This month, Sweet Briar College senior Liz Zuckerman will direct "Doctor Faustus," a play in which title character loses his soul after making an ill-fated pact with the devil. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 in the Babcock Studio Theater.

"Doctor Faustus" is an interesting choice for Zuckerman — a confessed Shakespeare addict who is working on a biography of Ophelia from "Hamlet" — because it was written in the 16th-century by The Bard's bitter rival, Christopher Marlowe.

"They did have a bit of a rivalry," she said. "I did 'Faustus' partly because I love Shakespeare so much it would be hard to pick one [play]."

She also chose the play because she wanted to do some gender swapping with the cast. With the exception of Faustus, who is played by Lynchburg actor Omar Ott, the entire cast is female.

"I read 'Faustus' a few years ago and wondered what it would be like if Mephistopheles was a woman," she said, referring to a character she describes as a "lesser devil." "The relationship between [Mephistopheles and Dr. Faustus] is fascinating."

Zuckerman described the relationship as "strangely intimate," saying that within a couple of scenes the two are using endearments like "Sweet Faustus" and "Dear Mephistopheles." "It's just bizarre," she said. "When Faustus calls for a wife early in the play, Mephistopheles is horrified and forbids him to take a wife.

"Later, Faustus asks for the spirit of Helen of Troy for a mistress, and this is the turning point in their relationship. It's directly after that that you have the scene of Faustus' destruction. What I'm interested in is that very intimate relationship that is already there in the text. By casting Mephistopheles as a woman, that will help to really bring it out."

Zuckerman also admitted to taking liberties with time and place. Her "Doctor Faustus" will be set in the 1940s or 50s, "the golden era of film noir." Her sets will also embody the genre — think "The Maltese Falcon"— with a "black and white film noir aesthetic."

"It will let me have some interesting commentary on the fact that Faustus is the agent of his own destruction," she said. "That's one of the key elements of film noir, that humans are inherently flawed and that we destroy ourselves. Plus, it lets me make Mephistopheles a femme fatale."

During her four years at Sweet Briar, Zuckerman, a double major in theater and creative writing, has performed in numerous College productions, including "Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards," "Big Love," "Measure for Measure," "Unrustled Sheets," "Metamorphoses," "Macbeth" and "A Night of Ives."

Being in the wings is a new experience for the Philadelphia native, and "Doctor Faustus" is her first directorial effort, other than classroom projects for a directing class she took during her sophomore year.

After she graduates in May, Zuckerman will spend six weeks at the Virginia Program at Oxford, followed by a move back home to Philadelphia, a city she calls the "Mecca for small indie theater."

There, she plans to find work as an actress. "I do expect to live in a cardboard box for some time," she said, laughing.

The cast of "Doctor Faustus" includes, among others, Omar Ott as Faustus, Mary Susan Sinclair-Kuenning '09 as Mephistopheles, Jessica Raymond '11 as Lucifer, Corey Latta '11 as Beelzebub and Kat Alexander '11 as Wagner.

Admission is free. Reservations, while not required, are recommended because seating is limited. For reservations, call (434) 381-7462, beginning Monday, April 13.