Within two months, a student playwright can workshop their script, cast their play and see it come to life in front of a live audience.

On such a large campus, this may seem like a daunting task, especially for non-theater majors. But the Penny Dreadful Players, or PDP, make it possible.

The PDP is a student-run theater organization on campus that specifically encourages original work by student playwrights. The theater troupe welcomes all who are interested in acting, writing, directing, producing and working in tech. And with the organization’s 20th anniversary celebration last month, it is the oldest student-run theater troupe at the University.

“We get to meet a lot of new people, which is probably my favorite part,” said Haley Jenkins, managing director of the organization and senior in LAS. “From all majors, from all age ranges, from freshmen to seniors, people that have never acted before to people that have been acting their whole lives … This is something that can bring all those people together, which is pretty cool.”

Throughout the year, the PDP puts on three annual festivals to help encourage students to write and get involved in the organization. In October, the PDP showcased a selection of 10-minute shorts written and performed by students. In the spring, the PDP collaborates with the New Revels Players and What You Will Shakespeare Company, two other theater troupes on campus, to put on a charity show, Jenkins said.

Their second spring festival is called Come See Our Shorts, which features 30 or so two-minute short plays.

Gina Dunn, artistic director for the organization and senior in FAA, enjoys the troupe for the opportunities it provides, even for those with no experience.

“This group lets you do everything — I can direct, I can assistant direct, produce (and) act. I can do everything, which is great,” Dunn said. “I don’t get that opportunity at Krannert.”

In between student-written, full-length plays, the troupe also puts on established works, with two opening in November.

This Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., they will perform the “Laramie Project,” a drama based on the true story of the kidnapping, beating and death of Matthew Shepard.

On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, they will perform the “The Boys Next Door,” a comedy on four handicapped men living together with their caretaker. For both plays, the PDP will perform at the University Place Christian Church and tickets will be sold at the door for $5.

Molly McAndrew, publicity coordinator for the PDP and senior in LAS, views the organization as a family and considers her involvement as a learning experience. She talked about the annual awards show the PDP put on to recognize the achievements of the group.

“We have our fake Tonys at the end of year — we call them the Pennys because of the Penny Dreadful Players  — and we go to this nice big banquet and we get dressed up and act like we’re big shots, but really, I’m sure the restaurant hates us,” McAndrew laughed. “Basically, it’s one of those things (where) we recap everything that happened … It’s a really nice event to thank everyone who’s been involved in a show one way or another.”

As the writer and director of last spring’s original play, “All the Queen’s Men,” McAndrew received several “Pennys” for its success. The play turned out to be the most profitable of the year, Jenkins said. But McAndrew found it most rewarding for other reasons.

Writing and directing a self-made play can be a lot of fun, but also stressful, McAndrew said.

The PDP offer several workshops for writers to draft and shape their plays. Once approved by the PDP’s Board of Directors, students are able to control their work to any degree or let other students direct or produce the play. Ultimately, McAndrew enjoyed writing and directing “All the Queen’s Men,” and was “very happy with it,” she said.

“You go to a college campus of about 40,000, and what are the odds of you doing something that makes some sort of splash? But when you get to put up a show that you know 145 people are going to see in the course of two nights, that’s really something kind of special,” McAndrew said. “I don’t think that I would have had the opportunity to put up a full-length show that I had written if it wasn’t for a group like PDP on campus. It was great that I had that opportunity.”

Sarah can be reached at [email protected].