David Wise | Daily Staff Writer

The 13 plays due to be performed at the One Act Play Festival are a little different from the other theater performances here at Iowa State: these directors will be graded.

On May 6 and 7 at the Maintenance Shop, ISU theater students enrolled in the class Directing II will be directing their own plays for their final. Anna Krieger, junior in performing arts, will be directing “Heights,” and said she considers it a little more challenging than what she had to do earlier this semester.

“From directing a 10-minute [play] to this, I knew it was going to be a lot more,” Krieger said. “I knew it was going to be a lot harder because there is an extra 20 pages in this play. But I am working with really good actors, and they’re picking it up real fast — but it’s still scary.”

In addition to directing, the students also got to pick their own performers. Auditions started in early March and brought in 87 people for tryouts.

Brad Pingel, senior in microbiology and directing “Small World,” said they weren’t necessarily looking for great actors — just individuals who had a lot of energy and people the directors could mold into what they want in their plays.

“In my play, I didn’t pick very experienced actors, because it didn’t require a lot of intense technical acting,” Pingel said. “It’s not really about experience or about talent, [but] what do we feel our play needs.”

The casting of actors took place in Beardshear Hall. All of the directors sat in one room while interested participants came in and read sections of the scripts with a random partner provided by the students casting the auditions. Each actor then waited to be chosen.

Additionally, Pingel said that every now and then there will be two directors who want the same actor. To eliminate this problem or other conflicts, they picked multiple actors for the same roles.

He also said that the auditions are like baseball, because they have been known to make bargains by trading actors for ones they want more in their plays. However, directors try to keep things as friendly as possible, Pingel said.

Many actors came in with varying experiences.

Colin Morgan, junior in music and performing in “Lonestar”, said he grew up around theater and has been performing since he was little. He said his parents met in a community theater, and when he was about six, he and the rest of his family all started to perform in theater together. Morgan has acted in school and community theater performances ever since.

Heather Smith, freshman in performing arts and performing in “Heights,” has also been acting for quite a few years. She said she got into acting in middle school and has already done two major plays here at Iowa State. After waiting to hear from the directors, Smith expressed her joy at getting the part.

“I was really happy,” she said. “There’s a point in between the auditions and when they send out the cast lists that it’s like, ‘Oh, God. Did I get something? I hope I got something.’ So I was really happy to hear I got the part.”

Getting ready for the play festival has had many of the groups quite busy. Most of the performers rehearse about 8-10 hours a week and some are doing a little more to fulfill their roles.

Samantha Rieff, sophomore in performing arts, is playing the role of Abigail in “Finding the Sun.” She said “Finding the Sun” takes place on a beach and she will be performing in a bathing suit. In preparation for her upcoming performance, Rieff has been hitting the gym and staying out in the sun longer.