Love, tears and laughter are in the air at Broke Thespians Theatre Company in San Marcos, Texas, as the company gets ready for its opening production of “Love/Sick” on Feb. 10 at the Price Center.
Written by playwright and actor John Cariani, the story is told through nine vignettes that each present different couples in different stages of their relationship. Starting with a love-at-first-sight encounter and ending with a divorced couple running into each other, the short plays express love in all of its forms.
The universal story of love that anyone can relate to is what co-director and co-founder of Broke Thespians Theatre Company Mitchell Oden loved about “Love/Sick.” Compared to Cariani’s popular play “Almost, Maine,” “Love/Sick” is a darker yet even more hilarious play. Oden said that it will leave audiences emotional.
“‘Love/Sick’ shows the successes, failures, and hardships of a relationship and will make you cry laughing,” Oden said. “Crying both ways, happy and sad.”
Rehearsals started at the end of November at the Price Center with a complete read-through with the cast. According to Oden, rehearsals were very different than the usual plays, since nine individual scenes needed to be rehearsed with various actors on stage. Co-directors Leah Pullin and Oden collaborated with the actors about their roles.
“We would talk about their character, their possible objectives, their wants and needs, and create a backstory that we liked,” Oden said. “We also wanted the actors to feel connected to their characters so we made sure to listen to our actors.”
Pullin, who joined the theater company last year and also serves as its parliamentarian, said the turnout of people who auditioned for “Love/Sick” was the biggest she’d ever seen. This is her first time directing with the company, having only had experience in her college classes at Texas State. She said she has a newfound respect for directors after being on the other side of a production.
“‘Love/Sick’ is a very good show for me to jump into directing because I get to take 10-minute scenes and work with them,” Pullin said. “It’s been a lot of fun and everyone involved is incredible to work with.”
The Broke Thespian Theatre Company had its beginnings in a Shakespeare class at Texas State in 2019. Oden and his co-founder Nate Nelson would hold theater productions in Centennial Hall and wanted to bring the experience to a wider audience.
Pullin grew up in San Marcos and has loved acting since she was young. She remembers her parents having to travel around Texas to take her to auditions and is glad that there’s now a place for anyone wanting to enjoy theater from the audience or from on stage.
“I think having opportunities in San Marcos makes it a lot more accessible for those who want to do theater and be exposed to theater,” Pullin said. “Sometimes kids get to see theater here for the first time, which I really appreciate.”
Oden expressed that his main goal for the company is to be seen as a community theater for all, whether an actor has performance experience or not. San Marcos has a flourishing art scene and vibrant music scene, but public theater was something that he noticed was missing. While he admired Texas State’s theater program, he said it’s great to have a place for anyone who wants to pursue their acting passions.
“Our biggest goal is to have this community theatre here in San Marcos that’s affordable and open to everybody,” Oden said. “The town has art, it has music, and now has theater.”
Six of the “Love/Sick” actors are Bobcats. Hanna Prince, a public relations freshman, is acting with Broke Thespians for the first time and has two roles in “Love/Sick.” In scene one, “Obsessive Impulse,” Prince will play the role of a woman who meets a man at a grocery store, and in scene four, “The Answer,” she will play the character Celia who is getting ready for her wedding day.
Prince’s love for theater led her search to find local theater groups in San Marcos and was excited to discover Broke Thespians. After discovering the theater company through Instagram, she took it as her sign to join and auditioned for “Love/Sick.”
“I was super excited, like, this was my chance,” Prince said. “So I auditioned and I’m super excited to be part of the production.”
Jacob Zimmerman, a theater freshman, decided to audition for the production after Prince informed him about Broke Thespians. This will also be Zimmerman’s first production with the theater company. In scene four he will act alongside Prince as Keith, the groom who gets tense and jittery before his marriage to Celia. Scene seven titled “Forgot” has him playing the role of Kevin, a husband who celebrates his wife’s birthday.
Zimmerman said Broke Thespians brings a sense of community to theater. He believes joining the company is a great change of pace for anyone, whether they are pursuing a theater degree or not.
“Not coming from a background of community theater, this is a fun and new experience,” Zimmerman said. “There’s now new opportunities for people to go do theater if it’s one of their passions.”
The nine scenes are different from each other yet all come together to create a love story that anyone can relate to. Zimmerman encourages people to come to see “Love/Sick” to watch the story of love and its challenges told through various short plays unfold on the stage. Prince said for anyone looking for a one-of-a-kind, laugh-out-loud experience, “Love/Sick” is the play to see.
“These individual love stories have a twist, it’s insanely comedic,” Prince said. “This show will be a really unique experience to come see.”
“Love/Sick” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10-11 and 17-18, and at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 and 18 at the Price Center located at 222 W San Antonio St.
For tickets and more information, visit https://www.brokethespianstheatrecompany.org/now-playing.