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Behind the actors and actresses in a play, there lies the director. In the case of the Fall semester's production of "Romeo and Juliet," the responsibility of turning actors and actresses into characters from the city of Verona, Italy falls into the hands of Robert Leigh.

Leigh says he was looking to depart from the traditional love story and try to come up with a "fairly lean and muscular version" of Shakespeare's classic tale of two lovers caught in between a family rivalry.

Instead, Leigh said he wanted to focus on the feud and what caused Romeo and Juliet to make such drastic moves in their lives. Money. "Basically, you have two fathers trying to control the city financially," he said.

According to Leigh, the relationships in the play between male and female aren't based on love as much as power and control.

"Men dominate women as objects and are trying to make sure [men] have money," Leigh said.

Planning for the production began for Leigh during the summer, while actually casting took place during the last week in August, so the players "have had roughly six weeks to prepare."

In casting and chemistry, Leigh said he treated the students as he would professionals. "I cast people because they have specific chemistry and then I let them filter," he said.

He also says the performers had a lot of leeway in forming their characters, preferring to let the performers research and explore their roles and ask questions. "They all own their performances," he said.

He said that the performers will be using a lot of improvisation during their performances, "so each show will be a little different, depending on how they react off of each other."

Overall, Leigh credited the performers' for their efforts. "They were very terrific and very dedicated. They really put in. a great amount of time," he said.