USF theater student brings one-acts to The Studio@620
Kennedy Engasser. You’ll want to remember that name.
She is an award-winning poet from Pasco County, and currently a theater major at the University of South Florida. Engasser, 19, is the embodiment of the DIY ethos – she writes, produces and directs one-act plays.
Third Time’s a Charm, her third annual presentation of four short plays at The Studio@620, is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Three are comedies; the fourth is a drama. “I’ve been writing forever, honestly,” she says.
Every year, Land O’Lakes High School’s theater department would participate in the Florida Thespians’ one-act competition in Tampa. “It’s the only one that’s allowed to be student-written,” Engasser explains. “So I really wanted to write a one-act for my school to take to competition. But for several reasons, we weren’t able to take it. Which was fine.
“But I then had the opportunity to produce a show that I had written called Over-Dramatic – my first comedy – at my school. I directed it myself, and the cast was amazing, and it was very well-received by the audience. It got great laughs. And I just wanted to do more of it. It was like ‘OK, how can I get more people to see this show?’”
She caught the bug.
It occurred to her, however, that taking a 15-minute one-act to the public, and asking them to pay admission, might be something of a stretch. “So I thought, maybe I should write more. And that’s what I did.”
A friend suggested she contact Bob Devin Jones at The Studio @620, who said, as he tends to do, yes.
Engasser’s first one-act festival was produced at 620 on July 22 and 23, 2022 (Over-Dramatic was one of the featured plays).
The 2024 edition includes the titles Mutant Moth, Better Luck Next Time, Where is There? and The Ring.
As a poet and spoken word artist, Engasser is a member of Tampa’s Greenhouse Poetry Collective. At USF, she plans to add a second major this year – creative writing.
“I love poetry,” she enthuses, “and I do want to continue poetry as well, but my main focus as far as a career goes would definitely be theater. More specifically, playwriting.”
For now, she’s not entirely a one-woman show – Third Time’s a Charm, besides the cast, includes a skeleton crew of similarly dedicated thespians.
Kennedy Engasser directs, builds the set pieces, purchases and re-tools the props and costumes, and does everything but take tickets at the door.
“It truly is a lot of work, but I love doing it,” she says. “We’ve been working on it all summer.”
Find more information and tickets here.
