The Theater Arts Department is beginning rehearsals for the romantic comedy “Almost, Maine,” which is premiering this October, according to a department official.

The play will feature nine couples on their quest for love.  Assistant Director Leslie Woessner has high expectations for the play and is hoping for a large audience, much like previous shows.

“We got a good turnout even for our Shakespeare play last spring, so I expect there to be a good turnout for “Almost, Maine,” but you never know though,” said Woessner, a theater arts major.

Woessner said that the audiences can expect magical elements between the characters during play.

“It’s about love and there are some little weird supernatural bits of it that are not quite real, but we’re trying to achieve real emotion,” said Woessner. “We want them to appear like they are actually in love with each other.”

According to Theater Director Nick Pappas, the play will comprise of nine scenes emphasizing each couple’s love story.

Mikki Benjamin, 18-year-old theater arts major, has been cast as the character Glory and is excited about her role in the production.

“I kind of connect to Glory because I feel like she’s a little bit lonely and she finds it hard to relate to people and I think it’s really similar to the way I am,” Benjamin said. “At the same time she’s a little bit different and it’s nice to like get into character and explore that.”

Benjamin will be working closely with Remy Muloway, 19, also theater arts major, who plays the character East and the love interest of Glory.

Muloway talked about his character, accentuating the love story between East and Glory while being careful not to give anything away.

“I relate to him in that sense of trying to protect yourself from the outside world,” Muloway said, regarding his connection to the character.

“Almost, Maine” will be running October 15-17 and 22-24 at 8 p.m. and October 18 and 25 at 2 p.m.