This semester's furlough days have cut prep time for The Brown Bag Theatre Company's first on-campus production, but "Metamorphosis" emerged without a glitch.

Student and director Dara Yazdani, along with six other actors involved, were forced to work off-campus for the production of the show, just days before the scheduled opening.

"We started on Aug. 5 and rehearsed four hours a day, five days a week," said Yazdani, 21, a drama major. "Then it got a little shaky because furloughs kicked us out of the building, and we had to rehearse at someone's house."

With only one full dress rehearsal completed, "Metamorphosis" opened on Sept. 9 to a full house.

Several students waiting for the play to start expressed their concern about budget cuts and furlough days, and the consequences they have on the company.

"The theater is great for people who want to get into acting, but [the furloughs] take away from them and their performance time," said 19-year-old business major Sarah Canales.

"Metamorphosis," which is based off of Franz Kafka's novella of the same name, tells the tale of Gregor Samsa, who mysteriously wakes up one morning as a bug. His family slowly begins to forget about him and, instead, worries about how they will make ends meet now that Gregor is not supporting them.

The company is a student-run five-unit class consisting of seven directors and 25 actors. It puts on free weekly productions every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on the Creative Arts building.

The class itself began in the fall of 1987 and, according to some of the students, is one of a kind.

"I've talked to people at other schools and they have similar programs, but it's usually not all student-run," said 19-year-old drama major Michael Saarela, who played Gregor Samsa in "Metamorphosis."

"It's difficult to explain to people that you're in a repertory theater program, but it's for school," adds drama major Sarah Selig, who plays the supporting role of Stietl, Samsa's boss. "They're simulating what a repertory theater program would be, if you were in the real world."

Watching the various plays and musicals, some might forget that they are watching students, many of whom have a slew of other obligations including classes and jobs.

"I think of it as my day job gets in the way of my theater, but I've made it work," Selig said.

But some students making their way through the drama program aren't as optimistic as Selig.

"[Acting] is what I love to do, and I need to do it because it's my outlet," said Tricia Brooks, 18. "It's really difficult now because we're paying more to not be able to go to classes. It's just such a headache."

This won't be the last time Yazdani will have to produce a play during the furloughs.

"Funny enough, my second show is on the next weekend furlough, which is when we get a lot of the set built," he said. "It just happened to fall that way."