The Weekend of One-Acts emerges from Olivet’s Directing class. In this course, students learn to analyze scripts, cast students, block scenes, plan costumes, and bring a scene to life. Professor Kelsie Davis strives for the course to mirror the real-world responsibilities of a director. Davis hopes to guide students to build on what they’ve experienced as actors and flip it to a director’s point of view.
During the final weeks of their course, students are tasked with using the skills they’ve learned throughout the semester, in order to fully put together and direct a One-Act. These One-Acts serve as the final project for each student director. Below is a selection of a few current directing students’ One-Acts that are set to debut on April 25 and 26, 2025 in Sims Blackbox Theatre.
Highlights from One-Act rehearsals: Professor Kelsie Davis gives insight on the Directing class, its process and her vision for students, on March 22, 2025. Video by Sam Ramirez.
Where Creativity Meets Calling: Inside Ava Tueck’s Multimedia Ministry Practicum
After going on a mission trip to Guatemala and picking up a few extra credit hours in the Ministry Media concentration at Olivet Nazarene University, Ava Tueck knew ministry media was the route for her life. Why Ministry Media? Tueck, who is 20 years old, is a multimedia communication major with two concentrations: film studies…
“Three Men and a Brenda” directed by: Tiah Guthrie
ONU Students Prepare for a Weekend of Laughter The energy within the performance room of Tiah Guthrie’s one-act play, “Three Men and a Brenda,” is nothing short of comedic. Olivet Nazarene University’s Theatre Department is putting on a weekend of one-act performances, which are 8- to 15-minute productions that the students of the Directing class…
“The Sure Thing” directed by: Sydney Lang
One (Final) Act For typical students, a final consists of research papers, group projects, presentations, and cumulative tests. But finals for students in the COMM 320 directing class, look a little different. Students’ hard work and dedication to theatre, as well as everything they have learned about directing and making shows come to life, is…
“I Ought to Be in Pictures” directed by: Jessy Ann Stream
For most college theater students, performing on stage is the highlight of their academic career. But at Olivet Nazarene University, students also have the opportunity to direct, and for Jessy Ann Stream, that shift from center stage to behind the scenes has been both challenging and rewarding. Stream is a junior, majoring in Theatre Production…
“The Unknown Part of the Ocean” directed by: Marina Prather
“Directing, I’ve kind of always known that I’ve wanted to do more serious shows with deeper stories like “These Shining Lives”, and “33 Variations”, because theater and society go hand in hand,” Marina Prather, a junior majoring in Theatre Production & Performance with a minor in Musical Theatre, and one of the student directors for…
About this project:
This project was created by Jorie Gabriele, Sam Ramirez, Hannah Hudgins, and Erin Fagan as part of a final project for the Multimedia Storytelling class at Olivet Nazarene University.