THIS YEAR'S EDITION of Student Productions — more commonly known as StudProd, a collection of student-written and -directed plays — took on a different feel than in years past.

There were six plays performed on Dec. 5 and 6 in the North Attic Playhouse, covering every topic imaginable from stage kisses to superheroes to zombies, written by seniors Hannah Leskosky, Sierra Marcum, Natsuki Nakamura, Lauren Piester, and Kareem Sayegh, and junior Hadley Hauser. The various themes were summed up in the official title of StudProd 2008: "Romeo and a Criminal Superhero Kiss* After School (*69)."

Not only did the show feature six plays instead of the usual four, but short skits reminiscent of Big Show, Uni's annual skit comedy show, were added in between plays: After the directors ran through the entire show in 60 seconds, we learned how to work out with juniors Zack Goldberg and Anna Gooler, junior Brittany Scheid read us a story, sophomore Ben Zehr showed off his piano-playing skills in a pirate costume, and Dillon Price impressed us all with his rapping abilities. Arguably the cutest moment of the program featured subfreshman Max Sigalov in a cat costume, accompanied by a song from Sayegh and Price.

With the entire production concluding with a mildly uncoordinated group dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," StudProd '08 was overall quite a success.

STUDPROD 2008: CAST MEMBERS

"All for a Kiss" Written & directed by Natsuki Nakamura

• Tristan: Jeremy Kemball
• Logan: Buck Walsh
• Sam: Sarah Lake-Rayburn
• Alana: Sian Best
• Cody: Kareem Sayegh
• Drama Teacher: Hannah Leskosky

"* 69" Written & directed by Hadley Hauser

• Cindy: Lor Sligar
• Felix: Deren Kudeki
• Answering Machine: Diana Liu
• Beep: Max Sigalov

"Criminal Crime" Written & directed by Sierra Marcum

• Xerxes: Jeremy Kemball
• Kandy: Anna Gooler
• Carpenter: Dillon Price
• Cop: Diana Liu
• Jill: Natsuki Nakamura

Ten-minute intermission

"After School Special" Written & directed by Hannah Leskosky

• Kate: Sindha Agha
• Kelly: Lor Sligar
• Matt: Dillon Price
• Pete: Ben Zehr
• Gilbert Ethan Schiller
• Mr. Oliver: Zack Goldberg
• D.A.R.E. Officer: Lauren Piester

"Superhero Complex" Written & directed by Lauren Piester

• Max: Ethan Schiller
• Lily: Anna Gooler
• Audrey: Brittany Scheid
• Eric: Deren Kudeki
• Mom: Sian Best
• Dad: Ben Zehr

"Romeo and Juliet Revisited" Written & directed by Kareem Sayegh

• Romeo: Max Sigalov
• Mercutio: Zack Goldberg
• Nurse: Tianna Pittenger
• Juliet: Maria Gao

STUDPROD 2008: BEHIND THE SCENES

• Crew: Kahlilah Cooke, Brianna Hajek, Raina Martens
• Musicians: Clement Dossin, Carl Pearson
• Sound: Raina Martens
• (Sexy) Lights: Francois Dossin
• Faculty Sponsor: Barbara Ridenour

STUDPROD 2008: AN OVERVIEW OF THE PLAYS

"All for a Kiss"
by Natsuki Nakamura
A sweet play surrounding the drama found around stage kisses during auditions and rehearsals for a school production.

"* 69"
by Hadley Hauser
A woman gets a mysterious message on her answering machine from a stranger, and it slowly begins to take over her life as she obsesses over who the caller might be.

"Criminal Crime"
by Sierra Marcum
In this parody of crime shows reminiscent of old slapstick, a detective and his assistant try to solve a series of murders in rather unorthodox ways.

"After School Special"
by Hannah Leskosky
A high school student hears some of his peers discussing a public service announcement they are filming on drug use and mistakenly believes they are actually using drugs.

"Superhero Complex"
by Lauren Piester
A kid thinks that he is a superhero, and his family is tired of it so they attempt to convince him that he is not.

"Romeo and Juliet Revisited"
by Kareem Sayegh
A lively musical version of the classic Shakespeare play, with a little twist.