BROWNSTOWN — Two one-act shows will be presented three times this weekend.

“The Dummest Play Ever” is a hilarious comedy that will leave you in stitches. Featuring an all-female cast, this side-splitting performance guarantees an evening of laughter and entertainment.

In “Lord of the Flies,” witness the gripping tale of survival and human nature on a deserted island. With an all-male cast, this production promises to captivate you with its powerful performances and thought-provoking themes.

Jackson County Young Artists’ Theatre will present these shows at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Royal Off-the-Square Theatre in Brownstown.

Besides featuring actors from elementary school age to high school, both shows have student directors. Emily Keller is in that role for “The Dummest Play Ever,” and Jack Charlton is in that role for “Lord of the Flies.” They also are among the actors in the shows.

Adding onto that, Keller’s mother, Megan Keller, and Charlton’s father, Shawn Charlton, are directors for the respective shows. The cast also includes the students’ siblings, Lilly Charlton, Olivia Keller and Annie Keller. Plus, Shawn’s wife, Kristina Charlton, is the production manager, and Megan’s husband, Paul Keller, is handling sets and tech.

“The cool thing is our families have become friends through this theater experience over the years,” Shawn said. “I’ve seen Emily as a 7-year-old and (Jack) as a 5-, 6-year-old. I’ve seen these kids grow up. I’ve seen other kids grow up and go on to be student directors, and so it’s such an honor for our kids to now be at that level because we always wondered ‘Would they do that?’ Now, they are here, and it happened before we could even think about it.”

With the boys choosing “Lord of the Flies,” Megan said they thought it would be a great opportunity to find a comedy for the girls to do. In the past, she said comedies have been reserved for guys.

“These girls are really talented and courageous, and I wanted them to have an opportunity to be silly and fun because usually, they have some serious roles,” she said. “Having them come to the table making decisions, like what shows we’re going to do, how we’re going to cast the show, working out technical problems … both Jack and Emily have been pretty integral in that aspect. That’s what we’re looking to do.”

Stepping up to be a student director has been a new experience for Emily, 15, a sophomore at Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour.

“It’s a lot different because normally, I’m just acting and not super involved in like the stage manager, where I’m helping people move props and stuff backstage, and now, I’m doing it all back there,” she said. “It’s a lot different, and the leadership, it’s nice, but it can be stressful.”

Jack, 14, a freshman at Seymour High School, said being a student director has been a really fun experience.

“I was 5 years old when I was doing little shows, but I’ve always wanted to do it,” he said of his early draw to “Lord of the Flies.” “I would put face paint on pretending like we were doing it. It’s really great that I get to do this now. This opportunity has come up, and it has been 10 years, so I’m really excited for it.”

Shawn said “Lord of the Flies” has been one of his favorite books since he was a teenager, so he also has had a longtime draw to it.

“I’ve read it a bazillion times, I’ve taught it and then my son became obsessed with it when he was about 6 or 7 years old, so for almost 10 years, we have talked about it,” he said. “He has bugged me, he has talked about doing this show when he’s old enough and it came an opportunity that we could do it here possibly and have it as a one-act, and so the theater gave us the green light, and we just went for it.”

As Jack talked to other youth involved in the theater about the show, they got on board, too.

“It has been something we’ve wanted to do as a family, but these boys have been talking about it because Jack has put it in their mind for the last several years. The boys that we have in our show have done multiple shows here, and they’ve heard ‘Lord of the Flies’ for three, four, five, six, seven years, and then when we got a chance to do it, they all came out and auditioned,” Shawn said.

“Now that they are old enough to be in it, we have really strong teen boys right now,” Kristina added.

With the shows, the two aspects of theater — comedy and drama — are covered, and the youth have an opportunity to showcase their acting skills along with two of them getting an opportunity to help direct.

“The reason that we enjoy doing that is because it’s kind of like a feeder program,” Megan said. “We’re teaching these kids life skills that not only transfer into the theater but into careers and into education. They are learning how to problem solve and how to work with others and how to verbally express their ideas and how to nonverbally express their ideas.”

It gives them ownership of the show and an opportunity to have a voice in what shows they do, she said.

“Oftentimes, with school plays, they don’t have much choice with the ones they do, and so we’re trying to provide a space for them to use those creative talents,” Megan said.

From helping the younger kids to moving props to giving ideas, the student directors are applying multiple elements of theater.

“As much as they can handle, they run the show,” Shawn said. “When we say student-led, that’s what we try to really mean.”

Jack and Emily also are youth representatives on the Jackson County Community Theatre board, so that’s another way for them to have a voice.

“They are doing a great job,” Kristina said. “Our youth program is just thriving.”

If you go

What: Jackson County Young Artists’ Theatre’s one-act productions of “Lord of the Flies” and “The Dummest Play Ever”

When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Royal Off-the-Square Theatre, 121 W. Walnut St., Brownstown

Cost: $12 for students and senior citizens and $15 for adults; available online at onthestage.tickets/jackson-county-community-theatre or at the door

Production manager: Kristina Charlton

Sets and tech: Paul Keller

“Lord of the Flies”

Director: Shawn Charlton

Student director: Jack Charlton

Cast: Jack Charlton, Sam Dyer, Brad Dyer, Emory Helton, Hunter Hollenbaugh, Levi Blankenbeker, Tyler Williams, Jonathan Neawedde, Mason Williams, Myles Calhoun, Finn Dick, Jeremiah Clay, Sully Dick, Cam Burrell, Maison Thomas, Noble Hare

“The Dummest Play Ever”

Director: Megan Keller

Student director: Emily Keller

Cast: Ruby Blankenbeker, Lauren Brown, Jane Browning, Lilly Charlton, Bridget Deaton, Elin Dick, Alyssa Haas, Gabby Hall, Annie Keller, Emily Keller, Olivia Keller, Viviana Wilson