Upon entering Reeves theatre, Zach Hines waved his hands artistically in the air explaining how he wanted the lighting to look when audience members entered the theater. ‘I want it to glow,’ he explained to junior Meredith Payne.

Lighting is one of the many articles of business that he and his all-female cast have to attend to in the student directed ‘Eleemosynary.’

Hines is a first-time student director and sophomore performing arts major.

‘It’s the first student-directed production supported by Alpha Psi Omega,’ he said. ‘It’s really a collaborative effort.’

Originally written by Lee Blessing, Eleemosynary, as interpreted by Hines, is a mixture of stage performance and film all meshed together to form the perfect storm of drama and humor.

Cast members Jackie Schram and Alice Renier agreed, ‘He gets to learn to be a better director from us and we get to learn to be better actors from his directing style.’

The rehearsal was laid back with jokes peppered throughout but each student understood the importance of putting together a good show for the UT audience.

‘Eleemosynary’ will run Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2 at 11 p.m. in Reeves theater, with free admission.

It touches on the ‘delicate relationships’ between women. And goes through a range of issues from mother-daughter tension to abortion. It is sure to get audiences thinking. ‘Eleemosynary’ will make you laugh, cry and touch your heart.’