The New Works Festival, formerly known as New Works Symposium, is a way for students to premiere their dedication to the world of theatre. 

It’s a four-day event exhibiting plays that were written, directed and designed by students. 

There are six plays this year directed by students: 

• “Stork” directed by Brianna Olshawsky, a junior musical theatre major 

• “Subliminal” directed by Andi Hortenstine, a junior theatre major 

• “Squirrels Against Students” directed by Ethan Vice, a sophomore musical theatre performance major 

• “To Dream and Regret” directed by Brea Howard, a senior theatre major 

• “Autumnal Musings” directed by Meadow Hazucha, a sophomore theatre major 

• “Remembering Hercules” directed by Mitchell Cox, a junior theatre major 

The festival gives students full creative liberty and ownership over the plays. Each play set was lit by Gage Matthews, a sophomore music theatre major. 

“Stork” is centered around girlhood and how women deal with female sexuality. 

Hortenstine wrote the play and Olshawsky said she grew inspiration to direct due to her fascination of all female produced arts. 

Olshawsky said she did not have any expectations from the crowd and made it for herself, for the most part. 

“I don’t really care how the crowd reacts. My actors get it, I get it, the writer of the play gets it and that’s all that really matters to me.” Olshawsky said. “I think that art is a beautiful and also very selfish creative form because I’m making this for me, [and] I’m making it for the girls who I casted and I’m making it for the writer who wrote the beautiful script.” 

Olshawsky said she has been working on this play since the middle of March – shortly after her previous acting credit “The Wolves” closed. 

“Remembering Hercules” centers around a man calling an OnlyFans help center line attempting to take down the page of his deceased husband. 

While it has its comedic moments, it is hovered over with deep emotions of loss, confusion and understanding. 

Cox said he decided to direct this play because of the emotional element of the characters. 

“There is something about this phone call between a guy who’s just trying to keep the flame of his love alive and a service call person,” Cox said. “And there’s something within that that changes both characters by the end of the play.” 

While recalling a conversation he had with one of his professors during his freshman year, Cox said he wanted to direct a play. 

Cox’s professor asked him if he could not perform what he would do with theatre, to which Cox responded that he would want to teach. 

His professor suggested that he should try to direct and said, “The people who direct the best are the ones who don’t want to.” 

He took a directing class during the fall semester, and this semester he chose to try the skills he learned out. 

Cox has been working on this play for the past six weeks and he has been growing a passion for directing the play. 

The play premiered at the Doudna Fine Arts Center from Friday to Sunday. 

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at cahardy@eiu.edu.