I am forever amazed and in awe of Theatre UAF for surviving and nearly thriving within a college that appears to equate its Liberal Arts programs with "quaint additions." Semester after semester, the men and women of UAF's most conspicuous vendor for the arts continue to stretch an inch into a mile and produce shows worthy of attention.

The Winter Shorts, a collection of three concise works exclusively directed by and starring UAF students, are perfectly suited for a college audience with a short attention span.

The first in line, "One Tennis Shoe" by Shel Silverstein (the author famous for children's novels such as "Where the Sidewalk Ends"), tracks a couple undergoing a pivotal intervention concerning the contents of a bag from Bloomingdale's.

In defense of a mysterious habit, Sylvia (played by Rachel Blackwell) is performed with the requisite neurosis of a woman on the brink of a breakdown. Blackwell instantly commands the stage, possessing a strong knack for comic timing. Harvey (Brandon Greenstreet), Sylvia's husband and subdued foil, is an appropriate choice, but tends to blend into the background – left filling in the spaces between Blackwell's command.

The second piece, "Sorry, (written by Timothy Mason, directed by Abrah Fawvor), explores the lengths to which desperate people will go for personal connection.

Played out by Joe Alloway (Wayne) and Rachel Blackwell (Pat), "Sorry" is a perfect balance of story, character development, and quirkiness for a short. Unfortunately, the actors in "Sorry" tend to overplay their parts, partially taking away from some of the play's luster.

Blackwell, still engaging, overlaps her "One Tennis Shoe" role a bit and casts what seems to be paranoid naiveté to the brink of believability. Alloway, always likable, can never quite seem to fuse his obvious love for what he does with restraint. It would serve both actors better to resist some of the manic energy fed off of in "Sorry." Nevertheless, "Sorry" is a treat and I expect to see amazing things from these two actors in the near future.

"Come and Go Mad" (adapted and directed by Carey-Taylor Seward), is the last and most perplexing of the Winter Shorts installments.

Without a doubt, Craig Brookes (George Vine) proves in "Come and Go Mad" that he is a star. Seemingly coming out of nowhere (having seen Brookes in "Taming of the Shrew" and only having heard about him in "Tartuffe"), Brookes steals the entire production in his depiction of a man feigning crazy in order to prove that he's sane. Or was it feigning sane to see for himself if he's crazy? Either way, Brookes lights up with a maturity and acting depth rarely seen in these manner of plays.

The only caveat of "Come and Go Mad" is that the performances don't quite align themselves with the satisfaction of the story. As previously mentioned, "Come and Go Mad" is adapted from a book, and the level of sophistication the director attempted to infuse into the confines of the medium simply left the product too lofty to be truly entertaining. The stage direction and actor management: top-notch. The play as a whole: muddled.

Theatre UAF has done it again. The Winter Shorts are an incredible feat when you consider the amount of work involved and the degree to which resources are available. Without a doubt, a must see.

The Winter Shorts play one more weekend in the Lee Salisbury Theatre. Friday and Saturday 8:15 p.m. and Sunday 2:15 p.m.

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