A Review of the One-Act Festival
Written by Jayan Raju & Emerson Lecy
Have you ever wanted to experience 13 plays in one day? The 2026 student-directed One-Act Festival is an annual celebration in which IAA Theatre students direct, design, and star in festival one-act plays that span various genres and styles.
This year's festival directors include Theatre seniors Jayan Raju, Ali Gregorio, Alijah Cambridge, Andrea Chen, Edward Burden, Emma Gordon, Jackson Alejandro, Kendall Buckley, Lenora Whitney, MJ Brendel, Noah Adler, Tiernan Tajali, and Tristan Lysonge.
The One-Act Festival was split into two bills. Bill one performed Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 24 at 2:00 p.m. Bill two performed Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 25 at 2:00 p.m.
The directors truly put in an immense amount of effort and commitment into their shows. This production is the follow-up to a semester-long course in Directing, led by Instructor of Theatre Arts, Andy McGinn. “[The Directing] course [has] the heaviest workload in the Theatre department,” says Mr. McGinn.
The styles of these shows range all across the storytelling market. The shows range from A Dollar directed by Jackson Alejandro, an absurdist piece tackling themes of greed; The Date directed by Jayan Raju, a historical look into the AIDS crisis; and Persephone directed by Lenora Whitney, a play that lives in the world of contemporary realism. Each of these short plays provides the audience with an impactful view of the human condition, and every single show is worth a watch.
Up-and-coming playwright and director, Emma Gordon, a second-year senior acting major, wrote and directed her own play, Cupcakes, Veronica, & Other New Things. She shared her experience regarding directing and writing her bold new work.
On her love of writing, Emma shared, “I’ve always been interested in writing. I’m [also] an avid reader. But I wrote the show over the summer in a dramatic writing class that I took.”
Emma also shared the troubles she has encountered while being both the playwright and director. “Having objectivity has been difficult, and also there's kind of a mistrust with a young playwright and a young director, so I've had to really assert myself and my confidence in the script.” She added, “But I think, you know, my cast likes the script. I like the script, and hopefully the audience likes it as well.”
Lastly, Emma shared what she wants to share with the audience through this show. “We talk a lot about how there's universal in what's specific. And I think the experience that Jessie goes through is very specific to her.”
“I think we can all relate to the moment of realizing, you know, where we come from, and also realizing that our parents have been through a lot, and they do a lot and they give up a lot for us. So hopefully I give the audience a little piece of that.”
Emma and the other student directors have poured all their work and mind into their pieces, creating a dazzling collage of artistry. Both bills were performed for full houses full of eager audience members. Preparations for the 2027 One-Act Festival are already underway!