The Cave Theatre may be the smallest of the theater department's performance venues, but its shows can still provide a deep message.
The Ball State theater department opens its 2010-11 Cave Theatre series with Harold Pinter's one-act play "The Lover," a show revolving around a couple who attempts to spice up their struggling marriage through role playing.
"Anyone who knows Harold Pinter knows it's hard to explain what his plays are about because it's all in what the characters aren't saying," said Samantha Cains, a senior acting major.
In the show, Cains plays Sarah, a 1960s housewife similar to the women of TV's "Mad Men," she said. "The Lover" follows her and her husband, Richard, as they try to piece a crumbling marriage back together.
Cains views the play as a message about communication, she said. The main characters say one thing but mean another and that miscommunication is tearing them apart.
Although the play premiered in 1963, Cains said she still saw a great connection to today's society.
"There's a disconnect right now in society where we're constantly on our phones or chatting online or literally avoiding human contact at all costs," she said. "At the heart of this play is the inability to say something face-to-face to one another. ... I think that's something we need to be thinking about. How much do we want to say how we really feel without actually looking at someone and saying it to them and what difference does that make?"
In the case of "The Lover," the lack of communication revolves around the supposed affairs each partner is having. The couple tries to make rules for the affairs yet fails in saying what they need to say.
"If you have a problem with somebody and you just keep it to yourself for a long period of time, eventually all of these emotions are going to build up and you're not going to be able to live life happily," said Anthony Sullivan, a sophomore musical theater major who plays Richard.
Although he was in last spring's "My Fair Lady," this is Sullivan's first leading role in a Ball State production. He said he was glad to have the chance to work in a smaller environment.
One of the benefits, he said, was being able to work closely with Cains.
"Just being able to work with a senior was so interesting to see the difference between how I would have approached something compared to how she would have approached it," Sullivan said. "I noticed that she is also very grounded, and I strive to be as grounded in my work as she is."
Cains has performed in multiple productions at Ball State with her two most recent roles being in "Daughter's of Trinity" and "God's Ear." Although she likes mainstage productions, she said there is also something special about acting in the Cave Theatre with minimal resources and set pieces.
"You don't want the set in all of its bells and whistles to take you away from the story," Cains said. "In the Cave, we've got very limited resources and it's all about the story."
Because it is only 42 minutes long, Cains said she encourages those not as familiar with theatre to try to see "The Lover."
"If you're not used to theater, it's kind of your perfect introduction because it's not a three-hour epic. It's not Shakespeare," she said. "It is what it is."
The Cave Theatre is located in the Arts and Communications Building Room 007. The show runs on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $5 at the door or at the University Theatre box office.
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