They rehearse their lines, they develop their character, then they switch to an entirely different role the next night. For junior Zane Fincham and senior Steven Horn, this is their normal. Fincham and Horn were double casted for this year’s winter comedy, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940s, meaning they play two different characters on two different nights.

Theatre director Brian Gehrlein has a motive for casting both actors for both roles.

“I wanted to challenge my actors, and during the casting process it was clear that either actor could perform either role,” Gehrlein said. “So I decided it might be fun to double cast and see what they each did for both parts. I have never done this as a director. I [also] wanted to give them a fun memory with this show and I felt ready to challenge them both in this way.”

Although both actors were ecstatic to get the parts, some nerves did come into play.

“Initially, I was extremely worried,” said Horn. “Double casting is rare, especially at the high school level, because of the commitment it requires from the actors. So it made sense to be a little worried.”

Both men play extremely different roles, while one role portrays a female German maid, and the other being an Irish tenor, there remained some complications.

“[There were] double the amount of lines that I needed to memorize, double the cues and blocking of each character, and double the costumes, accents and character portrayal,” Fincham said. “Other struggles were [the] difficulty of memorizing both characters’ lines by first prompt rehearsal and remembering when to come on at exact moments.”

One of the biggest challenges Fincham and Horn struggled with was nailing down accents for both roles.

“It’s hard to switch day-to-day between Irish and German—the two accents are completely different in tone, and length, as well as different expressions or “slang.” It’s hard to make that complete switch every day.” Horn said.

With theatre, commitment to character remains key. Fincham went all out to make sure both his characters stayed as authentic as possible.

“For [the German maid] Helsa, I had to shave my legs, arm pits and face, to better suit the role, and also wear feminine clothes and look like a real female maid,” Fincham said. “For O’Reilly, I didn’t have to do too much, I just have a beard and scar on my face and dress in old-fashioned “Happy-Go-Lucky Irish man” clothes. It may not seem like a whole lot for two characters, but it was definitely difficult at first, but was way easier and more fun than I thought it would be.”

Although the journey has been difficult, both men had an incredibly fun experience playing two parts.

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” Horn said. “Getting double casted has been an incredibly fun and varied experience—I would love to do it again. It has challenged me greatly as a performer and as a potential working actor.”

If you want to see the chaotic process yourself, Fincham plays O’Reilly Thursday night and Saturday night and Helsa Friday night and Saturday morning, while Horn plays Helsa Thursday and Saturday night and O’Reilly Friday night and Saturday morning. The night shows begin at 7:30 p.m. while the Saturday morning show starts at 2 p.m. Prices start at $8 for adults and $5 for children. It’ll be one killer of a show.