For love of theater and each other

Kelsey Cooke and Christopher Guerra have dreams of being Broadway stars when they move to New York this summer.

After their theater experience at Vanguard University, however, they’ll be ready for off-Broadway as well.

Cooke, a senior at Vanguard, and Guerra, her boyfriend, have spent the last few months creating a play from scratch — buying the rights to the script, acting in the lead roles, lining up sponsors and setting up the performance dates.

Their initial budget for the show, provided by the university, was a mere $100.

“What’s nice is just starting from scratch and getting to be a part of that,” said Guerra, 21, who plans to drive to New York with Cooke after getting married in July. “It makes you appreciate directors more and all they really have to take on.”

In September, Cooke and Guerra obtained the rights to put on “The Last 5 Years,” a musical by Jason Robert Brown that tracks five years in a troubled romance. Cooke, 22, who plans to graduate from Vanguard in May, saw two opportunities in the play: to fulfill her senior project, and to raise funds for the school’s cash-strapped theater department.

How much money the duo will raise for Vanguard remains to be seen when “The Last 5 Years” has its two performances on Jan. 12 and 13. Regardless, Cooke and Guerra — both experienced actors at Vanguard — got to hone their talents in recent weeks like never before. For Cooke, it was the only way to do a senior project.

“Usually, they give you 30 minutes to showcase what you want, which in my mind is just not enough after four years of working really hard,” said Cooke, a Costa Mesa resident. “I wanted to be able not only to showcase what I’ve learned but also to give back to the department.”

With the proceeds from tickets and concessions — and, hopefully, a few donations — Cooke and Guerra hope to help pay for a larger backstage area, an expanded lobby and restrooms in the theater. The two have raised money by selling ads in the program to local businesses, but so far, it’s gone to pay the student musicians who will accompany the show.

In the meantime, Cooke and Guerra have paid production costs out of their own pockets, stopping by Home Depot and other stores for materials to build scenery.

On Wednesday, they were still busy rehearsing the play, having only received a copy of the script before Christmas.

Guerra, a former Vanguard student, has applied to the drama departments at New York University and Columbia University. With this show, he got a golden opportunity for any actor: being directed by his future wife.

“I have to just step back because I’m her fiance too, and I want to give her the full power of directing,” he said. “But she’s done everything the way I envisioned it, so it flows well.”