The Oedipus complex might be hard to grasp, but My Oedipus Complex, and First Confession, two plays put on by The Reader's Theatre, will make Freudian concepts comprehendible as well as comical.

These two classic stories by Frank O'Connor will be performed at 8 tonight and tomorrow in 112 Kern Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.

My Oedipus Complex is a story about the jealousy of a young boy toward his father, who has just returned from World War I. Now that his father is back, the attention the boy once received from his mother is shifted towards his father.

The narrator retells the story as he remembers it as a child, and his accounts are full of humor and wit.

"The most important aspect of these plays is that people have to use their imagination," said Tony Lentz, an assistant professor of communication arts and sciences who directs and narrates My Oedipus Complex.

In the media, images are already made up for people, but when someone is telling a story or listening to radio drama, words are more important and make the mind creative, Lentz said. The second play, First Confession, is directed by Tiffany O'Brien (senior-speech communications).

The play focuses on a young boy who has to go to confession for the first time. After his sister tells him he is badly behaved, the boy worries that he is going to be trouble with the priest.

However, things turn out differently for the young boy once he encounters the priest. Both plays use minimal props and costumes, and the actors are required to hold their scripts.

"It's a challenge," said Jeanine Noce (junior-journalism), who plays the mother. "Everything is centered around your voice and facial expressions."

Lentz started The Reader's Theatre in 1981. The program uses the skills of storytelling on literary pieces to work on public speaking in front of groups. These two plays are out-of-class exercises that the students of Communication Arts and Sciences 280W (Storytelling and Public Speaking) can take.

"It's a chance to work on your speaking skills while doing something you like," Noce said.