Lanford Wilson's Burn This, directed for the stage by George W. Manus, Jr. continues this weekend at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at Out Front on Main, Inc.

This production is dedicated to the life and legacy of  American Playwright Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937-March 24, 2011) considered one of the founders of the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement.

He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Commissioned by the Circle Repertory Company, Burn This first appeared in Los Angeles in 1987 to near-universal praise.

Set in the bohemian art world of downtown New York, this vivid and challenging drama explores the spiritual and emotional isolation of Anna (Megan Blevins) and Pale (Justin Hand), two outcasts who meet in the wake of the accidental death by drowning of a mutual friend.

Their determined struggle toward emotional honesty and liberation — by no means guaranteed at the play’s ambiguous end — exemplifies the strength, humor, and complexity of all of Lanford Wilson’s work.

The title of the play is drawn from a statement by one of the characters, a successful-yet-frustrated screenwriter, who asserts that the real artist must “make it personal, tell the truth, and then write, ‘Burn this’ on it.”

The play juxtaposes relationships that derive from the head and those that derive from the gut, and it forces the characters to make a choice; it requires them to face stasis versus change, comfort versus passion; and whether or not a passion that opens up art, creativity, and terrible turbulence is a tenable place to live.

The cast additionally includes Ryan Daniel and Buddy Jones. Leah Fincher joins the cast as Anna for the final performance on Sunday.

Out Front is located at 1511 E. Main St. beside MTSU. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for students, faculty and seniors.

Info: (615) 516-6279 or www.outfrontonmain.com