Having graduated as a theater performance major from Minnesota State University in 2005, she went on to work for a children s theater group called Climb in Inver Grove Heights. But recently she decided to change her focus and go back to school for her teaching license at MSU, hoping to eventually teach high school and maybe direct high school theater.
That would be my dream, she said.

So that s been the plan. She s been taking classes and pursuing her license and all has been well.
Except for that annoying little itch.

The acting bug doesn t just shake your hand and wish you well when you decide to leave the stage. It s a lifetime companion for many, one that will at least make a person consider a reprisal every now and again.
Maser got to thinking about what was going on over there in the MSU theater department, and before she knew it, she found herself auditioning for a role in Independence, which opens Thursday in Andreas Theatre.

It was just weird not having anything to do at night, Maser said. I wasn t stressed enough.
To her delight, the script for the play was incredible.

And Evelyn Briggs, the mother who Maser was cast as, is one of the most intriguing characters.
Independence is about a family divided who live in the small town of Independence, Iowa, where Evelyn has lived her whole life. Her oldest daughter, Kess, is a professor at a university in Minneapolis but has returned home upon the request of her sister, Jo, who is pregnant.

Jo is concerned about their mother s mental health. Evelyn is depressed and has obsessive compulsive disorder.
Kess wants to cut off all family ties.

Sherry, the youngest daughter who is salty-tongued and amoral, just wants to make it through high school so she can leave home forever.
It s about the need for people to be heard and loved in their family, said director Stuart Fail.
Fail said Maser has done a good job of jumping back into theater and bringing to life such a complex character without making her seem like Mommy Dearest.

Maser s challenge is to make Evelyn s problems real and disquieting, while still creating a sympathetic character.
It s very challenging because she is extremely emotionally disturbed, Maser said. It s challenging, yet rewarding.