Oregon State University Theatre will hold auditions for the Spring One Act Festival 2026 April 20-21 at 6 p.m. in the Withycombe Hall Lab Theatre on the Corvallis campus.

Auditions are open to all and no preparation is necessary. The directors will provide cold readings from the scripts. Scripts are available to read ahead of time HERE.

The 2026 Festival features 6 plays directed by OSU students:

The Lady and the "Tyger" or William Blake’s "How I Met Your Mother"
by Trace Crawford
Directed by Zoey Mayhew

A young woman in search of connection approaches a man in an unexpected and jarring way. A witty exchange leads them to realize they have more in common than they had thought.

Roles:
MAN: Late 20s with "permanent grad student" vibes.
WOMAN: Also late 20s, full of eccentric neurotic energy.

Beer Girl
by Walter Wykes
Directed by Sam Firl

Bob creates the perfect woman out of beer cans. Beer Girl. Flo tries to talk Bob out of a relationship with Beer Girl. But in the end love wins, and they all learn a thing or two from Beer Girl.

Roles:
BOB: (20s M) Down on his luck, good for nothing that is looking for genuine connection.
FLO (20s F) Bob’s feisty partner. Their relationship is on the rocks.
BEER GIRL (Any Gender) - A humanoid figure made out of beer cans.

Murder by Midnight
by Jeff Goode
Directed by: Devika Dhamija

A hotel-detective on the last 10 minutes of his shift is ambushed by a woman to solve a case.

Roles:
Dick Piston: (30s M) A hotel detective for a 5-star hotel. Not very good at his job. He is an asshole.
Woman (20s-30s) - A newly married woman who is in the hotel for her honeymoon. Plays innocent but is actually cunning. Conspired in her husband's murder and has an unhinged side. 
Bellhop (20s-30s) - A hotel employee who works in the kitchen. The real killer with an avenging rage. Also has an unhinged side.

Abbott & Costello
by Jonathan Mayer
Direct by Sophia Massey

In this new take on Abbott and Costello’s famous comedy skit “Who’s on First,” two teenage performers try, rather unsuccessfully, to rehearse a scene for their drama class. What they succeed in performing is a hilarious scene full of wit and comedic miscommunication.

Sam- (Mid to late teen, any gender) Sam is not the sharpest tool in the shed and a heavy procrastinator. They get confused easily and often do the opposite of what is supposed to be done.

Riley- (Mid to late teen, any gender) Places heavy importance on performing well and does not handle misinterpretation or misunderstandings well. Gets frustrated easily and is a being filled with anxiety and high expectations.

The Chocolate Affair
by Stephanie Alison Walker
Directed by Asher Moore

A woman hides in a motel room to conceal her secret, when two unexpected visitors confront her. 

Roles:
Beverly (mid-20s-30s F) - A kind mother with a sweet tooth and a bit of a pathological liar.
Mr. Goodbar (M) - A sly, flirtatious, human Mr. Goodbar.
M&M: (Any gender) A douchebag, sleezy human red M&M

No Thanks Mr. Shakespeare
by E.R. Shultz
Directed by Hank Smith

A Hollywood executive is faced with the seemingly common task of reviewing a writer’s story for production. However, the tiny quirk is that the writer in question is none other than William Shakespeare and the story in question is none other than Hamlet.

Roles:
Receptionist (any age any gender) - Zane's receptionist who has worked for them for many years and thus is no longer surprised by anything weird about showbiz
Zane (age 20-30 any gender) - A Hollywood executive who is a business person in a creative field. The only goal is to make the big bucks
Shakespeare (young adult-25 masc presenting)-the William Shakespeare (I want to see your ideas)

Rehearsals for individual productions leading up to tech will be scheduled by the directors, so please bring your schedule to the audition. All company members must be available for company run-throughs starting at 6:00 pm May 24 and running May 23-25 starting at 6:00 pm, tech rehearsal May 30 starting at 12:00, Tech/Dress May 31 starting at 12:00, Tech/dress rehearsals June 1-3, and all performances June 4-7. All company members will participate in strike immediately following the closing production.  
 

The tech/dress rehearsals and performances will be at The Lab Theatre in Withycombe Hall (2901 SW Campus Way Corvallis, OR 97331).

Please fill out the AUDITION FORM before coming to your audition.

Please direct questions regarding auditions to Elizabeth Helman at elizabeth.helman@oregonstate.edu