GORHAM – The University of Southern Maine’s department of theater will present “Fool for Love,” Sam Shepard’s unsettling tale of love and hate, Oct. 3-11.

USM Professor William Steele, now in his 42nd year of teaching and directing at USM, described Shepard’s play as the perfect story to set the 2008-09 season in motion. “It’s a great story and a good one for students because it’s psychologically complicated. It’s led to a lot of great discussions about human nature,” he said.

The play begins in a forgotten motel room, on the edge of a desert out West. A pair of desperate lovers, May (Audra Curtis of Belfast) and Eddie (Charles Parker Newton of Fairfield, Conn.), try to untangle their twisted past. As the recriminations fly, the action becomes, at times, physically violent and the genuine nature of their relationship becomes apparent. They cannot get along with, or without, one another; yet neither one can control his/her burning passion.

Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11; at 2 p.m. Oct. 5; and at 5 p.m. Oct. 8 in Russell Hall. Tickets are $14 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for students. Call 780-5151.