Two award-winning, one-act plays by UNCG Theatre graduate students will be staged Jan. 20-22 in Taylor Theatre to raise money for the participants to attend the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in Florida.

The plays – “The Last Train” by Bill Raulerson and “Big Shoes” by Tim Bohn – will begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 and 8 p.m. Jan. 21 and 22. In addition to raising money, these performances will allow the students to perform the plays in a venue similar to the one in West Palm Beach where they will compete in February.

Tickets are $5 and now on sale. For more information, visit www.uncg.edu/the. The shows are recommended for ages 14 and up.

Raulerson, a first-year M.F.A. directing student, won the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Region IV short play competition in Birmingham, Ala., in Feb. 2004 for “The Last Train.”

The play, which began as a writing assignment for a playwriting class Raulerson took last fall, is about two men’s journey of reconciliation and redemption. It takes place in the mid-1970s in the front yard of an abandoned shack beside a railroad track. The shack is on the outskirts of a small town that has served as a rail hub and train yard for several generations.

In the midst of economic depression, the train yard is closing down; the two men meet on the day the last train is coming through town. An interesting twist occurs as the play progresses, according to Raulerson, and “the two men are caught up in a situation over which they have no control.”

“The Last Train” stars Ross DeGraw as WD and Nathan West as James. Alan Cook directs the performance, along with Maggie Clifton as scene designer, Todd Wiggins as costume designer and Seth Starr as lighting designer.

Bohn, a third-year M.F.A. directing student, wrote “Big Shoes” and was named the alternate winner of the KC/ACTF Region IV short play competition for his work. Bohn also won the 2003 competition for his ten-minute play “Faces Fade.” He has directed many shows at UNCG including “The Diviners” and “The Taming of the Shrew.”

Director Alan Cook described “Big Shoes” as a comedy about family relationships and the problems that spring from those relationships. The show begins on prom night and traces 10 years in the life of Paul, a young American male who has problems living up to his father, Kyle.

In order to fill his father’s shoes, Paul seeks success in marriage and finances, but never meets his own expectations. As Paul’s father dies, Paul begins to realize that his shortcomings exist in his own mind. Amidst problems with his wife, Katie, and sister, Amy, Paul learns to accept himself by accepting other people.

The cast of “Big Shoes” includes Kyle Payne as Paul, Amy da Luz as Mother, Jamie Dunn as Katie, Ginny Lee as Amy and Ross DeGraw as Pop. Alan Cook serves as director, Maggie Clifton as scene designer, Matt Fuller as costume designer and Seth Starr as lighting designer.