Press Room
SUU Stage Overflows with Student Talent
For Immediate Release: March 15, 2008
(Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah) The Southern Utah University Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present SOAPFest: Student One-Act Play Festival, April 4 & 5, 11 & 12 and 18 & 19, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Auditorium Theatre. This three-weekend extravaganza of twelve one-act comedies and tragedies is all student directed, designed, stage managed, and performed.
“SOAPFest was born from students’ desire to have more opportunity to direct, act, and design, but in a MainStage setting,” says Peter Sham, Associate Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. “This is a way for everyone in the department to be involved in a show.” There are 118 students involved in directing, designing, stage managing, and acting in the twelve shows. “With the addition of students building sets and constructing costumes, I think we have every student in the department involved in this spectacular event,” adds Sham.
SOAPFest is really the brainchild of Zak Stevenson, Technical Director for the SUU Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, and an event he brought from his experience at Central Michigan University. As an undergraduate, he was part of the first group to take part in a student produced one-act play project. “I thought it was great! We had a director who was adventurous enough to go out on a limb and give us the experience,” reflects Stevenson. “It is a great project for the design and construction students, because the skills they develop to get a production on stage are extremely important. This technical process is where they learn the most.”
SOAPFest will perform three weekends, and each weekend will feature four different one-act plays. The plays, some of the greatest one-act plays in the English language, were all picked by Peter Sham to showcase the versatility and talent of the students. Some plays feature adult content, but have been edited for language.
Sponsored by SUU’s College of Performing and Visual Arts and the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, SOAPFest: Student One-Act Play Festival will run April 4 & 5, 11 & 12 and 18 & 19 in the Auditorium Theatre. Performances begin at a special time — 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for General Admission, $8 for SUU Faculty and Staff, $5 for students/children, and SUU Students attend free with a valid Student ID.
More information about the arts at SUU is available at 435-865-8800 or on our website at www.suu.edu/arts.