wanted to know what it was like to be a director, and it’s just really enjoyable that what I have in my head is actually getting shown on the stage.”

Following Frye’s play will be “Check, Please,” by sophomore Megan Cook, which is about two people who are on blind dates. This play will star Merten; sophomores Sadie Breon, with sophomores Melanie Kauffman and Christian Wilson; junior Shawn White and freshman Allyson Barker combining to portray 12 different supporting roles.

The series will conclude with Brittany McGary directing “Variations of the Death of Trotsky,” which details the death of Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

McGary, an electronic media major, said she had never been a part of theatre before and is enjoying what is a new experience for her.

“I’ve just really enjoyed being a part of everything and getting to know everyone a little bit better, and just being involved,” said McGary.

The cast of this performance will consist of Loebker, senior Amber Lambing, and Wilson.

Some challenges come with the responsibility of directing, especially for students who are inexperienced in the field. For Cook, one of those challenges is working with her peers.

“They kind of see you as equal [to them], rather than the leadership role of the director,” said Cook, an electronic media major who minors in film studies and theatre. “But, overall, [directing] has been a pretty good experience.”

To decide the casts in the performances, auditions were held and each play will last around 25 minutes.

For Powers, professor of theatre, the fact that the one-acts are mainly student-led is what draws the audience in.

“They’re here to see students work,” said Powers. “Here’s an opportunity to see students in a directing capacity. We’ve always seen the student on-stage as an actor, or backstage with some of the technical crews, but now, they’re in charge. They’re having to look at theatre from the perspective that I look at theatre. They’re needing to not only worry about one character in the play, and interpret the script for one character, they’ve got to interpret the script for all of the characters, just as I have to.”

Another faculty member who is involved with the one acts is Dr. Xela Batchelder, chairperson of the fine arts department- assistant professor of arts administration. Batchelder is appreciative of the hands-on experience that students are getting from being able to direct.

“I just really like our students to actually do what they’re learning,” said Batchelder. “You could have a directing class and not actually produce anything in front of people, and a lot of directing classes at other universities are run that way. So I really like that our directing class actually has a public performance at the end of the class to get that interaction and feel what it’s like to have a the pressure of having a real live audience, because it’s a whole different thing to do it for class than to do it for a live audience.”