By Chris Verkaik

Staff Writer

This weekend the Calvin community once again has the opportunity to experience the talent of their fellow students with the annual Lab Theater production. Each year this display of student talent comes to us in the form of student-directed one-act plays, this year entitled ``Full Circle.''

The program is designed to give students a chance to be at what CAS professor Michael Page refers to as the ``artistic helm'' of theater. Page calls himself the producer of the performance, but says he has ``deliberately taken a back seat'' and allowed the students to be the creative force behind the production.

The show this year receives its inspiration from the New York theater company Circle East, a group of actors, directors and writers dedicated to promoting and encouraging new American plays and playwrights. ``Full Circle'' consists of seven plays selected from scripts that came out of Circle East, so in many ways it is tapping into the cutting edge of American theater, and Page is excited by the fresh and contemporary nature of the scripts.

``I think at least for a couple [of the plays] this is the first full production of them, which is exciting,'' he said.

The production is a mixture of comedy and drama from various writers; some deal with current issues such as racism or disability while others are just light and fun. Despite the huge range of subject matter, the group tried to select plays with some significance.

Page explained that they looked for ``plays that went beyond just [slice of life] and made a kind of statement through the image or images they projected.''

Although unintentional, those involved discovered a common thematic element tying everything together. ``There's an unexpected encounter in all of the plays.''

Doing a production of contemporary plays inevitably raises issues of content that must be dealt with by cast and crew. Page admits that the last play, Fiona's Mane, could strike some in the audience as somewhat abrasive.

``We're kind of pushing the limits a little bit in this one,'' Page said, ``but I think it's worth it.''

The production has caught the attention of playwright Cheri Magid, whose play ``The Cliffs of Moher'' is part of ``Full Circle.'' Page is excited that Magid has come to Calvin to meet with the company and see her play performed.

``I think it's a great thing for Calvin to be exposed to people who are actually working out professionally in the theater field,'' Page said, ``bringing them in and sharing their expertise and knowledge.''

``Full Circle'' will be performed Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in the Lab Theater at 8 pm. Student tickets are six dollars.