Alaina Boukedes, a junior majoring in theatre and journalism and the vice president of Alpha Psi Omega, said the event is a platform for people of different social circles to come together over a love of performance.
“We get dancers, poets, actors, comedians, almost anything that someone wants to do within 10 minutes without breaking the law,” she said.
Guerrilla Theatre is hosted once a month in the Allen Bales Theatre and usually has a theme. This month’s theme is heritage, and the event is titled “It’s a Small Guerrilla After All.” Performers sign up ahead of time and typically prepare during the week leading up to the performance.
Boukedes said the event has become a staple of student life at the University and is commonly listed as one of the top 10 things for students to do before graduation.
“Since it is held in the Allen Bales Theatre, which seats 149, I’d say we get about 200 people to come to Guerrilla,” she said. “That being said, we do have to regularly turn people away at the door because we simply can’t fit all 200 of us inside.”
Andrew Brown, a senior majoring in theatre and economics and an Alpha Psi Omega member, said he believes Guerilla Theatre’s widespread appeal comes from the event not falling into one demographic.
“It’s not, strictly speaking, theatre, a concert or a dance recital,” he said. “Guerrilla Theatre is just people who have come to the stage to bare their soul out to touch people, and that is exactly what we as theatre practitioners live to do.”
Alpha Psi Omega will host Guerrilla Theatre Saturday at the Allen Bales Theatre, with doors opening at 10:30 p.m. A $2 donation at the door is suggested but not required.
