The Media Theatre Company present the premiere of the comedy/drama “The Screens Between”, a multimedia play that explores how fictional television programs and Internet communities help shape our personal relationships and global views of the war in Iraq. “The Screens Between” will start Thurs., May 3 at 8pm, and performances will continue at 8pm Fri. May 4, and at 2pm and 8pm Sat., May 5 at the McCormick Tribune Center, 1870 Campus Dr. at Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door or reserved through screensbetween (at) gmail.com. “The Screens Between” is written by Abigail Derecho and Steve Persch, and directed by Persch.

In “The Screens Between”,“ Meg is engaged to Dan, a marine stationed near Fallujah. Frightened for Dan, and lonely in their apartment with a job that allows her to telecommute, Meg discovers the daytime soap opera “Harborview,” which centers on the love triangle between reporter Mallory, police detective Davis, and Davis’s childhood sweetheart, Kathleen. Becoming obsessed with the show, Meg joins an online chatroom group dedicated to Davis/Mallory. Meg strikes up a close friendship with the eccentric chatroom members, which include a high school drop-out, a wealthy female attorney, and a stay-at-home husband. But when Dan returns from Iraq, he finds himself unable to speak about his wartime experiences to Meg. Meg becomes even more obsessed with “Harborview”, a fantasy far more romantic than her strained relationship with the haunted Dan. Then, life begins to imitate art in a startling way, as the parallels between Dan’s renewed interest in his ex-girlfriend, Kate, and the soap opera triangle of Davis/Mallory/Kathleen are unmistakably similar. footage of the fictional soap opera, images of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, e-mails, and Internet chats with the live action on stage.

“The Screens Between ” is the second production of the Media Theatre Company, founded by Northwestern Ph.D. candidate Derecho and undergraduate senior Persch. The company stages plays set in contemporary American society that combine multiple forms of media with live performance in order to investigate how media shapes our individual identities and our definitions of culture and community.