“Translations,” a historical fiction play by Brian Friel, will take over the Black Box Theatre in the Doudna Fine Arts Center for five performances in five days starting today at 7 p.m.

Jean Wolski, interim chair of the Theatre Arts Department, said this play has been on her list of favorites to direct.

“One of the reasons I like this play has to deal with the historical situation in Ireland in 1833,” Wolski said. “But it also has political implications and I have been drawn to political theatre.”

The play is set in the 1830s in Ireland and tells the story of a British soldier who falls in love with an Irish woman, as well as telling the language of an entire nation.

She said the play, which is a work of historical fiction, is set in a town called Baile Beag, which translates to small town in English.

Shelly Hanson, a theatre arts major and dramaturg for “Translations,” said the audience should look forward to become part of Brian Friel’s fictional town of Baile Beag.

Hanson described the role of a dramaturg as someone within a theatre company who handles the research and development of plays. She said she wears many hats matchmaker, artist, scholar, and even translator.

“I consider the biggest role a dramaturg plays is detective because they delve into the historical and cultural research of the play and its setting,” Hanson said.

Hanson said the culture struggle between Great Britain and Ireland that takes place in the town will come out in the characters’ discussions.

The play is set at a country school in Ireland. When the British invade, one of the soldiers falls in love with an Irish woman and the language he and the British Army are trying to destroy, which leads to unforeseen circumstances.

Wolski said she expects the audience to see humanity within the play.

“What I’m hoping they get involved with and see is the humanity and that these characters are people,” Wolski said. “They bring history to life and see the relationships that develop between these people and Friel gives a wealth in the characters.”

Wolski said though the play has strong parts for students, they ran into some trouble while casting. They had trouble filling out the male roles, but faculty member David Wolski stepped in to fill the older male role.

She said it is a good challenge for the students to perform in a play like Translations because it gives the students an opportunity to step into roles they are unfamiliar with and can see things from a different perspective.

Wolski said the cast was set after the open auditions that took place back in August and cast every performance throughout the year from these open auditions.

Amber Nail, a senior theatre arts major, and the stage manager for Translations, said she feels Wolski cast the play well.

“I was pleased with everyone who got cast,” Nail said. “Everyone she chose, I would’ve chosen as well.”

Ryan McCain, a sophomore theatre arts major, said he auditioned for the play because he thought it would be interesting to try using an Irish dialect.

McCain said he has never been in a play characters with an Irish accent in it before and is always looking for new challenges to take on.

“First of all, getting an Irish dialect down is not an easy task,” McCain said.

McCain said the hardest part of preparing for his role as well as the entire cast, was learning and memorizing new languages like Latin and Greek, but preparation has helped him get into character.

Wolski said the cast was set after the open auditions that took place back in August and cast every performance throughout the year from these open auditions.

“There’s a lot more into building a character than learning the language,” McCain said.

McCain said he hopes the general audience will come into opening night with an open mind and to expect the unexpected.

Nail she was interested in “Translations” because of the opportunity to work with professor Wolski.

Nail worked with Wolski in the past and has a positive working relationship with her.

Her job involves working close with the professor, helping the actors with their lines, running the lights and sound, and in a way, runs the show during production.

Nail said the audience can expect to see an underlying love story, but more about the English coming in to invade the Irish. Through unexpected circumstances though, their cultures come together.

Elyse Waggoner, a senior theatre arts major and the costume designer for “Translations,” said designing the costumes has been time consuming, but enjoyed doing it.

Waggoner said the little details that went into designing the cast’s costumes were the hardest and most time consuming part of her job.

“I wanted the Irish to look of the earth, and have natural fibers and other colors, and whereas the British are more straight and artificial,” Waggoner said.

She said she looked at the script once and started finding references of the culture and time period and since it is set in an 1830s Ireland, she also looked up political leaders, the British government’s involvement in Ireland as well as general aspects of Irish commoners’ day-to-day lives.

Tickets are available at the Doudna Fine Arts Center box office and will cost the general public $12, $10 for seniors 65 years of age and older, $10 for Eastern faculty and $5 for Eastern students.

The play will run through Tuesday. Performances will begin at 7 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre except for Sunday’s performance, which will begin at 2 p.m.

Jose Gonzalez can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].