Love. It’s in the air. Whether there is or there isn’t any, the idea of love is floating around this time of year. This is true for Gina Kaufmann, a theater and dance assistant professor at Sacramento State and a freelance director, who said she loves the students here. Love is also a theme in a play directed by Kaufmann called “Private Lives.”

The play, written by Noel Coward in 1930, is showing downtown in the Sacramento Theater Company’s main stage through Sunday. It is centered around two individuals who are remarried to themselves. Both honeymoon to the same destination and to make matters better or worse, they are lodged in hotel suites next to each other. Their meeting reminds them of why they fell in love and also why they couldn’t stand each other.

Brittni Barger, a junior theatre and dance major, said that the play is about love, but more about the dynamics of relationships.

On opening night, Jan. 27, Kaufmann felt the love. It was a full house at the theater which seats about 300, Kaufman said.

“The audiences have been quite a mix, ranging from students, elders and children,” Kaufmann said.

Barger said the audience turnout has been a wide spectrum and phenomenal.

“Audiences are responding with a lot of laughter and applause,” Kaufmann said.The idea that people can be drawn to someone, yet it is so destructive is something that makes the play special to Kaufmann, she said.

Kaufmann also said that people who know the story said that the passion underneath the comedy is something that makes the play even more appealing.

Kaufmann has thrown her own directing flair into the witty comedy, she said, by making it more physical.

“The physical comedy absolutely works with the material,” Barger said.

Kaufmann said she has also set the play in the period in which it was written, unlike other productions, where some directors set it in the 1950’s.

Kaufmann’s direction for the play has earned her three and a half stars out of four in a Sacramento Bee review.

“I’d rather get a four. It’s kind of like you got a B+ rather than an A,” Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann has also been teaching for three and a half years at Sac State.

She began her undergraduate studies as an actress at the University of Iowa. She delved into directing as a junior when her professor asked her to direct a play through a program the school offered. Since then, she continued her graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, taught at the University of Louisville, been a guest director at Brown University and taught at Dartmouth College as a guest.

“As a director, you’re looking at the big picture. You can’t allow yourself as an actor to look at the big picture,” Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann has been busy since her arrival at Sac State directing plays such as The Tempest, The Crucible and Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet. Renee DeGarmo, a senior theater major, said she reciprocates Kaufmann’s feelings of love and respects her work.

“She’s always willing to do things that others won’t,” DeGarmo said. Kaufmann said she has enjoyed seeing many students grow.

“Seeing students grapple with the whole profession especially is rewarding,” Kaufmann said.

Barger said she has had a growing experience with Kaufmann too.

“She wants you to argue with her, and that’s really refreshing,” Barger said.

Kaufmann has more desires of love, saying she would love to spend more time with her one-year-old.

“One of the most challenging things about my job is being a director, a teacher and a mom at the same time,” Kaufmann said.

“I love the students here a lot,” Kaufmann said.

The theme of love is dealt with in the play but there is ongoing love for Kaufmann, her directing and students.

“She is one of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet. She’s definitely someone you want to emulate,” Barger said. Gia Vang can be reached at [email protected]