Check out four plays at once at Kenan Theatre Company's One Acts Festival

Stories of racial injustice, love and gender equality will all be explored on stage this week by the Kenan Theatre Company.

The One Acts Festival will be on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. with an additional showing on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and Monday at 5:30 p.m. 

 The One Acts Festival consists of four 30 minute-or-less plays entitled “This Was Fun,” “Trifles,” “Colored” and “Night Vision.”

“This Was Fun” is directed by UNC senior Rob Piscitelli. Piscitelli is the only undergraduate directing this weekend.  

"Having this opportunity my senior year is amazing," Piscitelli said.

“This Was Fun” was written by Philip Dawkins, a Chicago playwright and an idol of Piscitelli. 

“I’ve always wanted to work on one of his plays," Piscitelli said. "I am very excited to be able to work on this." 

The play follows two strangers who meet on a cross-country train ride. The one-act play focuses on central themes, intertwining travel and love. 

After watching this play, Piscitelli hopes people will be inspired to go after what they want and be bold when meeting new people. 

“Night Vision” and “Colored," while separate plays, share a similar inspiration — both were written in response to the Trayvon Martin case, said Ava Pukatch, a UNC sophomore and one of the producers of the festival. Both plays revolve around misidentification and bias based on one’s identity and are directed by Brandon Haynes.

“Night Vision” follows a Black couple who witness an assault. “Colored” deals with the stereotypes of race while assigning arbitrary colors such as red and blue to actors. 

The final one act, entitled “Trifles,” directed by Rasool Jahan, splits the act with two different sets of actors. The first cast will be set in 1916, featuring an all-white cast, while the second cast will be set in 1960 with a more diverse cast. 

“('Trifles') is a statement about how women’s treatment is the same across time periods," Pukatch said. 

Despite having distinct storylines, all four acts will be performed on the same set and stage with only minor tweaks and changes. 

This unique situation proved a challenging task for Emily Jane MacKillop, a UNC senior studying drama. 

“I love the way you can tell a story through light," MacKillop said. "It is such a subtle story. It can tell you the mood, time of day, comedy, drama. It enhances everything else."

This weekend’s One Acts Festival is MacKillop's first time working as a scenic designer. While light design is her bread and butter, MacKillop enjoyed the world-building aspect of scenic design and enjoyed the task of creating a set versatile enough for four distinct acts. 

 The large team of over 40 have been working tirelessly since last spring, MacKillop said. 

“It’s going to be a great show with a phenomenal cast of people," MacKillop said.

@notaditya

arts@dailytarheel.com