UNI'S 2007 STUDENT PRODUCTIONS — also known as "The Brunhilda Chronicles" — will be held tonight and Saturday in the North Attic Playhouse. Performances will begin 7:30 both nights. Tickets are $4 for students, senior citizens, and faculty members, and $5 for everyone else.

The four plays featured this year are “Why I Hate Your Boyfriend,” written and directed by Zoë Schein; “My Parents Think I’m Perfect,” written and directed by Lauren Piester; “Run to the Sun: A Concise Vignette,” written and directed by Kumars Salehi; and “Can I Have That in a Sentence?,” written and directed by Natsuki Nakamura.

For a closer look at this year’s plays, here’s a preview of each. Oh, and the meaning of "The Brunhilda Chronicles"? Come to StudProd this weekend and all will be explained. We have to maintain some suspense, after all.

"Why I Hate Your Boyfriend"

Frances and Clara have been best friends for years. Clara is dating Palmer. And Frances REALLY doesn’t like Palmer. Then there are Palmer’s two best friends — Bartimus (Bart) and Alfred James (AJ) — who provide comic relief in an already comical play.

As Clara and Palmer try to patch up their relationship, Clara also has to try to fix her relationship with Frances, which has been rocky since she started dating Palmer.

“I didn’t actually cast based on experience,” explained director Zoë Schein, “just by their attractiveness. But they’re really good anyway.”

With Clara’s obvious frustration, Frances’ witty sarcasm, Palmer’s lovable arrogance, and of course, the hilarity of A.J. and Bart, this play is a perfect choice for opener.

CAST

• Clara: Sian Best
• Frances: Larissa Pittenger
• Palmer: Julian Hartman
• Bartimus: Deren Kudeki
• Alfred James (AJ): Buck Walsh

"Run to the Sun: A Concise Vignette"

What would cause someone to drink only Sprite? To prevent their soul from being stolen, of course.

"Being an actor in StudProd two years ago was one of the most intense and sublime experiences I have had," said director Kumars Salehi. "Being a director two years later has surpassed that, I think, and the creative high definitely recalls my filmmaking experience in New York this summer."

This play looks to be the most thought-provoking and intriguing of the four, the majority of the play consisting of dialogues between the main character and various people he meets during the course of the play.

CAST

• Narrator: Jacob Olshansky
• Waitress: Hannah Lake-Rayburn
• Bartender: Ollie Goldbart
• Flirty Woman: Laura Voitik
• Clerk: Alan Liang
• Nice Girl: Eunice How

"My Parents Think I’m Perfect"

Cammy has a C in math, and even though she hasn’t told her extremely uptight parents yet, she knows exactly how they’re going to react: badly.

To show to her parents that bad grades aren’t the worst thing in the world, she and her friend Julie come up with a genius plan. But when the plan falls through, chaos ensues.

Director Lauren Piester does a fantastic job of creating a play that mirrors the feelings of many Uni students — it’s hard to be perfect at everything!

Anna Gooler and Jeremy Kemball shine as Cammy’s overly protective, but loving parents, while Hannah Leskosky, Michelle Gao, and Carl Zielinski round out the play perfectly as the rebellious teenagers they are.

“Ours is definitely the most amazing,” said Gao. “Not because I’m in it, but that does help.”

CAST

• Cammy: Hannah Leskosky
• Julie: Michelle Gao
• Simon: Carl Zielinski
• Mom: Anna Gooler
• Dad: Jeremy Kemball

"Can I Have That In A Sentence?"

Megan is determined to win the school spelling bee and show Brandon that he’s not the only one that knows how to spell.

Unfortunately for Megan, while she’s focusing on winning the bee, she misses out on the middle school life that’s going on around her. And when she gets too confused by the letters to think of the whole word, things get a little complicated.

The cast nails the light, junior high mood of the play, and concludes with a surprise that will surely please the crowd both nights.

“I have definitely enjoyed being a director, and I learned so much from this," said director Natsuki Nakamura. "I would love to do this again because it has been so much fun working with my cast.”

CAST

• Megan: Diana Liu
• Serena: Brittany Scheid
• Leslie: Maria Gao
• Brandon: James Smith
• Cameo, Old Man: Alan Liang
• Serena's Mom: Jamie Weiser
• Announcer: Adam Joseph

QUOTEWORTHY

Not sure that StudProd will be absolutely amazing? Check out these testimonials:

“I say ‘pole dancing’ and ‘thong dollaz’ on stage. The rest of the play goes downhill from there. But you should come. It’ll be amazing.”
— junior Jeremy Kemball, who plays the father in “My Parents Think I’m Perfect”

“Everyone should come see it because there is something there for everyone in at least one of the plays.”
— junior Natsuki Nakamura, writer-director of “Can I Have That in a Sentence?”

“This year’s shows are stellar — the strongest lineup I’ve seen at Uni. StudProd really is about students, and it’s heartening and inspiring to see students come together and put their talents to work in such a massive collaborative effort. This year’s StudProd is really something special.”
— senior Kumars Salehi, writer-director of “Run to the Sun: A Concise Vignette”

“After the tornado/earthquake, as we faced picking up the shards of our broken world, when StudProd was our only solace amid the darkness of impending chaos, we banded together to forge a fellowship based on our common love of amateur theater and petty crime designed to bring forth the Ring of Endless Light and funded in part by the National Science Foundation and from viewers like you. Thank you.”
— senior Larissa Pittenger, who plays Frances in “Why I Hate Your Boyfriend”

"You don't even know how awesome all these plays are. There is so much talent packed into one big performance, you won't even know what to do with all of the appreciation you'll have for your fellow Uni-ians once it's over. You'll probably explode."
— junior Lauren Piester, writer-director of "My Parents Think I'm Perfect"

If that’s not proof that it’ll be great, we don’t know what is.

BEHIND THE SCENES

• Queen of the Crew: Tianna Pittenger
• Lights: Isaure Hostetter
• Sound: Linda Song
• Lighting Design: Natsuki Nakamura & James Smith
• Crew Members: Andrew LaPointe, Maddy Levin, Stephanie Overmier, Lily Smith
• Sponsor: Barbara Ridenour
• Script Adviser: Jen Goheen
• Program: Lauren Piester & Zoë Schein