University actors and actresses are preparing for a five-play season of entirely student-produced performances at the Pocket Playhouse winter term. Pocket Playhouse Co-chairman Greg Heaton said the upcoming season is “the most diverse and the most supported” the department has had in years.
“Each show is going to have an enormous amount of effort put into it, and you’ll see that on stage,” he said.
The lineup of plays for this year includes “Down the Road” during week four, written by Lee Blessing and directed by Derek Johnson; “Modern Dance for Beginners” in week five, written by Sarah Hughes and directed by Margie Kent; “Seven Pieces of Hope” in week six, directed by Eric Dodson; “Ghost Sonata” in week eight, written by August Strindberg and directed by Mike Miranda; and “India Burn” in week nine, devised by Jana Schmeiding.
In “Seven Pieces of Hope,” Dodson will present seven monologues from different literary works.
“(Dodson) is a big reader and he took pieces from novels he liked, so it was a semi-scripted process for him,” Heaton said.
Heaton said “India Burn” will be a one-woman show for Schmeiding, who is starring in, directing and arranging music for her show. He described “Ghost Sonata” as a “semi-surreal take on reality.”
The season will end with the “One-Page Play Festival,” an event conceived by Heaton that involves casual presentations of scripts that are one page in length or shorter.
“It’s purpose is to inspire wackiness and instantaneous creativity,” Heaton said.
All shows will take place in the Pocket Playhouse in Villard Hall Room 102 at 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the performance week, with the exception of “Ghost Sonata,” which will not be performed Friday. Tickets are free with a suggested $1 donation.

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