Interrogation, past becoming present and love lost --the elements of the downhearted comedy, "Sight Unseen."
The play, being presented by The University of Memphis Department of Theatre and Dance, is written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies.
"I love the play," said director and associate professor of theatre, Stephen Hancock. "In this particular play, Margulies uses an interesting method of storytelling."
Hancock said the structure of the play is not written in a typically linear style.
"(The playwright) plays around with time and mixes up how he reveals information so the audience does not get the full story until the end," Hancock said.
"Sight Unseen," running March 1-3 and 5-10, traces the steps of artist Jonathan Waxman, a young painter who has lost his passion for art somewhere in the middle of his success. Waxman's only hope is to try and rekindle the flames of an ex-love, Patricia.
The action builds from this point and the story begins to unfold.
All performances begin at 8 p.m. in the department's Studio Theatre.
Hancock, who has worked at the Manhattan Theatre Club where Margulies opens his plays, joined the U of M department of Theatre and Dance in 1998.
He is the coordinator of the introduction to theatre course and is a member of Actors Equity and the Dramatists Guild.
The set was designed by Jason McDaniel and costumes by Shannon Bowman.
"The play is traditionally presented in a realistic style -- a room that looks like a real kitchen, bedroom," Hancock said. "However, the set designer and I came up with a new concept which we feel brings out the basic storyline in a better light."
Hancock said the set is very minimal.
"Most of the environment will have to be filled in with the audience's imagination," Hancock said. "The concept is this -- as the characters in the play examine the past in order to understand the present, we examine each scene in the play as if it were an object on a pedestal in a museum. (The set is) very institutionalize."
The cast includes Nate Eppler as Jonathan Waxman, Kelly Morton as Patricia, Bill Lewis as Nick and Amanda Becton as Grete.
"They are all undergraduates in our department and members of our B.F.A. Performance program," Hancock said.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens.
U of M students each receive one free ticket with a valid ID.
The theatre box office is open from noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. To reserve tickets, call 678-2576.
Hancock said the play presents the audience with a different look on love.
"If people want to spend an evening hearing literate dialogue by well developed characters, this is the show for them," Hancock said. "Where else could you hear discourse on commercial art and anti-Semitism, while encountering the pain of loss in one evening?"
