Missouri S&T theater students will present two evenings of online plays this May. The productions will include four newly written 10-minute plays from four national playwrights and will be performed via a live stream.

The two performances will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 8, and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 9. Both performances will be held via Zoom video conferencing. Attendees can join the audience by using the Zoom link umsystem.zoom.us/j/92977061539. The performances are free and open to the public.

The performances will include “De-equalized” by Amy Lytle, “Breathe” by Erin Lane, “Scaramouch and Pinochle” by Mike Moran and “Folies a deux/Pas de deux” by Kevin D. Ferguson. All four plays were written for the theatre program in the Missouri S&T arts, languages and philosophy department and are directed by students.

“The plays will focus on college-age characters who are struggling to find normalcy at a distance,” says Taylor Gruenloh, assistant teaching professor of theatre at S&T. “For example, Lytle’s play is about two students who are trying to overcome the obstacle of inaccessibility to secure technology and dependable internet. These plays are relevant, but still entertaining.”

Attendees are encouraged to “arrive early” to the performance to work out any technical issues that may arise. The Zoom meeting will open 30 minutes prior to the start of the show.

Missouri S&T’s theater students have also been a part of the “No Shame Theatre” stage performance movement. The theatre productions are open to anyone in the community and Gruenloh says that it could be seen as a therapeutic outlet for people who want to do something creative.

“We have plenty of STEM majors participating in our ‘No Shame Theatre,’” says Gruenloh. “Our theatre students have a high level of motivation — they’re fighting for the time to do theatre as an activity while not part of their required coursework. I would say we have some of the hardest-working theatre students in the country because it’s extracurricular for them. It takes time, and they don’t have a lot of that here at S&T.”

The events are hosted by Missouri S&T’s arts, languages, and philosophy department. For more information, email Gruenloh at gruenloht@mst.edu.