When freshman Jeff Beals left the open audition for “Waiting for Godot” in late September, he was unsure if he would get a role in the play.

A few days later, director Clarence Blanchette selected Beals, who previously had no major acting experience, as Estragon, the lead role in “Godot,” a play written by Samuel Beckett.

The decision to put such an inexperienced actor in the lead role might be considered unorthodox, but then again, so is the play.

Blanchette said the play was under the “absurdist” genre, which means it does not have a traditional plot format.

“I think (Beckett) was showing 20th century life,” he said. “At the heart, I think the play speaks to the human condition and about who we are.”

Beals, an English major, said the play is “totally absurd” and forces the audience to stay mentally active.

“I think ‘Godot’ is going to be one of those things where 75 percent of the audience will either get up and leave during intermission or not like it at all,” Beals said. “But for those 25 percent that will look beyond the nonsensical elements, they will take something away from it.”

Kyle Snyder, a sophomore theater and education major, was given the role of Vladimir, the co-star of the play. Although Snyder has some high school acting experience, “Godot” will be his first at Eastern.

Blanchette did not know the experience of either actor before the audition.

“I saw a certain intelligence in both of them,” he said. “Ideally you would like juniors and seniors in there, but I liked the sense of humor in Kyle and Jeff’s intensity.”

The play focuses on two hoboes (played by Beals and Snyder) that are afraid of leaving their surroundings because they are waiting for Godot.

Snyder said the chemistry between the two actors must be solid.

“The characters are like brothers, so I spend a lot of time with Jeff outside of practice,” he said. “We have to make it look like we have known each other for 50 years.”

The actors, which also include theater majors Mike Dwiggins as Lucky, Patrick Ham as Boy and Luke Gerdes as Pazzo, have been practicing in three different venues for the past six weeks for three to five hours a night.

The first weeks of practices were held in a conference room at Lawson Hall, then were moved to the Village Theater lobby and now are finally on the stage where they will perform.

“We were using two couch cushions as a mound and a coat hanger for our tree as props for a while,” Snyder said. “But things have gotten a lot better (since the move to the Village Theater stage) and everything looks nice.”

Beals said for those who show up and stay, it will be a worthwhile experience.

“I encourage people to go and see it,” he said. “If they try to keep an open mind and an eye for details, I think it will be a pretty satisfying experience.”

Snyder, who has not shaved in six weeks for his role as Vladimir, will be sad after the last performance Sunday afternoon.

“It’ll be hard when it’s all over…this has been my life for the last month,” he said.

Performances of ‘Godot’ will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday with a Sunday performance at 2 p.m. at the Village Theater.