"Romeo and Juliet" may be the most well-known play in the English language, but despite all its exposure it remains at heart one of the most intimate of stories.

The East East Chapel Hill Drama Department will present the Shakespeare classic tonight through Friday and Monday through April 30 in an appropriately intimate setting, the school's Black Box Theater. All shows will be at 7:30 p.m.

This will be the first performance in years performed in the Black Box Theater, which seats just 100 audience members per show. In such a small space, the audience can be drawn into the performance as the actors' movements and expressions are almost within reach.

Carmen Mandley, the artistic director of Raleigh's Bare Theatre Company, will serve as guest director.

"Romeo and Juliet" portrays the lives of two young lovers entangled in both the long-held grudges of their parents and their own unquenchable love for each other. The play, though often told, remains a favorite of drama students, combining a youth-relevant story with Shakespeare's challenging Elizabethan script. Drama students at East are learning a new acting style in the process of rehearsing this play. Mandley directs the performance with a unique, physically challenging acting style.

To prepare for the production, cast members have been physically training to add strength and agility for the demanding moves in the show.

Staging the show in black box theater intimacy, combined with the challenging movements of the roles, will make this production unlike most traditional productions of "Romeo and Juliet."

Tickets are $5. Presale tickets are available in the ECHHS Cafe Commons near the principal's office from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on weekdays.

Advance purchase ticket patrons should use the school's lower level main entrance near the principal's office to access the ticket sales location and to enter the Black Box Theater the night of the performance.

Annual ArtEAST passes will be accepted for one free ticket per pass.

On the nights of the shows, any remaining tickets will be available starting at 6:45 p.m. for each show.

Ticket information is available at 969-ARTS.