By Isabella Szklany

“You were like a freight train plowing through woman after woman with no remorse,” is just one line, that freshman Mackenzie Mortensen will recite this year at St. Thomas Aquinas College’s annual fall play. Seven Ways to Say I Love You is the combination of seven short plays, with fifteen different characters that will be performed by the school’s very own theater group known as the Laetare players. Working diligently every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from the end of September, the Laetare players are almost ready to perform on stage November 15th, 16th and 17th.

Each year the school hosts two plays that give students a chance to perform and watch their fellow peers on stage. The fall is usually a play, while the spring is a musical, chosen by the play’s director Dr. Matthews, a professor of performing arts and the head of the theatre department here at the college.

With the combination of seven plays, “this show is a fun and inexpensive way to support classmates and students!”, according to Erin Durkin, a senior with a minor in performing arts. Erin is in the first scene as April, a girl who hopes for the cute guy who regularly comes into her pizza shop to ask her out in the play Ambience Pizza. Erin not only is a devoted member to the Laetare players but is the Assistant Director of this year’s play. She also works closely with Dr. Matthews to advertise, market and direct the play for it to be a successful hit. However, be on the lookout for Erin, towards the end of the play as she will be acting out her final performance project as a performing arts minor in the show’s extra short play Frog Loves Christy.

For Mackenzie Mortensen, Seven Ways to Say I Love You will be her first play here at the college. Mackenzie plays Jessica, in the short play Film Noir, as a 1950s femme fatale. The adjustment to college life, for Mackenzie, has been made easier by being a member of the Laetare players as she has found a group of people to rely on, and a place to be herself. This play will also mark her first significant role on stage in a college performance. Mackenzie also has found the Laetare players to be a welcoming group of people and a whole new friend group, as a result.

Seven Ways to Say I Love You is not any normal play, as it has more than one plot line and according to Erin will combine “the story of love, romance, and scandal all in one comedic production.” This play is not one to miss, as it is not just a typical love story where boy meets girl, falls in love and lives happily ever after. This play is for anyone that wants a new take on  love stories and is on the lookout to do something fun on campus.

How to go see the play:

Show dates are November 15th, 16th and 17th in the Sullivan Theatre starting at 8pm.

Tickets for students and senior citizens are $6 and $8 for adults.

Pre-sale tickets can be found on sale online and tickets will be sold at the door the night of the play.