f you feel like you don’t go to the theater enough, think about the last time you saw some short plays. The “Experiments in Ink” show is highlighting six short exploratory theatre pieces entirely conceived and produced by up-and-coming U theatre students at the Lab Theatre in the University of Utah’s Performing Arts Building.

The production runs from Thursday, Feb. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m., except on Sunday, at 7 p.m., and a 4:30 p.m. matinee on Friday. Call Kingsbury Hall at 581-7100 or ArtTix at 355-ARTS for tickets ($7, $5 if you can prove you’re a student) and more information.

The six works being shown are victors of a competition involving a selection committee that reviewed the works through what the press release calls “a rigorous selection process.” The winning plays approach crises from pregnancy to internal questioning of oneself in markedly different styles.

Some of the works recall the theatrical traditions of existentialism and the Theatre of the Absurd. Nate Haldeman’s “Superficial ‘How-Are-Yous,’ Permanent ‘Goodbyes’” tells the existential story of a man with 30 minutes left to live. “Dedekind” by Jeffrey Gold is an absurdist work about turn-of-the-century gentlemen and a realization of the dilemma of control versus fate.

More internal dilemmas can be found in Anita Holland’s “Plunge,” about a high school student who is unsure of his future.

Two plays deal with relationships. Jamie Wilcox’s “When I’m With You” is a relationship drama about moving on after losing love. Karen Strang’s “You Don’t Have to Talk About It” looks humorously at the internal monologues of a couple with poor communication that has just discovered that they’re pregnant.

More laughs should be found in Josh Hansen’s “Parallels,” which turns a dysfunctional family into comedic fodder.
jeremy@red-mag.com