The free event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the SURC Theatre.

With help from his theatre students, Central assistant theatre professor, Jay Ball, has devised and “One Day in Cascadia,” a production centered around the Nisqually earthquake of 2001.

The production is based on actual stories, research and science, with the help from the student actors.

The Nisqually earthquake which hit just outside of Olympia, Wash. in 2001, left a wake of destruction in its path.

Measured at a 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale, the Nisqually earthquake was one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded in Washington state history.

The Cascadia Hazards Institute sponsors art initiatives to supplement the public research they do and showcase the various kinds of natural disasters that can happen in the Northwest.

Cascadia Hazard Institute is funding “One Day in Cascadia” because of their earthquake theme this year.

Ball explains that this production is a devised play, which means all of the actors have had a hand in the creation of the play.

“The student actors are all collaborators in this production,” Ball said. “Everyone is doing some writing, and everyone is doing some directing.”

Senior theatre production major Jordan-Michael Whidbey, explains that devised pieces are a different kind of theatre.

There isn’t one playwright,” Whidbey said. “It’s a whole group collaboration on a show and that makes the show very exciting to watch.”

The play provides a humanistic overview on the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, other major historical earthquakes and future earthquakes that are likely to happen.

“The play is mostly based on interviews, documentaries, books and articles about the experiences people went through,” Ball said, “but the play also incorporates science and Native American traditions and history.”

“One Day in Cascadia” not only combines arts, sciences and history, but also musical pieces and humor.

The performance features a remix of Lil’ Jon’s “Get Low” re-written and performed by Whidbey.

“I’m a recent addition to the troop,” Whidbey said. “It’s going to be interesting to see if I can pull off rapping to such a famous song that I completely re-wrote to be about the earthquake.”

Another unique aspect of “One Day in Cascadia” is that the actors do not play just one or two roles, they each play many different people and stories throughout the play.

Each role is based on real people and their experiences with the Nisqually earthquake and how it effected them.

Theatre performance major, Sean McGehee, has helped write the scripts for the different roles he performs throughout the play.

McGehee, who has also performed in Polaroid Stories, the Tempest, and the Pussy Riots, explains that this play is different from previous productions he has been a part of.

McGehee saw a unique challenge in the fact that the actors did not receive scripts for the play, but wrote the material themselves.

“The thing that has been a little challenging in this process is coming up with the different monologues for the characters,” McGehee said.

According to Mcgehee, themost important part about the upcoming play is that it serves as a warning for an actual earthquake that is projected to hit Washington.

“A lot of people don’t know that there’s going to be an earthquake that’s supposed to be a 9 on the Richter Scale,” McGehee said. “The play will help give awareness to people about the magnitude of that.”