Student theater group the 14th Grade Players will perform a stage play, “Star Wars: In 30 Minutes!” at the Mitchell Hall Theater this Friday and Saturday. The show will be directed by junior Elizabeth Richardson.

Playwright Patrick Gorman first developed the concept of a condensed Star Wars-based stage play in the mid-1990s, Richardson said. She was prompted to take on the project after witnessing a friend direct a similar show while attending high school.

The performance, which draws directly from the original screenplay of the trilogy is “basically a summation of all three Star Wars movies in 30 minutes,” said Amanda Rhodes, an associate producer of the 14th Grade Players and the president of the Student Theater Council. She characterized the show as a slapstick comedy.

Richardson said performing in a smaller space like the Mitchell theater – rather than the alternative Lisner Downstage – was ideal for the show she envisioned.

“Most people would complain about doing it in a small space,” Richardson said. “Mitchell is actually an excellent choice for this show.”

With a small space, she said, audience interaction is emphasized and the show achieves intimacy.

With a 10-person cast, every actor takes on more than one role. For example, the same actor plays both Darth Vader and Chewbacca, while another plays both C-3PO and Yoda.

Richardson said the show emphasizes use of a minimal set and depends heavily on an actor’s ability to exaggerate.

“They have to be really obvious about everything they’re doing,” Richardson said, adding that the action of the show relies on actors using props in representative ways. For example, lifted folding chairs will stand for the X-wing fighter and crutches will act as the legs of the chicken walker robots.

To draw distinctions between each chapter of the trilogy, the cast will regroup and pause, assuming posed positions mirroring a 1979 film poster. Plus, the opening monologue will be re-read by C-3PO at the start of each section.

“What’s amazing about a show like this,” Richardson said, is that it acts to unify different interests. For example, she said the audience will include people that are purely Star Wars fans as well as people that may know little about the trilogy and are just be out to see a show.

“People are going to come in and see it and maybe they’ll start seeing theater after that,” Richardson said. “Or maybe start watching Star Wars.”

Immediately following “Star Wars: In 30 Minutes!” will be a 10-minute one act. The show, “Sure Thing,” directed by senior Kim Vu, details the experience of relationships and dating with a three-person cast.

The shows will be performed at the Mitchell Hall Theater at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4. Tickets are $5.