University Theatre to present plays by Strindberg, Chekhov

PRESQUE ISLE — The University Theatre at the University of Maine at Presque Isle will present its next production, an evening of two one-act plays. August Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” and Anton Chekhov’s “The Brute” are being directed by Richard Asam, associate professor of speech and theater, and will be presented at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, March 16, 17, 23, and 24, and at 2 p.m. March 18 and 25.

The cast for “Miss Julie” will include Bruce Whited of Rutherglen, Va., as Jean; Kerri Nelson of Caribou as Miss Julie; and Rose Sweeney of Limestone as Kristin.

“Miss Julie” is a naturalistic tragedy concerning the complex social and personal interactions between Julie, a Swedish aristocrat, and Jean, a servant. Representative of their respective classes, Julie and Jean engage in an intensely personal struggle to control and dominate those around them. Throughout the play, they exploit class differences for personal advantages until finally, at dawn, the tensions are tragically resolved. The translation of “Miss Julie” used for the production was specially prepared for the UMPI theater by Sandra Hardy, assistant professor of theater at the University of Maine.

Chekhov’s “The Brute” is a farce concerning the unorthodox courtship of Mrs. Popoff, a young widowed landowner, by Gregory Smirnoff, a gentleman farmer. Caught between genteel expectations and their desires, Popoff and Smirnoff thrash out their differences in riotous style until love settles the matter.

While “Miss Julie” is a tragedy and “The Brute” is a farce, both plays comment on the difficulties of communication between men and women.