Who is Godot? A god, death, something, a who, a what, a life or a nothing?  

The question arises from Samuel Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot,” which some reviews called the most significant play of the 20th century. It’s a play, in two acts, featuring four men and a boy during which nothing happens.

That’s right, nothing.  

Those wondering how a play about nothing works need not wonder too hard — the students of Student Studio Productions are bringing the two-hour tragicomedy to campus for four shows this weekend.

Curt Kirkhoff, who plays the role of Estragon, explained the gist of play.

“The synopsis is really” – he paused “waiting.”

And there certainly is enough of that. The title character never actually makes an appearance. Instead Estragon and his friend Vladamir, who go by “Gogo” and “Didi” wait at an undisclosed location for an undisclosed amount of time for Godot to appear. Their only interactions are with each other, a messenger boy and two passers by.

The play is one that has forced literary theorists to pull out their hair. Beckett left almost no guidelines for what his play means, even leaving out character descriptions. The sparseness of “Godot” was not a point of frustration for the student thespians. Instead, they saw it as a chance to explore the bounds of the play.

Kirkoff, a lifelong education student, said the cast and producer wanted to make the play even more “ambiguous” than it already was.

“We took out lines in the play that reference time and space,” he said.  

And that includes when things happened and how long the characters have been waiting for Godot. The audience knows only one thing for sure – Gogo and Didi stand in front of a tree with a mound nearby.

It seems like a story with so few parameters would be difficult to grasp. But, according to Kirkoff, that made the play even more exciting.

“It’s been a challenge. It’s been fun to figure it out,” he said.

As the cast and crew were setting up the staging area Thursday afternoon, that excited energy could be felt. The cast spoke of the nonsensical play with a sort of glee. Cast members rolled things into place and fixed the lighting with a purpose.  

Liz Cervantes, who plays the role of “Boy,” was enamored by the philosophical freedom of meaning in the play.  

“There’s nothing! There’s a tree,” she said with a smile.  

For Cervantes, a sophomore in communication, “Godot” is about the constant struggle to understand existence.

“We search for the meaning of life, and that’s all we do,” she said.

Kirkoff’s interpretation was a little less existentialist.  

“We are all waiting for something in our lives,” he said. “Nothing is ever good enough, and that’s why we’re waiting.”

But despite their own opinions, both Cervantes and Kirkoff insisted that the point of “Waiting for Godot” is allowing the audience members to interpret meaning as he or she sees fit.  

And to help them out, as Cervantes said, there is a tree. And that’s really about all the set is comprised of – but that tree is pretty spectacular. A two-foot wide trunk made up of multi-colored cloths twists toward an expansive canopy covering the stage. It has a Dr. Seuss feel, like a Truffula Tree out of the Lorax’s forest.

Cory Livengood, an alumnus in communication and film, was one of the tree’s co-designers. The tree trunk was originally supposed to be made of “found objects,” he said, but the crew found the colored fabric and decided it would be a good substitution.

“The tree has a very organic feel,” Livengood said. “But we kind of wanted it to look artificial.”  

The only other set piece is the previously mentioned “mound,” which is actually an I-beam found at a materials lab on Centennial Campus.

The found objects are meant to echo the character’s feelings.  

“The objects just kind of exist,” Livengood said.

“Waiting for Godot” is a completely student-run production. The only help the cast crew of about 15 got was a $100 budget from University Theatre.

Theatergoers can expect an evening of laughs in addition to a heavy dose of existential confusion, according to David Hook, a senior in materials science and engineering who plays the part of Pozzo.

“It’s a little depressing,” he said. “But it’s a funny show. We still laugh and we have rehearsed it 20 or 30 times already.”