In the middle of a circular theatre lies an uneven green square platform. Upon it are a mattress, a pillow and a white chair, and a young woman who appears to be sleeping — this is Amy. Sitting on the edge of the highest corner of the platform is a ragged-looking man — this is Palo. Played by graduate students Andrea Snow and Jacob Ortuño, respectively, Amy and Palo are the instigators of this play. Written by proclaimed playwright Octavio Solis, directed by Desdemona Chiang and performed by graduate students in the Professional Actor Training Program at the UW, Gibraltar is a story about the uncanny and deadly things people are capable of when blessed with true love and then pained when it is taken from them.

As if in a dream, Palo carries Amy and the audience through a series of five different scenarios involving love (two of them being their own), and like the ghosts of Christmas, observe the turn of events that unfold throughout each one. There is an interesting twist, however: Amy is able to interfere with each incident and change the structure of Palo’s story against his will. The two counteract one another and offer a dualist sort of view for the audience in each narrative.

The first of these narratives involves a young San Franciscan shipyard worker, Steven (Carl Kennedy), who is tormented by the death of his father when he was a young boy. His father committed suicide as a result of the false love of an affair with another woman. Due to fate or some heavenly turn of events, he meets up with the woman, Francesca (Hannah Franklin), years later, giving him the opportunity to express the pent-up rage that’s been building for over a decade.

The second scenario involves Taylor (Aaron Blakely), a cop who lost custody of his son in a divorce with his ex-wife, Sharon (Mary Bliss Mather). Unable to come near his child and still madly in love with his former partner, Taylor makes a few unwise decisions when Sharon comes over to his house to have him sign divorce papers. Blakely does an exceptional job portraying a confronted and broken-hearted father, bent on trying to get his family back together again.

The next chapter involves Dot (Montana von Fliss), an elderly woman suffering from the final stages of Alzheimer’s, and her husband, Jackson (Robert Olguin), a lonely man who is unhappy with the state his wife is in. Amy volunteers as Dot’s treatment therapist and helps her with painting to keep her occupied and somewhat coherent. However, Jackson and Amy begin an affair (Amy is also married to her wonderful husband, Daniel, who Ortuño portrays occasionally). Amy feels guilty for what she has done after she rescues Dot from drowning, and rushes to her apartment to tell her husband everything.

Amy and Palo’s scenarios are then expressed at the end of the play, and their pasts are revealed to the audience. Both Ortuño and Snow do a fantastic job displaying damaged souls who have lost the loves of their lives due to the choices they have made.

Gibraltar is by no stretch of the imagination a feel-good play. Every scenario doesn’t have a happy ending, and if you’re one that cries easily, make sure to bring a box of tissues. The acting is very good, though the method of the play can be kind of hokey. Actors sharing the same lines, repetition of verses (in both English and Spanish), and the constant narration of inner monologues and direction, along with the expression of obvious emotion, make it seem like the play is trying too hard to get the messages across. We get it: she’s sad, and the audience is guaranteed to know the reasons why — we don’t need the actress to verbally explain it.

The play is put on by the UW School of Drama and runs at the Penthouse Theatre on campus through March 9. More information can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrama.