Student Writers Debut New Plays at Annual Microburst Theatre Festival

Two student writers discuss their experience developing scripts for Microburst Theatre

The Department of Theatre and Media Arts will debut new work from student playwrights in the annual Microburst Theatre festival, which will run in the Nelke Theatre Oct. 24-26.

The Microburst plays were first conceived and drafted in George Nelson’s Playwriting 1 (TMA 251) and were subsequently submitted to dramaturgy professor Shelley Graham for festival consideration. The selected plays then moved into the rehearsal process with a student cast and crew directed by acting professor David Morgan.

“When I got the email letting me know I was selected, my first thought was, ‘oh my goodness, I’m a playwright,’” said Amity Wootan, who has two plays — “No Signal” and “Bidet” — in the festival. “I was in a couple writing classes, but I didn’t think of myself as a writer; I thought of myself as simply writing. Microburst was the first thing that really solidified for me that this is something I can do and be.”

Theatre student Sophia Acedo — who wrote festival play “A Better Brother” — also sees Microburst Theatre as a turning point in her studies. Acedo has always loved to write, but Nelson’s course was her first experience with playwriting.

“Seeing my work produced in Microburst is so validating and gives me confidence as a writer,” said Acedo. “The more I wrote and the more I learned in TMA 251, the more I came to find that I really love playwriting! I’m still new and still learning, but Professor Nelson always said that the only way to get good is to write every day.” 

Though this year’s festival will touch on a variety of topics and approaches to storytelling, Wootan sees a complementary element to the Microburst plays. She attributes this to the fact that the student playwrights went through the initial drafting and workshopping process together and have continued to support each other through rewrites.

“We have a really diverse range of stories that we’re all exploring in our own way,” Wootan said. “The conflict and the characters are different, but they weave together because we were writing them together. There’s an interesting thread linking the plays that gets pulled out because we’re also performing them together.”

“I’m so proud of the other playwrights,” added Acedo. “I’ve read their scripts, and they are honestly and beautifully written. I am honored that my play gets to share a stage with theirs.” 

Wootan is grateful for the outlet objective student writers have found in Microburst Theatre.

“We have a lot of opportunities for students at BYU who want to go into things like stage management, lighting design, costuming, and prop building—this is one of the main events we have for playwrights,” said Wootan. “I think it’s important that the theatre department gives us the same opportunity to showcase what we do and get real-world feedback on how our work plays to others. So much of our writing is done in classes with our peers, but showing it to strangers is that point where we take a leap and see where we land.” 

Tickets and Show Details

Performance Dates and Times: Oct. 24-26 | 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 26 | 2 p.m.

Location: Nelke Theatre

Price: $5-6

Tickets: Available in person at the BYU HFAC or Marriott Center Ticket Office, by phone at (801) 422-2981 or online at byuarts.com