The Ohio Northern University Department of Theatre Arts will present “The Shape of Things,” a classic contemporary play by Neil LaBute, Oct. 27 through Oct. 30 in the Stambaugh Studio Theatre in the Freed Center for the Performing Arts.

A pre-show discussion of the play will take place at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27, followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m. Other performances will be 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, and 2 p.m. on Oct. 30.

How far are you willing to go for love? If you’d do anything for it, would you truly do anything? LaBute’s provocative play “The Shape of Things” explores these questions and more as he pairs shy, awkward, self-conscious Adam with the fiery, seductive, analytical artist Evelyn.

After the two meet in an art museum, an intense relationship blossoms and propels Adam to extraordinary lengths as he tries to prove to Evelyn that he would, in fact, do anything for her.

“The attractive thing about this play, for me, is the tremendous number of questions it asks and how it stays with you after seeing it,” said director and ONU faculty member Brian Sage.

“It questions morality, art, morality’s place in art, power within human relationships and ethics among other things. The most significant question within many of those being: How far are you willing to go? The characters in the play face that difficult question, in one way or another, and all of them are left to deal with it and, ultimately, with the fallout of their actions.”

“LaBute doesn’t offer us any clean answer to these questions, but instead provokes reflection. The play is contemporary, and the characters are 20-something college students at a small private university.

So the relationships and dialogue feel very real, and by staging the play in the studio theatre, it pushes the audience closer to the action of the play, adding to the feeling that you are a ‘fly-on-the-wall,’ watching the lives of these characters unfold in front of you. It’s brutal, at times hilarious, and frequently gut-wrenching to watch because it feels so real,” Sage said.

Ticket information

Tickets can be purchased through the Freed Center’s website at www.onu.edu/freed or through the Freed Center Box Office at 419-772-1900. Adult tickets are $20, faculty tickets are $15, senior tickets are $10 and student tickets are $5.

About the Freed Center for the Performing Arts

The epicenter for arts and culture in the village of Ada is the Freed Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Ohio Northern University. Now in its 26th season, the Freed Center is home to a 550-seat proscenium theatre and 132-seat studio theatre, a 3,000-watt radio station and cable access channel, and an art gallery.

Photo:

Joey Nicoletti (playing the role of Adam) and Sybil Anast (Evelyn) rehearse a scene from “The Shape of Things,” which will be performed at Ohio Northern University.