by Shavon Perkins
staff associate

Two one-act plays, "The Murder Play" and "Identity Crisis," were performed Dec. 2 and 3 in the Benton Hall theater. The shows were produced by the English department and available free to the public.

Barbara Kachur, associate professor of English, directed the performances. Jacklyn Sarris, who was one of three students in charge of the sound, lights and props on stage, was pleased with the production.

"Since UMSL does not currently have a theater department, this is a great way for students to show their interest in performing. There are a lot of students on campus who really want to get involved with something of this nature," Sarris said.

Sarris said that it has been around 11 years since the University has had a theater department. She acknowledges that there is no current proposal to initiate a theater program on campus but hopes that the new Performing Arts Center will kick start such action.

"To my knowledge, this is the first year for the one-acts but there is a lot of interest in keeping it going. I think that next year if students would like to get more involved and direct the one-acts that is a possibility," Sarris said.

The cast of the one-acts consisted of nine actors and three stage hands who handled lights, sound, and props. The cast had been rehearsing since October. Sarris said that the students have very diverse majors including communications, veterinary medicine, and English.

"Kachur has been talking about this project since orientation and has been encouraging students to audition. There hasn't been a lot of promotion involving this production. Most information came from word of mouth although we did post some flyers around campus. Considering the fact that finals are approaching, I think we have had a pretty good turn out," Sarris said.