Eighty-three students sat in anticipation, eagerly listening for their name and chance to take the stage. The confident, the nervous, the veteran, and the novice were all clustered together in PA 100, all waiting their turn to audition for Moorpark College’s Original Student One-Act Plays.
Auditioning students did not receive any guidance while in the Performing Arts Center on Jan. 17. They were simply handed monologues and expected to perform a cold reading in front of Moorpark’s student playwrights, who write, direct, and cast the one-act plays.
Theater Professor Katherine Lewis created Moorpark’s Student One-Act Program in 1977, inspired by a similar program preformed at her alma mater, UCLA. She has facilitated the auditions and presided over the plays ever since.
“This was by far the most talented group of competent readers,” Lewis said. “This group read extremely well, and I liked the age diversity too.”
The one-acts are produced biannually every fall and spring semester. They place students in the Director’s Chair, providing them with hands-on experience to craft a play and see it through to its execution on stage. To be considered for the playwriting program, students of all ages and majors may submit original one-act plays to Professor Lewis or Professor John Loprieno, Moorpark’s Theater Arts Department Chair.
This semester, students auditioned for seven one-acts, two of which will be musicals. The plays will feature a “Star Wars” epic, a political satire, a gay-romantic comedy, a psychological drama, and a dramatic documentary.
Student Assistant Director Erin Havard commented that more male students auditioned this semester than in previous years.
“There was a good balance between women and men,” Havard said.
Auditions were open, meaning students could participate even if they lacked prior acting experience or previous theater training. Auditions requisites only listed that students enroll in Theater M10, Theater Production: Performance, and attend the culminating one-act shows if chosen for an acting role.
Chosen actors earn three units of transferable credit, valuable performance experience, and resume credentials. Some actors, like Karissa Castellano, also get the chance to pursue interests unrelated to their degree requirements.
Castellano, a kinesiology major, has studied drama and music her whole life and acted in independent studio plays. However, this was her first time auditioning for a Moorpark College production, and she was taken aback by the impressive performances.
“There was a lot of talent present,” Castellano said. “It was nice to see all of that in one room.”
Differing from Castellano, junior Grant Goldstein has been in a number of Moorpark College plays, including ‘”Sweet Charity” in spring ’10 and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” in summer ’11.
“For me, it’s cool to bring someone’s ideas to life,” Goldstein said. “When you interpret a script, you find what the author wanted the actors to do – but in the One Acts, the authors can tell the actors. It’s a cool interaction.”
The Spring 2012 Original Student One-Act Plays will be held at the Moorpark College Performing Arts Center on April 26 through 28 and May 3 through 5 at 7:30 p.m., and April 25 and May 2 at 1:30 p.m. Professor Lewis believes this season will likely top last fall’s audience of nearly 700 patrons for the one acts’ entire run.
