Do you need a little drama in your life that has nothing to do with the cute guy (or girl) in your bio lab? You're in luck. This weekend from Sept. 27 - 29 the Anthony Aston Players are putting on Lear's Daughters in the Ring Theatre, and from October 2 - 6 you can witness students performing in The Marriage of Bette and Boo in the MainStage Theatre.

Never heard of one or either of these plays? Here's a taste of what to expect.

Lear's Daughters is a background story about Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, the three daughters of Shakespeare's tragic hero King Lear. Written in the late 1980s by the Women's Theatre Group of Britain, this play functions as a prequel to the Shakespearian classic while focusing more on the three daughters and deconstructing their personalities and roles. This production also includes a Fool who acts as the narrator of the story (not exactly the same as Shakespeare's Fool) and the nanny, a non-Shakespearean character who functions as a mother figure.

The Anthony Aston Players' production of Lear's Daughters is directed by senior Sarah Wynne. Rehearsals began before the start of classes, "So, we're definitely ready," Wynne said. "I'm very excited and I'm ready for people to see it."

The following week, students will perform Christopher Durang's The Marriage of Bette and Boo in the MainStage. The director, assistant professor of theatre Cindy Gendrich, chose this particular play in part due to Durang's popularity among college students.

"He has this really wicked sense of humor that somehow strikes a chord with college-age students," she said.

Senior Julia Schmidt, who plays Bette, also attests to the power of Durang's writing. "Just as you're laughing really hard, he'll throw something in that will make you start to cry and just as you're crying, he'll throw something in that's just hysterical," Schmidt said. "People are going to be thrown."

The play tells the story of Bette, whom Schmidt describes as "pretty neurotic" and her husband, Boo, played by senior Cary Donaldson, who calls his character "a passive guy." The couple, as seen through the eyes of their son, must deal with marriage problems, in-laws, alcoholism and parenthood.

The cast and crew's enthusiasm about the production is apparent. Gendrich said that the play has been running "suspiciously smoothly." In the words of assistant stage manager Everett Long, a junior, Gendrich "has a great vision for the play." Donaldson adds, "We have a really awesome cast filled with very energetic people."

Interested? Lear's Daughters is running at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Sept. 28 and 29 in the Ring Theatre. Tickets are for students and for adults at the door. Performances of The Marriage of Bette and Boo will take place at 5 p.m. Oct. 2 - 5 and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the MainStage Theatre. Tickets will be for students and for adults, and are available from the theatre box office at Ext. 5295.