Like the masks that symbolize it, theater has long been a blend of comedy and tragedy.

This is especially true of “Fuddy Mears,” opening tonight and running through Nov. 3 at the University of Maine at Machias’ Performing Arts Center.

This adult comedy about changing identity has domestic violence as its dark center, and the script by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire deftly handles this difficult balancing act.

“The playwriting is so exquisite,” explained director Arthur Hill. “You’re laughing so hard that it sets you up. You’re laughing through the first three-quarters of the play, and it gets heavier and heavier.”

Without giving too much away, “Fuddy Mears” centers on amnesiac Claire, who awakens each morning with no memory of her previous life. Her husband, Richard, has prepared a book about her life for her after re-explaining everything so many times.

Throughout the play, Claire continues to reclaim parts of her past, especially after she’s forcibly thrust into the world of some other bizarre characters.

Hill first discovered the play six years ago, while he was serving as an adjudicator at the American College Theater Festival’s New England regional competition.

“I thought, ‘What a great play!'” he said. “Then I promptly forgot about it.”

Last summer, he was flipping through a theater journal when he came upon a review of Lindsay-Abaire’s prize-winning “Rabbit Hole,” which also listed his other works.

“That brought it all back to me,” Hill said. “I said, ‘That’s the play I’m going to do this fall.'”

He hasn’t been disappointed.

“In my 21 years here, this is the finest play, writingwise, that I have directed,” said Hill, associate professor of speech and drama. “I’ve also been blessed with a talented cast and crew.”

Working on “Fuddy Mears” helped Hill recall an incident from his past: “I had an experience when a neighbor came to me on Christmas Eve, all bloody. I couldn’t understand why she went back to him afterward.”

Hearing on the radio that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Hill got in touch with Penny Guisinger, executive director of The Next Step domestic violence agency, which has offices in Machias and Ellsworth.

She went to a rehearsal and discovered that “Fuddy Mears” is “absolutely driven by the issue of family violence,” Guisinger said. “The work that we do every day plays out on the stage through these characters.”

Guisinger met with the cast one evening to talk about domestic violence.

“People who aren’t close to this issue carry around misperceptions,” she said. “I wanted the cast to hear a little bit about our perspective, in the hopes that it would help to inform their roles. But they’re all doing a great job bringing this complicated issue to life.”

The Next Step will have an informational table at each show. After the last production on Saturday, Guisinger, Hill and the cast will hold a discussion with audience members on the issues in the play.

Also present will be members of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department because, as Sheriff Donnie Smith points out, “domestic violence is one of the most dangerous situations police officers can find themselves in.”

After speaking with Hill and learning more about the play, Smith mandated that full-time deputies attend the play, earning credit for domestic violence training in return.

“It’s a different spin for training,” he said. “Seeing something like this would give them a different perspective about what happens.”

As a follow-up, staffers at The Next Step will attend the Dec. 14 sheriff’s department patrol meeting for a round-table discussion of the play.

What message does Hill hope theatergoers will take away from “Fuddy Mears”?

“There’s no good guys or bad guys in this play,” he said. “Everyone’s a human being, warts and all.”

The preview tonight is free. Tickets for the 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday shows are $5 (adults) and $3 (seniors and students), and are free to UMM students.