Beginning Mon., April 19th, through Thurs., April 22nd, seven students will take on the role of director, with two actors each, bringing to the black box eight scenes from the short comedy, Lovesick by John Cariani.

Performances will take place over the four days, with showings at 6 pm and 8 pm. Limited seating requires that tickets only be purchased online at twcptheatre.com, as no tickets will be sold at the door. Face masks must be worn by the audience when in the building and throughout the entire performance.

“I am so glad to continue to be able to perform in front of a live audience,” sophomore student director Justin Doud said. “Also, the opportunity to see my actors really come to life; they put their all into rehearsals, as we all do, but there’s just something special about performing in front of an audience that brings a scene to life, and I can’t wait to see that.”

The scenes will be performed consecutively, lasting 10 to 15 min. Each will feature two actors and a student director, accompanied by four student technicians. 

“I chose newbies and people who aren’t in theatre much,” sophomore director Cat Cortez said. “I didn’t specifically look for that trait, that’s just kind of what happened. They look to me as a mentor one way or another, and I definitely look to them as the talent prodigies that brought my scene to life. Watching my ideas and scenes come to life is well worth it.”

Lovesick is an entirely student-dependent production, from the directors personally selecting their cast to technicians having creative freedom with props, sounds, and technical aspects. Casting was limited to 16 actors, making cuts difficult for the directors. The four student technicians also work together collaboratively throughout the entire production.

“Since I’m working all the scenes though, I’d have to say that I enjoy watching the scenes as a whole progress and improve the most,” student technician Katelyn Nguyen said. “It’s really cool being able to watch the show change and grow over time since every show is different. You’ll never see the same show twice. Not with the same cast, crew, props, sounds, etc., which makes each scene all the more meaningful to me.”

The theatre department has been working towards the production of Lovesick since February auditions, challenging their creativity and ability to work with their peers. While student-directed productions occur about once a year, they allow students to explore different perspectives of theatre, helping them find their strengths and passions. 

“In my four years in theatre, there have been three student-directed plays, and I have been lucky enough to perform in them and now direct one,” senior director Matthew Hernandez. “My favorite part about directing my scene is being able to help actors grow through this process and get to be part of their start in the department. I think that being a director for my last CP theatre production really shows the growth that I made through the years from actor to now director.”