COPA one-act showcase to feature work of three student directors

After over a year of preparation, the College of Performing Arts presents three student-directed one-act plays, including “Kissing Scene,” “Icarus’s Mother” and “Trifles.” “Trifles” (pictured) is directed by Sydney Feldman. Photos courtesy of Daisy (Rong) Shang

Over one year ago, roughly five students in Chapman’s College of Performing Arts (CoPA) started the strenuous process of sorting through hundreds of plays. After finding their perfect match, they would craft a pitch to present to the theater department faculty. Three would be chosen to direct in the 2024 COPA One-Act showcase.

Senior theater performance major Sydney Feldman was one of the three to be selected and shared with The Panther her initial reaction to receiving the news.

“I was really excited. I was nervous too because I've really only been on the performance side of theater,” Feldman said. “I've always been interested in directing… I was just so excited to try something new and see how everything worked from the production side rather than just the performance side. I think it's really important as an artist to know how all sides of the industry work.”

From April 4 through April 7, Chapman’s theater department will be showcasing three one-act plays throughout a 90-minute show. The show will begin with “Kissing Scene,” directed by junior theater major Jane Broderson, continue with “Icarus’s Mother,” directed by senior theater performance major Jerry “Yi Hang” Zou, and close with “Trifles,” directed by Feldman.

The three plays will be performed from April 4 through April 7. “Icarus’s Mother” (pictured) is directed by Jerry Zou.

Broderson already has a handful of directing credits under her belt, so it was important to her to choose a one-act that would allow her to experiment with different directing methods. “Kissing Scene” by Carl Martin caught her attention because of the way it makes fun of the theater community of which she is a part of.

“Kissing Scene” follows characters Ashley and Richard an hour before their acting class when they meet to rehearse their scene. It calls for them to kiss five times, but whenever they get to the first kiss, they break character to argue.

“As a director, I just think it's really fun to make fun of myself and other people (in the theater community) in a way that's really entertaining that can also send a greater social message,” Broderson told The Panther. “I was really drawn to ‘Kissing Scene’ because it does exactly that — it's satirizing and commenting on the ridiculousness of college theater students. I saw so much of myself and my peers in both of the characters and just thought the play was a perfect choice for one-acts.”

After narrowing it down to four one-act shows, Zou ultimately made his decision based on how “Icarus’s Mother,” by Sam Shepard, forces audiences to question preconceived ideas about how they view themselves, their relationships with other people and even the meaning of life. 

“The script is a good blend of so many elements: good potential for design students to show off their ability, good playing ground for acting majors to implement the techniques they are learning in class, good cast size that's not too small or too big and all of these characters can be played by anybody regardless of race or gender,” Zou said. “It was just perfect, and I am glad I chose this piece because it was such a challenge, and I still can’t believe my whole team pulled it off.”

"Icarus's Mother" follows five spoiled kids lazing around a beach after a Fourth of July picnic, waiting for the fireworks to begin. Two boys, Howard and Bill, initiate a series of psychological games where the only stakes are belonging in the group.

After tirelessly searching for a one-act that excited her, Feldman was recommended by a director friend to read “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell. “Trifles” is about a woman arrested for the murder of her husband and the mystery behind evidence for her case.

“I read (the script), and it was the first one that I could really see coming to life on stage,” Feldman said. “I really just wanted to get it up on its feet. I was just really surprised that even though it was so old…it had the most resonance with me, and I think that was because of the feminist themes that are in it.”

Feldman hopes that when audiences come to see the show, they have a similar experience as her and feel the importance her one-act holds.

“I hope that audiences (have) the same kind of reaction I had when I read it for the first time,” Feldman said. “Even though the story was written over 100 years ago, the themes of female struggle and female oppression are still prevalent today. Even though we've come a really long way in terms of feminism, there's still a long way to go, and I think it's important to keep telling these feminist stories, even in 2024.”

The student-directed one-acts are showing April 4, 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m., and April 6 and 7 at 2:00 p.m. in the black box theater in Moulton Hall. Tickets can be purchased on Chapman’s ticketing website. 

“Kissing Scene” is directed by Jane Broderson.