Love is strange

In January, Laugh/Riot Performing Arts Company presented "Blackbird," a disturbing look at the fallout of a sexual encounter between a middle-aged man and a preteen. This month, the Edinboro-based company explores a different type of forbidden affair, this one rooted in the Greek tale of Phaedra, who falls in love with her stepson Hippolytus.

"'True Love' is devised by Charles Mee, who has a very different approach to playwriting than most other people," said director Rob Connick. "He actually has all his plays posted on his website, and he says if you want to use (them) as is, contact me about royalties. If you want to change it, the work is no longer mine and you don't have to pay royalties."

Connick took the second route for this drama that sets the ancient story in a modern trailer park that includes a Greek chorus whose members have their own romantic struggles to deal with. Another show was originally intended for this point in the season, but the strong female talent pool that's developed at Laugh/Riot persuaded Connick to go with a play that would take advantage of that.

"This show is probably our most challenging so far because of the topic itself, the idea that you're looking at all of these forbidden things and how people try to resist them," he said. "We got very fortunate that the cast was very excited about working on a show like this and pushing themselves to constantly grow each rehearsal."

The university has looked favorably upon the group's freshman season and invited Laugh/Riot to keep using its theater indefinitely, with the continued agreement that Edinboro students are admitted free to productions. Connick already has big plans for the second season, which will be unified by the theme of the theater of cruelty.

For now, he is excited about this provocative piece, which he is directing with student Rebecca Johnson and features Kat Farinola, Caz Himes and Nick Kikola in leading roles.

"While this may not be a show you come away from feeling happy," Connick said, "it does address and tries to answer exactly what love is."