Wasserman Cinematheque, which most frequently houses movie screenings and a cappella performances, isn't the ideal space for a theatrical production. Lacking the typical necessities for a production such as built-in lights, sound systems, and backstage space, it is difficult to put on a show and produce a believable theatrical illusion.Yet, after traveling from read-through to opening night in a mere 24 days, the cast and crew of The Shape of Things overcame those spatial confines, emerging with a thought-provoking and intense play worthy of any of Brandeis' larger venues.

For the play-a low-budget side project of the Brandeis Ensemble Theater-its creators were unable to secure the desirable Shapiro Theater. Without the perks of the Undergraduate Theater Collective's main space, modifications were in order. A black curtain created backstage space, and the lights were placed on two large poles. "I think the necessary adjustments were healthy," director David Pepose '08 said. "It's forced us to adapt, and I think we have a better show because of it."

In Neil LaBute's 2001 play, Adam (Brian Melcher '10), a museum security guard, meets art student Evelyn (Dana Padgett '08). As they begin a relationship, Evelyn lives out the woman's dream: hanging just one thing about her significant other. She starts with small things, persuading him to eat healthier and to try to lose weight, but eventually goes as far as to persuade him to have cosmetic surgery and choose between her and his other friends. Adam hangs onto her every suggestion as he becomes more confident, and Evelyn uses her sexual power and feminine wiles to persuade him. Adam's friends Phillip (Ilya Sobol '08) and Jenny (Sarah Jacobs '09) are startled by his disappearance. The rest of the show explores just how much people will change for the people in their lives.

Following college-aged characters, it was easy for the audience to relate strongly to the situations in The Shape of Things, which were perhaps more close to home than it would have preferred. Interactive blocking enhanced this effect; for example, during one character's presentation of a thesis, the other characters sat in the audience, transforming the whole space into a college lecture hall.

Although the lighting had to be set up on poles due to the restrictive nature of the space, the result was still stellar thanks to the creativity of Dan Lincoln '09. The soundtrack, compiled by Kenny Fuentes '08, fit the scene changes perfectly. The songs were obviously picked with care and sounded like tunes the characters might play on their own iPods.

With the backstage closed off by nothing more than a black curtain, the offstage actors were occasionally conspicuous, bumping into the fabric while waiting and changing costumes. For the most part, the audience was wrapped up in the play, but these incidents at times broke the illusion.

The intimate, four-person cast required that every actor carry his or her own weight by strongly portraying many nuances of each and every character. ?By the end of the play you felt as if the characters had been your friends in college.

Just as the production defied the limitations of its space, the end of the play is nothing like one might expect from the first scene. The Shape of Things shows that it is possible to stage innovative theater in unconventional venues like Wasserman. Here's hoping that it inspires even more high-quality alternative projects in undergraduate theater.