"Cloud 9," written by Caryl Churchill and directed by theater faculty member William Fisher, will open Wednesday at 8 p.m. and run through Saturday, with the last performance at 8 p.m. and a matinee at 2 p.m.

The play opens with a vision of a picture-perfect Victorian family living in Africa during the 1880's: father, Clive; mother, Betty; son, Edward; daughter, Victoria; governess, Ellen; grandmother, Maud; and slave, Joshua.

The focus throughout the play is on the roles each individual is expected to play and the self-realization that breaks them from these molds.

"It was important to consider what the icons were that determined what makes the perfect Victorian family, and we set up a rigid slot for each character to fill through the use of costumes," said graduate student Melanie Coffey, costume designer.

In addition to these firm roles, the actors focused on building each character, a difficult task because each performer plays at least two roles.

"My characters - Ellen (who is) like a 14-year-old girl, unsure how to act around a boy; Mrs. Saunders (is) attractive because of her independence; and Lin, a mother first and a lesbian second are all such different entities," Ayn Kaethchen said. "It made deciding where each one was coming from and determining how they were feeling very complicated."

The most evident character change is that of Betty, the main character. She evolves from an observant wife in Act 1 to a woman confident of herself by the end of the play.

"It was a challenge for me to feel like I was playing Betty (Act 1) honestly," senior John Bixler said, " but eventually it all came together and walking around the stage in heels and a skirt didn't seem so strange."

Act 2 continues the play with the family's life in London in the early 1980s. The characters remain the same, having aged only 20 years, but the actors switch roles.

"I found that the most challenging part was helping the actors make one performance for themselves and connecting the vastly different acts," Fisher said.

For most of the actors, their characters in Act 1 are very different than the one they play in Act 2.

Another hurdle was the cultivated British accent of the time period. It was a difficult task for many of the actors and actresses.

Louis Colaianni, former professor at the School of Theater, returned for several days to coach the actors on the dialect.

"The English accent was difficult for me because I have never done it before," Kaethchen said.

Scenic designer Jeni Parker had to create a set embodying Africa, 1880 and London, 1980.

"We added a platform for the London set to create a urban, layered feeling, like that of buildings up all around you," she said.

But the set is only a part of the story, the actors must do the rest.

"I don't want to tell you what this story is about, the actors will do that," Fisher said.

Tickets cost $8, with a special $6 price for students and seniors. To reserve tickets, call 593-4800 or stop by the Kantner Hall ticket office Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m.