Following the release of “Sunrise on the Reaping,” Suzanne Collins’ most recent installment in “The Hunger Games” series, the adored dystopian series has once again gained the popularity it saw in the early 2010s. Running with the series’ virality, The Pocket Playhouse presents “The Actor Games,” a “The Hunger Games” parody, on May 2 and May 3 at Agate Hall.

The Pocket Playhouse is an entirely student-run theater. Carly Rosenbloom, a senior at University of Oregon, is the public outreach and events coordinator at the theater. She joined the group in 2021 when she was a freshman, and has seen many changes and growth in the theater since then.

“Pocket Playhouse was the reason why I decided to go to UO,” Rosenbloom said. She was inspired to discover student-run theater since she enjoyed working with peers for a production in her high school.

The upcoming show parodies “The Hunger Games” by pitting actors from different districts against each other to become a star. Each of the districts represents a different style of acting: Greek Tragedy, Shakespearean Drama, Commedia Dell’arte, Melodrama, Silent Film, Musical Theater, Avant Garde, Hollywood and Method. Rosenbloom will act out the part of the Musical Theater district tribute.

Rosenbloom said the plot is comedic and that most of the humor is oriented around high school theater. “It’s like theater kids making fun of theater kids,” she said.

Marlee Shoup, a co-chair of The Pocket Playhouse, said that The Pocket Playhouse tends to have larger casts compared to the university theater productions, bringing more opportunities for the students. In the upcoming “The Actor Games,” there is a cast of 13 actors.

“We basically do a double amount of shows with a fraction of a budget,” Shoup said. The organization mainly relies on funding from ASUO as all shows are free, but donations are appreciated.

Since 2023, Villard Hall, the original location of The Pocket Playhouse, has been closed for construction, and the theater has since moved to Agate Hall on Agate Street across from Hayward Field. “The move to Agate Hall definitely created some challenges,” Shoup said. She joined the group in her freshman year, and since then she has been acting as well as working on administration.

Agate Hall is located on the opposite side of campus from Villard Hall, which Shoup said made it harder to attract large audiences. Then, Shoup and her colleague came up with a strategy to advertise the show to residence halls, which brought new audiences to Agate Hall.

Shoup and Logan Love co-directed “Sorority House of the Dead” earlier this year, breaking the record for the number of audience members in attendance. Agate Hall has more space than Villard Hall, and the audience has been growing. Shoup said that audiences for the shows tend to consist of students and some community members and families.

“We need people to come,” Shoup said. “Tell us that you are interested in what we are doing because that really helps us figure out what the community likes.”

“The Actor Games” will be at Agate Hall on May 2 and 3. The show will run for about 45 minutes and will be free for all audience members.

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