The director jogs around the stairs in the Allen Bales Theater, watching the actors embrace for what might be the hundredth time, making sure it looks perfect from every angle.  He seems to have an “ah-ha” moment when they finally get it right.

Since they started Purgatorio at the beginning of the semester, the actors have had to engage every angle of their performance on stage because the audience surrounds the stage from all four sides.

“It is a rare arrangement to see,” said Bill Ronchak, general manager of Purgatorio. “Being in the round allows the versatility of making what is already a very close space more compact, which is really vital for a piece like this.”

Purgatorio is a dramatic discourse between two married people based on the Greek myth of Jason and Madea.  In the myth, the man cheated on his wife with a younger woman, and the wife killed their children. The man and woman are set in a purgatory that is sterile and maddening, similar to an insane asylum, where they are meant to work out their problems. According to the director, it is intense subject matter.

“It has to be believable,” said Stephen Brunson, who plays “Man” in the story. You cannot judge what your character does. You can’t judge cheating on your wife with a younger woman, or else you can’t play that character. You have to understand why they would do it.”

Stephen Brunson and Amy Handra are the leads of the play and are both in their 3rd and final year of the graduate MFA acting program. To prepare for the dress rehearsal, Handra and Brunson warm up physically and vocally, run through all their lines and do a fight call, which tests combat moves to make sure they are safe.

“This play is demanding first of all because of the endurance; it’s 80 minutes and there are only two of us,” Brunson said. “The only other thing that’s really demanding is the constant awareness of where your body is and keeping that constant awareness masked.”

Both the actors and the director, Jimmy Kantos, take classes, teach classes and have to study on top of working on the play. Kantos said he was happy with the actors because of the dedication they have put into the play.

“As a director, the first thing you look for is work ethic – talent is a bonus,” Kantos said. “What I have is the best of both worlds – I’ve got two extremely talented graduate actors to work with, and I’ve got two people with unbelievable work ethic.”

Kantos chose Purgatorio because of its intensity and dark subject matter. The style is different from anything the theater department has done before. He said that by the end of the 80 minutes, both the audience and actors will be exhausted.

Kantos said the collaboration of himself, the actors, costume designers and managers took the play from his original vision to a complete show.

Opening night is Monday, Sept. 26, and the show will run every night through Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. in the Allen Bales Theater. Tickets are $10 for everyone and can be purchased online or at the box office in Rowand-Johnson Hall.

“I think the show is riveting, fascinating, incredibly interesting, and it really has powerful writing and powerful performances,” Ronchak said. “Plus, you get to sit on the stage. That’s a rare thing for shows, and according to the director, the seats on the stage are the best in the house.”

If You Go

What: Purgatorio

Where: Allen Bales Theater

When: Sept. 26 – Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 2 at 2 p.m.

Cost: $10