Love of theatre, not college credit, had 12 students feverishly rehearsing this January for “Nothing Serious: A collection of short comedies by Rich Orloff.” Calling themselves Budget Zero, the student-run organization thrives on passion for theatre and survives on a shoestring budget, at a time when many of their peers are on break or taking Jan Term courses.

“Nothing Serious” was presented Jan. 25-27.

“This is an evolving organization that runs itself, even though I drop in and give them a little advice now and then,” says Ira Domser, the group’s faculty advisor. “It’s a great group of students who are self-motivated and enthusiastic.”

While the College provides housing, participants must pay for meals. A Creativity grant from the College, plus funds from the Westmore Foundation and the drama fraternity Alpha Psi Omega gave Budget Zero enough money to buy the rights to the play and a few other necessities. Students hope to pay back the fraternity with proceeds from the show.

“Working with peers as opposed to professors is completely different,” says producer Kimberly Rodney ’07. “We can’t overspend because we don’t have the money. We have to get into a more business environment.”

Budget Zero formed last January to perform “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Production heads encourage freshmen and sophomores to participate, both to give them unique leadership opportunities and keep the program going strong year after year.

“I’m a freshman,” says stage manager Jes Osrow. “To come in here and have the ability to try new things, I’ve been able to learn through my own mistakes.”

In “Nothing Serious,” each actor plays up to six characters in the course of 10 scenes. They rehearse four hours each day.

“I’ve learned a lot from working with other actors,” says Meghan Carlton ’08, who plays five different characters. “It’s harder than you think working with your peers… We are each other’s best resources.”

The director couldn’t agree more.

“When it all closes, we can say that this was ours,” says K.C. Delp ’07.

See Budget Zero’s video promotions by clicking here, here, and here.