After much delay, the graduate students from the Penn State School of Theatre will present their independent Shakespeare production of Othello at 8 tonight through Saturday at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, 146 S. Allen St.

"It's been in the works since last year because we didn't have the time to do it," said Erin Roberts (graduate-theatre arts), who plays the character Desdemona.

The play was originally one of two classroom plays that students were working on last fall, but Othello never made it to production.

This version of the famous play focuses on "character relationships," Roberts said.

"[Othello] can often focus on faith and destiny and other powers controlling these peoples' lives," she said.

"But people make their own decisions," she added.

Roberts refers to the play's central conflict involving the main character Othello, who trusts the villainous Iago instead of going directly to the source of his problems.

These decisions lead to miscommunications and, eventually, tragedy.

When the original graduate student cast picked up the show this semester, it had a new goal in mind.

Not only did the cast decide to revive the show, but it also decided to create the production into an inlet for theater companies seeking actors, directors and technicians to get a glimpse of Penn State theater.

"We have so many disciplines that companies can take advantage of," said Roberts, who was the driving force of the new initiative. She said she invited about 30 companies, but only three confirmed that they would attend.

"Since it's the first time, maybe it can catch on and become really great," Roberts said.

Representatives of the Shakespearean Theater of Maine, the Pennsylvania Allenberry Playhouse and Gretna Theatre will attend the performances.

"It's about taking initiative and making things happen," Roberts said.

"We sit around and complain about not getting what we wanted or what we've been promised," she added. "It's a waste of time."

Student director Jonathan Flom (graduate-theatre arts), who was inspired by Roberts' determination to put on the play, recently came in as director after a faculty director could not fulfill the role.

"I had less time with the script than anyone else," he said.

"For actors, they came in so prepared because they had been working with the script for so long," he added.

Since Othello was a side project from the actors' other commitments, the entire cast did not have the chance to rehearse together until two weeks before opening night. Instead, Flom said he directed individual scenes with only two or three actors at a time.

"That was really difficult," he said. "It all started to make sense to them [when the group got together].

"The looks on their faces were amazing," he added.

Richard Price (graduate student-theatre arts), plays the antagonist Iago.

He said he finds it most difficult to fulfill the "two faces" of the character.

"There is the face that he presents to all of the other characters ... and then the face he shows the audience," Price said. "And it's hard not to let one bleed into the other."

Roberts' character, Desdemona, is sometimes portrayed as a weak person, she said.

However, Roberts said she looks respectfully at her character's "moral fiber" in comparison to the short-lived relationships of today.

"On the contrary, I think she is one of the strongest people in the play," she said.

"She doesn't give up on Othello ... and continually has faith in their love," she added.