Theater took center stage April 19 at William Paterson with the university production “My Wonderful Day” premiering at Shea Center for the Performing Arts. premiers

The show, written by Alan Ayckbourn, tells the story of Winnie, played by Sarah Schulmann, a 9-year-old girl who has an essay to write about her day. She accompanies her heavily pregnant mother Laverne, played by Amanda Baez, to her house cleaning duties. Throughout the day, she writes about the shenanigans of the adults all around her.

Vincenzo Galvano plays Kevin, Laverne’s egotistical boss. His wife, Paula, is played by Yesim Atl and Gina Rajeckas plays his “secretary,” Tiffany. O’Neil Thomas plays Josh, Kevin’s friend.

The show was directed by Professor Jerry Beal. The rehearsal process stretched over a 5 month period, with auditions happening in December. The actors met twice a week for months. When the date of the opening of the show came closer, more rehearsals were added.

“The first time I felt comfortable with my character was the definitely the first full run through, with all the props and the set in place, ” said Thomas.

Perhaps the hardest part of the process, according to the actors, was learning their lines.

“[Ayckbourn’s] language is particular and his words are precise. You can’t really paraphrase or else you lose the meaning of the lines,” said Rajeckas.

With the show being a comedy, the actors enjoyed different moments of the show.

“My favorite part was finishing off everything and just hearing the audience laughing,” Baez said.

“Falling asleep was my favorite part!” said Thomas.

“I get to eat,” said Schulmann, laughing.

“I love being on stage with O’neil [Thomas] because his face is hilarious,” said Atl.

“I liked when my character was interrogating Winnie because you really see the character come through,” said Galvano.

The production ran from April 19 to April 22, with a total of seven shows playing. This show was the second university production of the semester.