LEWISTON — Alan Ball’s “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” will be performed the weekend of March 16-17 at Bates College as part of an independent study in bringing characters to life on-stage.

“Five Women” reveals the conversations, confessions and laughs that ensue when five reluctant bridesmaids hide from a wedding reception in an upstairs bedroom. As the night progresses, the women learn that despite their many differences, they share a bond that runs much deeper than their identical dresses.

Ball — creator of the TV series “True Blood” and “Six Feet Under” and the Academy Award-winning film “American Beauty” — wrote this humorous depiction of women’s relationships and the stress of a wedding in1993.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday in Gannett Theater, 305 College St. Admission is free.  The script contains conversations about sex and drug use that may be inappropriate for children.

Six actors will perform the piece as part of an independent study in theatrical characterization.

“Each character gets her moment to break out and break down in ‘Five Women.’ As they get drunker, they fall into raw confessions about abortion, drug use, loveless marriages, illicit sexual encounters and one sad story about child abuse,” said director Katalin Vecsey, senior lecturer in theater.

“But,” she said, “there’s more comedy than drama in this play, with lots of laughs.”

The edgy and complex characters in Ball’s bridal party include the bride’s sarcastic sister, Meredith, played by senior Caitlyn DeFiore of Westborough, Mass.;  the bride’s “ugly sidekick,” Georgeanne, played by senior Nora Brouder of Winchester, Mass.; the promiscuous friend, Trisha, played by senior Jen Flanagan, of Sherborn, Mass.;  the naive cousin, Frances, played by junior Marketa Ort of New York City;  and the groom’s lesbian sister, Mindy, played by sophomore Singha Hon, also of New York City.

The only male character present on the stage is Tripp Davenport, an usher who falls for Trisha, played by sophomore Danny Birkhead of Tyngsboro, Mass.

The actors have spent the semester working to create three-dimensional characters from Ball’s text. After a thorough investigation of how each character is represented in the play, each actor was required to put imagination to work in writing an essay that rounds out the character’s life and personality. The goal: to create recognizable and believable characters.

Vecsey,  an expert on the use of the voice and speech in public presentations, emphasizes the importance of voice and movement in conveying a character. “The main focus is developing the physicality and the voices for each character without turning them into caricatures,” she said, adding: “The students are not allowed to use their own voices at all.”

For more information, call 786-8294.