The Department of Theatre shows that you can go home again in a show this weekend.

Theater senior Kelli Hardman directs Tina Howe’s “Painting Churches.”

Set in 1980, “Painting Churches” tells the story of Margaret “Megs” Church, played by theater senior Caroline Sullivan. The artist returns to her parents’ home in Boston to help them move to their cottage on Cape Cod. Margaret imposes one condition: that her parents let her paint their portraits.

Coming home isn’t easy for Margaret. Her mother, Fanny, played by theater junior Kristina Cinadr, is a 60-year-old who doesn’t think her daughter is the ideal 30-year-old. Margaret is unmarried and childless.

“She wants what’s best for Megs but doesn’t quite know how to tell her,” Cinadr said.

When Megs comes home, she realizes a lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same. Fanny feels as if she is losing Megs and her husband. Once the head of the household, Fanny has lost Megs to her art and her aging husband to his memory loss.

Megs’ father, Gardner, played by astrophysics and theater senior Andrew Hungerford, was once a famous poet laureate. Now in his 70s, he is experiencing a rut with his poetry and in his life.

“Because of the dry spell with his own poetry, he’s trying to put together a book of criticisms,” Hungerford said.

Although his criticisms seem to be coming together, they aren’t. Gardner is often reduced to a childlike state.

“Throughout the course of the play, he comes to terms with what’s happening to him,” Hungerford said.

Megs’ presence couldn’t come at a more pivotal time in her parents’ lives.

Through memories and heartfelt moments Megs and her parents experience while moving and painting, they learn a lot about each other.

“The play shows what it’s like when someone is gone away for a while,” Hardman said. “It’s a drama with a comedic twist, but it’s not all funny.”

“Painting Churches” runs at 8 p.m. today and Saturday in Studio 49 in the Auditorium. Admission is $3.