Daily Iowan

Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: 80 Hours

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The play within a play has been a staple in theater for centuries. Shakespeare used it to great effect in Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the tradition has even crossed over in recent years to such films as Singin' in the Rain and such television shows as "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."

With this weekend's production of Anton in Show Business, the next Mainstage Production, the UI theater department proves that some narrative devices never go out of style.

"I'll be interested to see how people who don't live in the theater every day will respond to it," said Anton's stage manager, Danielle Borden. For her and the rest of Anton's production team, the story of a regional theater attempting to put on Chekhov's Three Sisters hits close to home for their own love for the art form.

"We can definitely all connect to the struggles of doing theater," said Sarah McDermott, who has one of the show's three leading roles. "It's very dear to our hearts."

The 20-year-old theater major read Jane Martin's 2000 American Theatre Critics award-winning play over the summer after the fall lineup was announced and ended up connecting deeply to the character she would eventually play. Come tonight, McDermott will play Lisabette, a na've first-time actress.

"I really wanted the part I got," McDermott said. "She's so passionate about theater. I could really connect to that. We share the same determination. We've both tried other things, but in the end, this was the only way to go."

For Borden, the connection for her came from the overwhelming notion that a career in theater is one sadly lacking in realism - not to mention funds.

"The question of 'Why do theater?' is something that I definitely faced, being from a small town," the 31-year-old said. "I feel like the theater brings so much to so many different people."

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