Students from College of the Canyons’ theatre department will be performing a series of one-person performances for Santa Clarita audiences during the 2016 “Solopalooza” on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a press release from COC officials.

Featuring two nights of original solo performances at the college’s Valencia campus, the event is expected to have a combination of gut-wrenching honesty, startling insights and surprising humor.

“The COC theatre department is proud to once again offer students an opportunity to have a voice and a vehicle to tell their story,” said Susan Hinshaw, the department’s chair. “The pieces that our students have written, and will now perform, are thoughtful, often profound and extremely well done.”

Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. each night in the college’s Studio Theater, located in Room 130 of the Student Center, adjacent to the COC bookstore.

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Over the last semester, students from the college’s “Theatre 195: Solo Performance” course have worked with Hinshaw to create a series of original performance pieces that attempt to be both socially provocative and highly entertaining.

“This has been a wonderful class and promises to be our best ‘Solopalooza’ ever,” Hinshaw said.“We have bullying stories, ‘coming out’ stories, stories about true love, crazy families, God and finding your place in the world. Of special significance is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to a student’s best friend, who was killed in a car accident earlier this semester.”

COC student and “Solopalooza” alumnus Erin Cholakian is co-directing this year’s production with Hinshaw.

Some performances may contain mature language and adult subject matter. Admission to this event is $5 at the door.

Ed. Note: This article is a press release provided by College of the Canyons.