Students and parents poured into the Haymarket Theater on Saturday to watch the final performance of Paly’s One Act plays, a four-night run of shows that began last Friday.

The single-act plays or “One Acts” are short plays that are completely directed and cast by students. The plays are about 10-15 minutes in length, but the quality of both staging and the acting fully demonstrate the long hours invested by the students in their creations.

With the final curtain closed, many of the cast members reflected on how the one-acts went and how they will improve them for next year.

“I would say that overall the performances ran very smoothly,” senior student director Andrew Nizamian said. “We didn’t have to scramble around or make any last minute changes.”

Nizamian directed J. Wiltz’s Do Not Collect $200 and was one of six student directors involved in organizing the plays. Each play required extensive work, ranging from staging and casting to prop searching and placement. The cast members were receptive to their directors, but each group encountered its own obstacles along the way, according to junior director Ashley Moon, who directed Words, Words, Words by David Ives.

“Trying to coordinate everyone’s schedules was probably the thing we had the most difficulties with,” Moon said. “They all had other shows they were committed to, so trying to get them all together at the same time was a little hard.”

Each director brought his or her own energy and individuality to the script. The tendencies of the director largely affected the energy and mindsets of the cast members.

“Unlike Andrew [Nizamian], our [act] was always changing,” junior cast member Marc Leclerc said. “We were always coming up with new ideas even up to the last minute before we went on.”

Despite the laughter and good times shared, several cast members are irritated that as a rule, One Acts did not give students the opportunity to write their own scripts. Many argued against this rule, citing it as a hindrance to their performances.

“Usually student-written plays are more fun and more appealing to a student audience,” Nizamian said.

Student-run productions rotate every spring, so the coming year will not feature a One Acts show. Instead, students will be given opportunities to write their own scripts for next year’s “Speed Limit 25” shows.

Like most returning cast members, Leclerc is already looking forward to next year’s productions.

“Next year there’s going to be some amazing plays written and performed, and I can’t wait to be in one or possibly write one,” Leclerc said. “From my experience there’s no limit to the imaginations of these writers and they can do whatever they want.”