Playwrights to present original one acts

Northwestern College students will present 13 new plays during the 19th annual World Premiere Festival March 21 and 22. Performances begin at 6 p.m. each night in the Allen Theatre of the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center. Community members are invited to attend the free event, and to come and go between plays.

The plays, which are between 10 and 20 minutes in length, were written last semester by students in Professor Jeff Barker’s playwriting class.

“Growing Up, Growing Out,” by Emily Wohlers, ponders the life changes brought about by an unplanned pregnancy. The play will be directed by Jana Latchaw.

Tyler Gleason will direct Brianne Hassman’s play “Minor Third Hero,” about how even heroes sometimes make mistakes.

“Clarence and Terrence,” written by Gleason and directed by Seth Herning, is set at a dinner party in which all the guests are concerned only with their own interests.

Jacob Christiansen wrote “Callidora,” about love, lust and mischief. Sam Shaffer will direct.

“Messes” is a chaotic drama involving cereal, a baby, Twitter and a missing pair of pants. The play was written by Megan Weidner; Amber Beyer will direct.

Christa Curl will direct “The Participants” by Lisa Haldeman. The drama follows two strangers caught in a never-ending psychology experiment.

“The Time that Past,” by Katherine Eick, is about making up for lost time and will be directed by Ben Bosch.

Beyer’s “Up in the Sky” is about the inadequacy of Band-Aids and the journey toward recovery. The play will be directed by Julia VanDyk.

“Sunshine Café,” by Megan Vipond, explores the challenges of expressing love. It will be directed by Katie Shepard.

Hassman will direct Amber Gritter’s drama “Letters From the War,” about the courage of those on the homefront.

“Burying the Unfortunate,” written by Sheric Hull and directed by Christiansen, is about the dangers of getting in too deep with the wrong crowd.

Latchaw wrote “Everything’s Great,” about awkward moments at a five-year high school class reunion. Kaleigh Schildhouse will direct.

“When it Breaks” exposes the people between the lines. The play was written by Rowan Sullivan; Keely Wright will direct.

For approximate start times of the world premiere one-acts, contact Jennifer Sabo, DeWitt Theatre Arts Center manager, 712-707-7341 or jennifer.sabo@nwciowa.edu.