The Palo Alto High School One-acts — the only Paly theater productions that are student-directed, student-produced and primarily student-written — will be showing in the Haymarket at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, according to producer Stephanie Spector.

One-acts are short plays that typically feature fewer than five student actors. Paly students wrote four out of the six plays, according to drama teacher Kathleen Woods. One-acts are more informal than other Paly theater performances, as students who do not normally take part in theater productions often choose to participate.

“The great thing about One-acts is that they involve students who aren’t normally involved in theater,” Woods said.

Spector, a senior, is producing the One-acts for her Theater 4 honors project. She encouraged students to come watch the plays, emphasizing that they will appeal to a broad cross-section of Paly students.

“They are intended to provide a night of great, short entertainment and are often targeted at students who don’t usually attend or participate in shows at Paly,” Spector said.

Junior Crystal Liu wrote one of the one-acts that will be performed this week. Her play is called “The End of the World: A Brief Comedy.” She provided the Voice with a sneak peek of her work.

“It takes place a few hours after the apocalypse. A man and woman emerge from the rubble and assume that they are the last two people on earth,” Liu said, noting that the idea for her play derives from the recent earthquake in Japan. “They then recognize each other and discover that they’re ‘frenemies’ from 12 years back and haven’t spoken since.”

Liu’s work is not the only unique piece that students who watch One-acts can expect, Spector said.

“Students can expect a lot of really great entertainment that has been put together almost entirely by their peers,” Spector said. “Every one of the One-acts is incredibly individual.”