The department of theatre and dance will occupy the Anderson Social Science Building this weekend.

This is a 48-hour theatre project involving students from the beginning directing class and the playwriting class.

At 6:00 p.m. on Friday, March 23, the playwrights will meet, receive their themes and each begin writing their own five-minute play. On Saturday at 10:00 a.m. the directors will be assigned plays and begin preparations for 1:45 p.m. when the auditions in the Black Box, located on the bottom floor of the theatre building will take place.

Auditions are open to everyone on campus. Students will be notified by 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and a full day rehearsal will start in the morning. Plays will be performed at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday night.

“The idea is that our playwrights and directors get the opportunity to practice their skills in a laboratory setting where they necessarily have to think outside the box,” Henry MacCarthy said. “It is a creative exercise, where we are raising the stakes to maximize the learning opportunities.”

Junior Karla Leitzman is in both the directing and playwriting class and is anxiously awaiting this weekend’s theatrical activities.

“It’s a really great opportunity for people who have always wanted to do Gustavus Theatre but have not before had the tine to commit to a full scale production,” Leitzman said.

With visiting professor and playwright Cory Hinkle here, the students have a unique experience to learn valuable playwriting techniques from a professional. With the collaboration of the classes in this project, the students get to write a five-minute scene, have it directed, acted and performed.

“We’ve written so many scenes in class, but the closest we’ve come to having them performed is us reading each others’ work out loud,” Leitzman said.