A variation on theatre was a part of two acts performed this weekend.

Students called the shots.

Bailey Murphy, senior theatre major, directed “The Murderest Mystery of All,” which was written by Garin Jones. Abigail Carter, also a senior theatre art major, directed “Cast Spell,” written by Geralyn Horton. About 50 people were in attendance at the Saturday night show.

Murphy thought directing was a great experience.

“I had good actors and it was challenging, but in a good way,” Murphy said. “You have a lot more preliminary work, and have to tell the actors what you are thinking.”

With an antique bureau, old furniture, and an old-fashioned carpet on the stage, audience members were reminded of the set of the movie or board game “Clue.” The first act featured a doctor, host, maid, an older woman, a younger flirtatious woman and a guy in a leather jacket. The host was going to kill all the characters until his plan got foiled and somebody else took control.

The audience responded well and laughed a lot at what the doctor, the host, and the guy in the leather jacket did and said, especially the doctor’s obsession with prefixes and one of the host’s comparisons of playtime to dog years. They also gasped along with the characters when the lights went black twice during the play. The host’s mother was the one writing the play, which provided a humorous surprise for the audience.

The second act, “Cast Spell,” didn’t get any laughs, only thought-provoking silence from the audience. Amidst the stage were an alcohol table, boxes, a couch and some card table chairs. The act dealt with actors after a bad performance and their obsessions with the supernatural. Whenever one of the characters would tell a ghost story, bright green light would illuminate the stage and nothing more. Everything else went black.

Sophomore theater arts major Crystal Grissom said she liked the first act better than the second.

“I liked the first one better because the second one scared me more,” she said.

She said she thought they both were well directed and that one of her classes did a table reading and thought the second was very surreal.

Andrew Hicks, a freshman mass communications major, played “Rich” in “Cast Spell.” He said he thought it was a new experience, and liked the fact that students directed the plays.

“I definitely liked acting in the play and having a student director made it more fun,” he said.

Hicks said the supernatural aspect is not as controversial now than in previous years.

“I think it was an interesting twist,” Hicks said. “It is a lot more widely accepted than it used to be.”

Murphy said she thought her actors did a great job.

“I think they worked hard to make their characters realistic and it helped that they were friends with the playwright,” she said. “I also thought the script was very well-written and I tried to accentuate it at some of the key points.”

The play was performed at the Village Theater Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.