GORHAM — Fiery women and bombastic men battle for love, lust and the last word in energetic Russian comedies by Anton Chekhov, “The Bear” and “The Proposal,” to be staged Oct. 1-4 at the University of Southern Maine.

Hilarity ensues when an overbearing creditor hounds a young widow with no reason to grieve, and a declaration of love goes horribly wrong in two stories where romance and passion meet at the end of a barrel.

In “The Bear,” Matthew Defiore, a 2008 graduate of Mt. Valley High School, plays the brutish Smirnov who demands his money. Ellen White, a theater major from Hallowell, plays Popova, a woman mourning for a husband who doesn’t deserve it.

Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, 2 and 3; and at 2 p.m. Oct. 4 in Russell Hall. Tickets for the general public are $14. For reservations, call the theater box office at 780-5151.