If you’re looking for something different to do this weekend, a play at The Maintenance Shop might just do the trick. “Four Dogs and a Bone,” by John Patrick Shanley, will be presented this Friday and Saturday night, and Sunday Afternoon.

The play is being directed by Cara Peterson, senior in performing arts. Peterson said that she’s wanted to direct this play for some time.

“I’ve always liked Shanley’s work,” Peterson said. “I did ‘Danny and the Deep Blue Sea’ a couple years ago, and wanted to do something else.

“I read the script [for “Four Dogs”] five years ago, and I’ve always been intrigued when actors do a play or movie about being actors,” Peterson said. “It’s a whole double reality.”

Peterson said an aging starlet and a struggling writer are among the characters in the play.

“Some characters might be considered stereotypes, but there’s some truth in each stereotype,” Peterson said. “The characters may start as stereotypes, but they end up being real people.”

Peterson said that she, along with the four cast members have been rehearsing the play for one month. She said the process has been a bit panicked.

“We’ve only been rehearsing 2-4 days a week,” Peterson said. “We have these drawn out weekends where we don’t touch the play at all.

“Erin is back in town for the show; Danielle lives in Ankeny. I appreciate everyone still has a lot of commitments. It’s great for me that they’re willing to give up their evenings to come work with me,” she said.

Erin Baal, who plays Collette in the show, is a 1998 graduate of Iowa State. For the past year she has been acting professionally, and recently was in another production of “Four Dogs” in Madison, playing a different role.

“Cara was interested in directing it, and didn’t have anyone old enough to play Collette,” Baal said. “I have a month off in Madison, so I thought it would be fun.”

Baal said it has been interesting playing a different part in a show she has only recently done.

“At first I spent a lot of time thinking about how to be different from how Monica, the woman in Madison, did it,” Baal said. “As we got into the rehearsal process I forgot about that, and began to focus more on the character.”

Peterson, who has worked in the Maintenance Shop before, said that she enjoys the space.

“I like the M-shop because the audience is right there in front of you,” Peterson said. “Sometimes at Fisher or CY you have no idea if the audience is into the play or not.

“The sight-lines are not very good, but hopefully we’ve worked it out so there aren’t too many horrid seats,” Peterson said.

Peterson also said she is grateful to SUB for their help with the production.

“SUB and Eric Yarwood have made it possible for this play to happen,” Peterson said. “Their volunteers are going to be staffing the shows. Without [them] this wouldn’t be happening.”

Baal said that she hopes first that people appreciate the comedy of the play, but she also hopes that they find something more.

“I hope that we haven’t taken the characters so far that they aren’t believable,” Baal said. “I hope they believe what happens in the play. It’s funny, but it’s also kind of true,” she said.

“Four Dogs and a Bone,” by John Patrick Shanley performs Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $2 and all performances are at the Maintenance Shop.