The play “Cosi” by Louis Nowra is the story of a university student who is assigned the task of staging a play in a mental institution . The show uses many dramatic techniques including, but not limited to; the setting of the show, the humor, the tension and the role, to help draw the audience into the world of the show, the world of these "mental patients". The show also helps bring out people's feelings and attitudes towards the mentally ill, and people's attitudes towards love and deception, to further attract audiences into the world of entertainment and the world of the years 70's, when people with any type of mental illness where treated as "outcasts" and were not accepted as socially acceptable. Lewis (the main character) has a relationship with a woman named Lucy and a friendship with Nick, who has extreme and devout social views. Lewis states that he always needs work saying "I need money". The show will take place in a theater that smells of "burnt wood and mold", the cast is made up of patients with different needs and the show performed by these mental patients is Mozart's Cosi fan tutte. By working with patients, Lewis discovers a side of himself that allows him to learn to value love. The clothes worn by actors during the show can be a reflection of the characters' personalities. Nick, Lucy, Lewis and Julie all appear to be wearing normal clothes, reflecting the fact that they are relatively normal, and show no signs of extreme "madness". Ruth wears simple, old, clean clothes that reflect her OCD, while the colors and patterns Roy wears reflect his crazy, optimistic personality. Meanwhile, Henry is wearing business clothes that you would expect to see a lawyer wearing. This helps us understand... in the center of the paper... something about his life before entering the institute. She tells the story of how she and her father went duck hunting, but instead of using a dog to carry dead ducks off cold lakes, her father made her go out and fetch ducks. This helps enhance Cherry's role as a mental patient, as we all wonder if this story is true, or if it is simply a story with little bits of truth, made up by Cherry's mind. Cosi uses a wide range of dramatic elements throughout the show. This play particularly highlights the tension, the role and the way the characters represent themselves on stage. Using these techniques allows the audience to more readily accept the intent of the show. It draws everyone into a world that in many ways is foreign to us, but the human interaction with the characters makes it feel more real.