Anastasia Jaeger believes in living a well-rounded life. For her, part of that involves a return to the acting she did in her younger days.
“I think it can push you out of your comfort zone a little bit, which is something I believe people should do,” said Jaeger, 28, of Latrobe, part of a small cast that will stage three one-act plays on Friday .
Director Stephen Schrum, who started the nonprofit StoryzStudios in early 2024 after retiring from theater arts education at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, said an evening of one-act plays allows the audience to experience a variety of theatrical flavors.
“‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell is mostly serious, and even though it was written in 1916, the ideas behind are still completely relevant today,” Schrum said. “Anton Chekhov’s ‘The Anniversary’ is a crazy farce and the third play, David Ives’ ‘Sure Thing’ offers an interesting look at how people approach meeting strangers, and it’s a hilarious piece of theater.”
Adding to the intrigue of the evening is a small cast of five actors, who will fill all of the evening’s roles.
That includes Jaeger, who plays the character Mrs. Peters in “Trifles,” in which the wives of a sheriff and county attorney help them try to solve a murder.
“She has this dynamic and feminist quality in her interactions with characters that I really like,” Jaeger said. “I connect with her the most.”
It’s a bigger challenge for Jaeger to connect with Tatiana, the flighty wife of a bank chairman in Chekhov’s comedic farce, “The Anniversary.”
“Tatiana is kind of air-headed and mostly a distraction,” she said. “I’m not like her at all, so I feel like I have to dig more for that role.”
Schrum said he feels lucky to have this group of actors.
“I was hoping to cast each play with different people,” he said. “But when only five showed up, I took at look and thought that, if they were willing, they were all capable of changing from play to play. Luckily, I’m working with a talented group who can approach each of their roles differently.”
Jaeger is looking forward to opening night on Friday.
“It’s been a while, so it will be good to get my feet wet and have something fun to do that isn’t work or election-related,” she said.
Storyz Studios “Evening of One Acts” will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Christ United Church of Christ, 1414 Ligonier St. in Latrobe. Tickets are $10 and available at Eventbrite.com — enter “an evening of one acts” in the search box.
For more, see StoryzStudios.org.