One last time before hitting the stage

Sharanya Balaji

Exit casts rehearses one last time before the shows.

With every character in costume and props ready to go, last minute preparations for this weekend’s annual Student Directed Showcase (SDS) took place during dress rehearsals yesterday and Wednesday. All casts ran through their shows with breaks in between for directors to provide last minute tips and directions.

SDS, which features the four shows “Almost Maine”, “Exit”, “We Live Here”, and “Check Please” directed by Caroline Howells, Zoe Woehrmann, Madi Lang-Ree and Jai Ahuja respectively, kicks off tonight, Jan. 9. The shows vary in genres from romance to witty humor.

“Almost Maine” focuses on a more romantic note by telling the story of couples falling in and out of love, while “Exit” centers around a more dark and mysterious side with five kids who wake up in a trapped theater and try to find a way out.

The second part of the showcase begins with “We Live Here”, a play that revolves around many unexpected events during the wedding weekend of one of the family’s daughter’s, the twin of another daughter who committed suicide 13 years earlier. The show concludes with Check Please, a comedy that chronicles two individuals that go through various blind dates.

The directors chose these plays after reading many one act plays over the summer. Auditions took place in early October, and rehearsals have been taking place ever since. Additionally, each cast went on a retreat over the Winter Break to bond one last time as a team before hitting the stage.

“My favorite memory is a discussion I had with my cast, where we really dug into their backstories, where they really proved how invested they were in their characters and this show,” Zoe said.

For most of the directors, this process has just been an incredibly rewarding experience to which they are all very thankful for.

“I am absolutely in love with my cast and I will miss them and this process so so much,” Madi said. “They have taken my dreams for this show above and beyond, I am so incredibly proud of them, and I cannot wait to see what they bring to the performances!”

Exit director, Zoe, expressed her pride as well.

“I’m honestly so proud of them, and I couldn’t have asked for a better cast,” she said.

Shows both will run tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Blackford campus.