A cheating husband, small town gossip, multi-colored spots and eccentric doctors were the topics of Sunday’s student-directed “One Acts.”

Students and family members entered the Doudna Fine Arts Center’s Movement Studio to view two one-act plays, “Bourbon and Laundry” and “The Spotted Man.”

The first show was “Bourbon and Laundry,” directed by senior theater major Aubrey Wiggs.

While choosing a play, Aubrey knew she wanted to have an all female cast.

“I looked through a lot (of plays), and I had some encouragement from one of my professors,” Aubrey said. “I read it and fell in love with it.”

This one act showed a glimpse into the summer afternoon of two best friends from Texas while they remembered the past and complained about their present-day lives. Their southern accents added to the setting of the play.

When Aubrey cast her show, she was unsure if the three leading ladies could conjure up a Texan accent.

“I cast people not knowing whether or not they could do it,” Aubrey said. “They did a great job.”

Elizabeth (Erin Drone, senior early childhood education major) and Hattie (Molly Manhart, sophomore theatre arts major) sat on Elizabeth’s porch drinking bourbon and folding laundry while they released their stresses of their families.

Hattie drinks away her stresses caused by her wild children and Elizabeth tells of her husband who still has not returned after leaving two days ago.

Gossip is stirred up midway through the show when Amy (Mariam Amr, junior communication disorders major) comes by the house to drop off a box.

After consuming a few sips of bourbon, Amy starts airing dirty laundry of the town’s woman, including her observation of Elizabeth’s husband with another woman.

After the trio gave their final bow, Emily Froemel, junior elementary education major, expressed her likeness for the show.

“I thought it was funny,” Froemel said. “I liked the girl in the green, Elizabeth.”

At the second half of the show, Rob Browy, a Charleston resident, stepped on stage covered in purple, red and green spots to play Eugene in “The Spotted Man,” under the direction of Jennifer Holdefer, senior theater arts major.

“The Spotted Man”, a comedy play about one man’s trip to the doctor’s office after the appearance of multi-colored spots on his body, contrasted to “Laundry and Bourbon” because of its bizarre characters and mystery disease.

Throughout the play, Eugene sits in the doctor’s office for a diagnosis on his spots while multiple doctors (Katie Shaughnessy, senior theatre arts major), a nurse (Scarlett Mays, a junior English major), and a growling specialist (Ashley Corbett, senior theater arts major) try to diagnose his illness.

Viewers, like Tiffany Haws, freshman elementary education major, were surprised by content of the “The Spotted Man.”

“It was really funny,” Haws said. “I wasn’t expecting it from the name.”

Also in the audience was Jeff Holdefer of Blue Island, who came for his daughter who had directed “The Spotted Man.”

Out of the four characters that made up the cast of “The Spotted Man,” Eugene was Holdefer’s favorite.

“Well, he was funny,” Holdefer said. “I just think he acted very well.”

Sam Bohne can be reached at 581-7942 or

DENnewsdesk@gmail.com.