On Friday night, the long collaboration between University Theatre’s master of fine arts program and Madison Repertory Theatre will culminate with the opening of “The Greeks.”

By bringing the two entities together, the partnership aims to highlight the curiosity of the academic stage with the resources and experience of a professional stage.

“The Greeks,” adapted from the traditional works of Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles, is a 10-play cycle recounting the emotional and psychological effects of the Trojan War on both the warriors from Greece and the Trojan survivors. The play was written by John Barton and Kenneth Cavander.

The University Theatre with Madison Repertory Theatre will be presenting three of the 10 plays in their production, the first of which is the story of “Iphigenia in Aulis.” The tale follows Agamemnon, the chosen leader for the Greek war party, whose official duty includes making a terrible sacrifice ? his daughter ? to appease the gods and ensure his fleet will have strong winds to carry them to the distant port of Troy.

“Achilles,” the second play of the production, tells the story of the famous Greek hero. Achilles battles both Trojans and his pride as he struggles with the implications of the war and becoming subservient to Agamemnon.

The concluding piece selected for this performance of “The Greeks” is “The Trojan Women.” Here, a group of female survivors from the epic siege try to cope with the deaths of their husbands, brothers, fathers and lovers and their subsequent enslavement and abuse at the hands of the victorious Greeks. Euripides’ play gives voice to the women behind the men we’ve read and know so much about, and it ends the trilogy on a somber note.

Three plays in a single evening sounds like a harrowing experience, but fear naught, each play comprises a single act, each with a run time purportedly near half an hour. If you’re wondering how such abbreviation was achieved, actress and recent University of Wisconsin graduate Becky Chicoine explains.

“The authors, John Barton and Kenneth Cavander, have made a lot of cuts and simplifications to the original text, and we have made even more. …What the original did in 10 pages, we do in one. We all make vast transformations in just 25 minutes per show. It still has the feel of Greek tragedies just with shorter speeches and quicker dialogue,” Chicoine said.

Chicoine may no longer be a student at UW, but she joins the veritable legion of faculty and student representatives invading the Madison Repertory stage. The entirety of the show’s scenic design, lighting design, costume design and dramaturgical work was completed by MFA students. Eleven of the 13 cast members are MFA acting students, with Chicoine and Patricia Boyette — a theater faculty member — as the only exceptions.

By bringing all of these students to the professional stage, Madison Repertory Theatre hopes to highlight the talents of these aspiring artists.

“Our objective is to showcase (the) UW Theatre Department on a professional stage in support of the university and to foster the creativity of these exceptional student artists.”

Of course, working across two distinct organizations brought some unique challenges, but the MFA students have been willing to conquer any task set before them.

“I found myself setting the show/designing aside to work on homework and class design work. That was frustrating at times, but that is what being a student is about and what being a scene designer is about, being able to multi-task and work on several things at once,” scenic designer and third-year MFA candidate Ken George said.

“It’s been very positive,” he added.

And though the project is dominated by students, no one should fear a drop in quality at any level, from design aspects to the acting. Many of the MFA students worked extensively in the professional realm before returning to school.

This joint endeavor then, is not about raising the level of performance and work from the MFA students to that of seasoned professionals. Rather it is about discovering what the University Theatre and Madison Repertory Theatre can produce while working together. What does the spirit of academic fervor and curiosity look like with the accoutrements of professionalism? We’ll find out on Friday.

The show runs November 7th-23rd. Tickets range from $20-$48. For tickets call 608-258-4141 or visit www.madisonrep.com.