Wooster Department of Theatre and Dance New Works Festival showcases four student-written plays

The College of Wooster’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present a New Works Festival, premiering four new plays written, directed, and produced entirely by college students. The plays will be presented over two weekends, Feb. 23 – 25 and March 1 – 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Shoolroy Theatre, located in the Freedlander Theatre building (329 E. University Street).   

The New Works Festival will include a one-act play, two ten-minute plays, and a staged reading. On Feb. 23, 25, and March 2, students will perform the one-act play, titled Post Op, and a ten-minute play called Together, While Apart. Post Op was written by Co Clark ’25 and directed by Amy Falk ’24. With a cast of all transgender and nonbinary students, Post Op tells the story of teenagers trying to get gender-affirming surgeries amidst anti-trans legislation, while also celebrating the joy that comes with friendship and understanding from fellow members of the LGBTQ community. The show includes actors Li Winner ’27, Theo Johns ’26, Jess Link ’25, and Sam Elwood ’24.   

Together, While Apart was written by Morgan Hunter ’25 and directed by Cam Love ’25. A ten-minute play, this piece follows two characters after experiencing a great loss, and they help each other to get through a difficult period of grief. It includes actors Sydney Chandler ’27 and Anna Whiting ’26.   

On Feb. 24 and March 1 and 3, the festival will include a staged reading of a one-act play titled Permission to Live and a ten-minute play titled To Write a Play. Directed by Patrick Estell ’24 and written by Abigail Rahz ’25, Permission to Live is a period piece set on an 18th-century naval ship and follows the main character as he desperately tries to create a place for himself and forge a new identity on the ship. The show features Chrissa Baldy ’27, Amelia Guianen ’27, Oliver Regan ’27, Doug Slovenkay ’27, and Katie Koeppl ’26.   

The cast of To Write a Play includes Hannah Reinicke ’26, Ada Wagner ’27, Tyler Buchanan ’27, and Sabrina Clinger ’27

To Write a Play, written by Ethan Juhasz ’27 and directed by Shannon Dunning ’27, is a ten-minute play that follows a college student attempting to write a play for a scholarship competition, while also dealing with writer’s block, financial pressures, and the beginnings of a romantic relationship. The play features actors Tyler Buchanan ’27, Sabrina Clinger ’27, Ada Wagner ’27, and Hannah Reinicke ’26.  

Students involved in the production come from a variety of academic backgrounds, with majors including theatre and dance, English, mathematics, geology, and more. For many students, the New Works Festival is their first college-level theatrical production.   

All open to the public, each one-act play will run for approximately 35 minutes, and there will be an intermission between shows on all performance dates. Tickets are free for students at The College of Wooster, $6 for seniors (60 and older), Wooster faculty and staff, and visiting students, and $9 for the general public. The Freedlander Theatre Box Office will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. weekdays beginning Monday, Feb.19, and will be open from 1 p.m. until the start of the show Feb 23-25 and March 1-3.   For more information, or to reserve tickets, contact the box office at 330-263-2241 or visit wooster.edu/tickets.   

Posted in News on February 14, 2024.