Eleven 10-minute plays will be presented by Professor Amy Osatinski’s directing class on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bertha Martin Theatre in Strayer-Wood Theatre.

The students have been working on their plays all semester and are ecstatic to finally present them to an audience. Each play has one to three actors, many of whom are non-theatre majors.

“We had a lot of non-theatre majors and undecided majors try out for the plays,” said Thayne Lamb, a junior theatre performance major, who is directing one of the plays on Thursday. The auditions for the play were held on Oct. 15 and over 35 people auditioned for a part.

“And almost everyone got a part, which was great,” Lamb added.

Earlier in the year, the students had an assignment to direct a three- to five-minute scene of their choice, which they said really helped to get their feet wet and learn what it’s like to direct.

“The five-minute scenes almost acted as a lab for us,” said Zoella Sneed, a junior double-majoring in theatre performance and theatre for youth.

“We all give feedback to one another about our plays,” she said. “It really helps everyone out, including yourself as sometimes you can see what your play needs help with by watching others.”

The directing class is a required class for theatre majors and is a prerequisite to the playscripts class.

“The class doesn’t only help direct, but works with leadership skills, issues in the theatre, how to deal with bias, intimacy and consent, safe spaces and more,” said another student director, Hannah Smith, a junior drama theatre for youth major.

The class has also introduced many of the students to dramaturgies, which gives the actors more background and information on their character, a glossary, cultural context and anything else they may need to help give the best performance they can. Many of the students stated that they will be taking a dramaturgy class next semester, and while it is a lot of work, they’re all looking forward to it.

All of the directors said they are looking forward to Thursday and presenting their respective shows on which they’ve been working for months.

Doors open at 7:15 p.m. and the event is free and open to the public.