Finals week is fast approaching for Iowa State, which is often accompanied by tests, anxiety and lots of stress as students scramble to tie up loose ends before leaving Ames for the summer. Amidst the end-of-the-year chaos, an unexpected sight comes in the form of a group of student actors, directors and spectators gathering in the M-shop of the Memorial Union to take a break from their stressors and showcase the 30-minute plays they have been working on for the past semester.

Iowa State’s One-Act Play Festival is the final project for Theatre 456 students, otherwise known as directing II. This two-semester course starts with directing I in the fall where students get the chance to direct a 10-minute play, and concludes with directing II in the spring.

Zara Chowdhary, an graduate student in English, says the second semester of this course gives the student directors the chance to delve deeper into their skills.

“A one act play is essentially somewhere in the area of 30 to 40 minutes and so each of us gets to try out our directing chops and work with a bigger cast and a slightly more complex narrative,” Chowdhary said. “It’s just more space and a bigger canvas for us to try out direction and play with bigger stories.”

Chowdhary also says she appreciates how the class allows the chance to explore different styles of plays and different directing concepts.

“The direction class is essentially for us to sort of put together a director’s toolbox and kind of figure what are the different ways we’ll approach different kinds and different forms of plays,” Chowdhary said.

Aside from the fact that this class gives students the opportunity to advance their directing expertise, many students cite the open and collaborative environment of the class as their favorite part of the festival.

Alyson O’Hara, a junior in graphic design, decided to get involved in theatre during her freshman year and thought that directing would be a fun new challenge.

“I auditioned for a play my first year at Iowa State as a way to kind of meet people,” O’Hara said. “I’ve always been really interested in theatre… and ever since I did that play I’ve been really involved in the theatre community here. I’ve taken some acting classes in the past and I felt like directing just was going to be a fun challenge and something that would teach me about acting as well.”

O’Hara says the talent that her fellow students display is something that surprises her each and every day.

“It’s really cool and so humbling to get to create something with my fellow students because I’ve definitely learned a lot from the process and hopefully they’ve learned something from me too,” O’Hara said. “I love getting to see what my friends have created and I think that it’s almost surprising to see how much talent there is especially because we’re all so young and new to directing.”

Lena Frank, senior in food science, is also a directing II student and agrees that putting on a festival that is completely student run is something she is proud to be a part of.

“Something really interesting about the One-Act Play Festival is that yes, it’s for a class but it’s all student run,” Frank said. “I have student actors and I don’t really have a creative team so together as a group [the directing II students] are all the costume designers and we have to figure out lighting and what we need for props. It’s a very collaborative process and it’s so different from any structured show.”

Frank also says that though she is not a theatre major, the department does an incredible job of welcoming everyone and encouraging non-majors to take the class.

“Something that’s good to know is that I’m a food science major, I’m not even in the theatre department, and I think that One-Act Play Festival is really good about including all different skill levels,” Frank said. “That’s the exciting thing about festival because right now everyone in my show is not a theatre major at all. It gives us the opportunity to keep exploring our excitement for theatre and to tell our stories and share whatever we need to say about the world.”

Directing II and the One-Act Play Festival gives students of all skill levels and backgrounds the chance to have their artistic visions come to life during finals week and offers a theatrical break during an otherwise hectic finals week.