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In a one-act play, anything can happen: a woman gets raped, a fourth wall breaks and Romeo is rented out for homecoming.

STAGE Student Theater presents STAGE One, a series of one-act plays driven completely by WSU students. Everything from tech and management to acting, directing and playwriting is done by the students.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity for people who want to be involved in theater in any way,” junior creative writing major Kamira Nicolino said. “It opens up any job in the theater industry for you to try out.”

STAGE One is an annual project done by STAGE from September to October. This years’ plays include “Death of Fate” by Aspen Garner; “Purgatorio” by MacKenzie Dress; and “Lost Innocence,” “Schizophrenia” and “Renting Romeo” by Kamira Nicolino.

“It’s just this magical kind of feeling of pure awe,” Nicolino said, “to see something you made in your head brought to life by talented actors and people who are so committed to helping you bring it to life.”

Nicolino works as both the playwright and director for “Lost Innocence,” a story about a girl forced to grow up fast and how she struggles to cope with her experience of being raped. The use of light and darkness carries the tone of the play to show good versus evil and comfort versus fear.

The inspiration for “Lost Innocence” comes from her experiences and a desire for closure never gained in her own case. As a playwright, Nicolino said it’s a special chance to share something she created with people.

“Usually playwrights don’t get to direct their own shows,” Nicolino said. “(‘Lost Innocence’) is a strong, emotional show and a lot of it is done through body movement instead of language.”

Though blocking, or movement throughout the scene, is dependent mostly on director’s choice, the blocking written in was not optional due to the script’s heavy reliance on body movement and lighting, Nicolino said.

Senior communications major Demesha Young directs “Schizophrenia.” This is her first time in the director role. She decided to try directing to compare it to her previous role as a STAGE actress.

“It’s the director’s job whether or not they want to follow the direction the playwright did,” Young said. “You’re allowed to ignore those, but you have to convey that meaning.”

“Schizophrenia” is about a girl in the 1950s that is told by everyone that she has schizophrenia because she sees things others can’t. A love story ensues, where the girl breaks the fourth wall, or the boundary between the actors and the audience, and falls in love with an audience member, Nicolino said.

“Two different worlds collide: the world we know as audience members and the world other people know as actors,” Nicolino said on her inspiration for the story.

Upon reading through the script, Young said she began by making notes alongside the dialogue and envisioning blocking for the actors. Her actors are a mix of veterans and first-timers.

“They already had the basics down,” Young said. “If anything, I had to fix a little tick of theirs like if they’re tapping their foot a lot. They ask questions a lot and got into character well.”

The shows will be in Wadleigh Theatre, a black box-style stage that has the audience sitting on three sides of the stage. This layout affects the actor’s blocking in order to give each side equal attention rather than play favorites to the downstage seat bank, Young said.

“Renting Romeo,” Nicolino’s only comedy, is about a girl who rents a date for her friend for a dance. The guy she rents turns out to be Romeo, a guy who talks only in Shakespearean language, even referring to his date, Julia, as Juliet.

Freshman education major Justin Sleeker plays Frank, the boyfriend to Julia’s friend. Having acted in high school, this is Sleeker’s first performance at WSU.

“Frank is a cool frat guy but is also kind of a pushover,” Sleeker said. “He doesn’t want to take sides with anything. He just wants to go with the flow and be cool.”

Sleeker said performing original plays that have never been performed requires an open mind, because the actors have no idea what to expect. By having the chance to work with the playwright, they get a better sense of what to do and how to do it.

“What I like about this is it’s from the deepest part of a student’s imagination,” Sleeker said.

Like a big family, STAGE One includes old and new STAGE members who work together to learn technical skills and ask for help on the different shows, Nicolino said.

Sleeker’s advice for anyone wanting to try STAGE One is to be confident and comfortable. You can’t do well unless you give it your all, he said.

“It’s a great way to meet new people and get your mind off school and have that creative outlet,” Young said.

STAGE One will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Wadleigh Theatre in Daggy Hall. Tickets are $5 for students, and general admission is $10.