Tonight at Stephens Auditorium, the University of Minnesota-Duluth will present an original play titled “Dear Finder,” a show based on stories about Holocaust survivors.

Tom Isbell, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, researched, wrote and directed the play with the help of seven student actors.

“We got a grant from the University of Minnesota,” Isbell said. “Part of the grant went to begin the research at the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. The biggest part went to hire seven researchers.”

One challenge for Isbell and the students was to synthesize the accounts of the different Holocaust survivors into a cohesive piece of theater.

“Everything in the play, with one brief exception, is taken from diaries and news accounts,” Isbell said. “We wrote it doing a lot of improv based on the material. One challenge was: How can we dramatize the action without violating the texts?”

During the creative process, Isbell said the cast would improvise, and he would pick the moments he wanted to keep. Eventually, after many improv sessions, “Dear Finder” was born.

“There are six survivors whose stories go from the beginning to the end [of the play],” Isbell said. “On top of that are scenes that cover different events of the Holocaust. It’s not a traditional structure, but the threads carry it along.”

Most of the students who wrote the play with Isbell have graduated, however, one of the original writers is a performer in the show, and another is a choreographer.

Although the vast majority of the cast didn’t work on the writing of the piece, Isbell said they have made great contributions.

“It’s a cast of 13, 12 new to us,” Isbell said. “They invested as much, if not more, into the show than the writers.”

Bringing the show to Stephens Auditorium has presented a few challenges to the designers of “Dear Finder.”

For one thing, the show was originally produced in a thrust-style theater, as opposed to the large proscenium at Stephens Auditorium.

And then there’s the dirt.

“The center part of the set is all dirt,” Isbell said. “That was a central image to us as we were writing the play.”

Although adjustments have been made, Isbell feels the set still retains its original concept.

“There will be a lot less dirt, but it won’t be that much of a compromise,” he said.

Isbell said he knows many people are tired of plays and films about the Holocaust, but he feels “Dear Finder” is more than just another Holocaust story.

“It’s a play about the Holocaust,” Isbell said. “People say ‘Oh no, not another one.’ The final scene is about what’s still happening today (involving genocide). That makes up a significant part of the play as well. This happened, but it could happen again.”

“Dear Finder” will be presented tonight at 8:30 p.m.

Tickets are $7 for students, $10 for general admission and will be available in the Stephens Auditorium lobby prior to the show.