Named Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern, two amnesiac characters are stranded amid their travels atop a dreamlike Beckettian wilderness, tossing coins head or tails while waiting for something to happen. Something does, and an audience finds itself in the midst of characters that hail from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” but seem oddly out of joint. It becomes apparent that we are seeing only fragments of that work as experienced by two important but minor characters. How like playwright Tom Stoppard, whose fascinating “Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” is presented by University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Theatre & Dance through Saturday, Nov. 22, only. Perhaps most outstanding about this production — staged by second year MFA student Adam Arian — are the forces he’s brought to bear on the project. They are exemplary of UCSD’s excellent design department, which also confers MFAs. Scenic designer Rob Tintoc, a second-year MFA student, places the audience in that wilderness, which later becomes the ship on which the two protagonists take Hamlet to England. There are raised playing areas at both ends of the Mandell Weiss Forum Studio and the actors enter from four sides as well as traps. One can’t imagine a better landscape for Stoppard’s complex work. Costume designer Christine Crook provides a colorful and thoughtful array of costumes, from nearly identical plaid suits, jaunty bowlers and detailed accessories for Rosenkrantz (Jessica Watkins) and Guildenstern (Johnny Wu) and knockout attire for the Player (Irungu Mutu) and his troupe. The action is enhanced by the choreography of Rebecca Salzer, lighting design by Stephen Sakowski and music by Pearl Rhein. All are second- or third-year MFA students. A thorough acquaintance with Shakespeare’s tragedy adds to the amusement. As usual with Stoppard, the play is not for intellectual lightweights, among them high school drama students who texted during Act II and Act III. They won’t pass the drama class exam. Others may be thoroughly turned on by this rare, boldly envisioned work. It’s a perfect vehicle for university programs such as UCSD’s. Remaining performances: Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Nov. 20-22) at 8 p.m. For information visit http://theatre.ucsd.edu or call (858) 534-4574.