Marissa Caceres Medina, Rino Hadzisehic, Nick Gipp, Marissa Menezes, Sam Machado
 and Alice Kohno in the comedy "In Need of Saving" by Alan La Police.

Though the styles of these student written and student acted plays run the gamut from naturalistic drama to absurdist comedy, fantasy and even mixed media, many involve contemporary issues, including the effects of race, gender, addiction and popular culture on the characters’ lives.

For example, Christin Hunter’s “Bottom of the Bottle” captures a decisive moment in the relationship of a woman and her alcoholic boyfriend. Jessica Charles looks at the influence of media on personal relationships in “Curse of the MTV Generation.” In “Leap of Faith” Keosha Chambers explores misunderstanding in a same sex relationship.

In “Hurry Date” Alan La Police finds new comedy in contemporary boy-meets-girl. Sarah McKinney locates a mystical energy in a family dealing with a near-death emergency.

“The through-line of the evening is probably the need of human beings to make contact and connection, of wanting to be recognized, wanting to be heard,” said festival coordinator and HSU theatre professor John Heckel, “Which makes sense since that’s what the writers are asking—to be recognized, to be heard.”