McMaster's School of the Arts is hosting Directors' Series 2004, a festival of unique shows directed by McMaster School of the Arts theatre & film students in their final year of study. The productions bring together a multidisciplinary team including a combination of professors and more than 30 students who will earn academic credit for their work on the shows.

The series begins this week with da Kink in my Hair by Trey Anthony and directed by Amanda Guiseppi. This show takes place in a Toronto beauty salon where Novelette recommends the latest trend and offers the odd trim on the house. The omniscient stylist sees all, hears all, and knows all, with the touch of her customer's hair. By means of this clever transition, six of the most daunting monologues of betrayal, corporate slavery, sexual abuse, and family disconnection take shape. This play was a hit at Toronto's Fringe Festival and the New York Fringe. A television series based on the play is in development.

Dates: Feb. 12  12:30 p.m., 8 p.m.; Feb. 13  8 p.m. showing second in a double bill

In A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women by Andrew Moodie and directed by Will Whitwham, just as the stag party is about to begin, the bride cancels the wedding. Chris, the jilted fianci is walking wounded but as his buddies attempt consolation we discover that they too are relationship-challenged. Four guys sit around and discuss sex, love, women and the meaning of life. Jocular and playful, these men can also be frank in revealing their vulnerability and profound desire for love and understanding. Andrew Moodie won several awards for his explosive theatrical hit, RIOT.

Dates: Feb. 12  8 p.m., showing second in a double bill; Feb. 13  12:30 p.m., 8 p.m.

Lysistrata, a comedy by Greek dramatist Aristophanes, adapted and directed by Vince Male tells the story of a group of women from opposing states who unite to end the Peloponnesian War. A hilarious, anti-war comedy, this tale has become a classic tale as the women rise to end the war by withholding sex from their mates. Finally, desperate for intimacy, the men agree to lay down their swords and see their way to achieving diplomatic peace. A cry for peace….To make love, not war.

Dates: March 4  12:30 p.m., 8 p.m.; March 5  8 p.m. showing second in a double bill

The Soldier Dreams by Daniel MacIvor, directed by Rob Porter, is about love, an examination of the effect of death on the living, and homage to those we love who have left us. A young man lies dying of AIDS, as his family gathers around. He whispers a few seemingly disjointed words, and it is up to his family to decipher them, even as they come to terms with his pending death.

Daniel MacIvor is internationally known as an actor and writer for his plays (House, In On It) and film work including Marion Bridge.

Dates: March 4  8 p.m., showing second in a double bill; March 5  12:30 p.m., 8 p.m.

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje, directed by Patrick Kelly, captures the lives and legends of Billy the Kid and his times. This poetic work transports us into the wild times and frontier morality - the crimes, the loves, the lusts  of men and women who lived life to the fullest. Outlaws and heroes, their gunshots and gallops still resonate in this magnificent poetry.

Michael Ondaatje has gained international awards for The English Patient as both novel and Oscar-winning film and for his novels Coming through Slaughter and In the Skin of the Lion.

Dates: March 11  12:30 p.m., 8 p.m.; March 12  8 p.m., showing second in a double bill

7 Stories, by Morris Panych and directed by Amanda Wilson, is a fast-paced, sophisticated and hilarious play. A man contemplating suicide on a seventh story-building ledge confronts the stories of the people who live inside the building. These “seven stories” lead to a charming and surprising ending.

Morris Panych has been awarded several Dora Mavor Moore awards: most recently for Girl in a Goldfish Bowl and for his directing of Sweeney Todd and the OverCoat, which is touring England.

Dates: March 11  8 p.m., showing second in a double bill; March 12  12:30 p.m., 8 p.m.

The Juniper Tree (adapted from the Grimms' Tale) by Maristella Roca, directed by Melissa Paraboo, is a musical version of a Grimm's brother fairy tale. A macabre tale in which a boy is murdered by his stepmother and fed to his father as stew, the play is a witty musical romp. Juniper, whose mother died from gorging on berries from the tree that bears his name, is left in charge of a robotic stepmother whose evil impulses come from an outer worldly trickster figure.

Maristella Roca won Chalmers' awards for her adaptation of Pinocchio and the tales of Calvino.

Dates: March 18  8 p.m.; March 19  12:30 p.m., 8 p.m.

Shows will take place in Robinson Memorial Theatre, Chester New Hall, Rm. 103. Admission is free.