Covered in aluminum foil and sparkles, Andrew Potts gazes into the deep brown eyes of Becca Tyler. Wearing a wolf hat, Josh Gurr growls in his throat. Every Tuesday at 8 p.m. the three students star in Twilight Tuesdays — a low-budget reenactment in their apartment of the 'Twilight' films.
Last semester in The Elms Apartments students hosted a recurring event called Wizard Wednesdays. Ryan Gray and Potts joked about doing Twilight Tuesdays but never suspected it would actually happen. They found the script online, and since they don't have a TV in their apartment, they decided to act it out.
Gray, a junior from Alaska, is the script editor as well as the narrator, and said he enjoys Twilight Tuesdays because of its social benefits.
'My main goal is just to get people together,' Gray said. 'Hanging out, meeting new people and having a good time.'
Potts, who plays the vampire Edward Cullen, was also key in starting this and agreed this was an opportunity they could not miss.
'Ryan and I were sitting down and we were making jokes about doing something called Twilight Tuesdays, and we thought why not do it,' said Potts.
Becca Tyler, from Springfield, Va., plays Bella in the series. Tyler saw 'Twilight' for the first time two weeks ago but has seen many spoofs. She doesn't receive the script until 15 minutes before and then goes for it. Tyler said playing Bella is a unique challenge.
'I just have to act extremely introverted all the time without laughing,' Tyler said. 'And I try and act depressed a lot.'
Gurr, from Heidelberg, Germany, plays the werewolf Jacob and spends a lot of time preparing for this role.
'I do lots of push-ups and a thousand sit-ups a day,' Gurr said. 'That's all it takes to be Jacob.'
Gurr is definitely a crowd favorite and enjoys the 'onstage' tension between him and Potts.
'On stage it is very competitive, it's like dating at BYU,' Gurr said. 'But when we are off stage, Andrew and I are best buds. We don't fight and we don't compete when it comes to the dating life.'
Potts said the process of becoming Edward is a difficult one but enjoys the challenge.
'I think, 'How cheesy could I possibly make this?'' Potts said. 'And then I realize that and go a step further, and then I realize I will never be as good as Robert Pattinson.'
Christina Jacobs has read the entire series and when her ward announced it was going to do this she thought it would be fun to go see. Jacobs said she enjoys it more than the actual movies.
'My favorite part is seeing how they all come together and how they act it out,' Jacobs said. 'And although neither of them are interested in each other, they act like they are.'
Chris Anderson, a senior studying English, has attended every week. He lives across the hall and is grateful for everything he has learned.
'Twilight Tuesdays make me realize why I don't watch 'Twilight,'' Anderson said.
The cast welcomes all to attend every Tuesday at 8 p.m. at The Elms, apartment A102.