Ten Thousand Things continues its recent hot streak with "Stones in His Pockets," Marie Jones' examination of lost and found hope in a depressed Irish village. In the hands of veteran performers Steve Epp and Jim Lichtscheidl, the bare stage comes alive with a bevy of quick-but-fully-realized characters.

The two main ones, Charlie and Jake, have been hired on as extras for some Hollywood epic being shot near an Irish village. Along the way, the two take on the personas of a dozen additional characters to describe the situation and tell the story of what happened when the film stars came to town.

Jones' script is funny, and Hollywood types are always ripe for parody —­ be it the manic assistant directors, the clueless star or the pretentious director. The real heart kicks in with the various local characters ­ — not just our two leads, but some of the other lost souls around, including Jake's young cousin, Sean, whose own dreams have been lost in a haze of drugs.

That dispossessed sense runs throughout the play. Jake and Charlie have both watched as their dreams have been crushed by life, leaving them to hang in the margins, earning 40 pounds a day pretending to be happy or sad as extras.

The play loses focus at the end, as Jones underscores her main points —­ and then goes back and highlights them in a couple of different colors while adding a "this is what this is about!" note in the margins ­ — near the end.

Whatever deficiencies there may be here, it's made up for by the performances of Epp and Lichtscheidl. They carve out spaces for each character that make each one distinct and often funny. They also manage to convey a real sense of the land and the changes that have overtaken their lives in the past generation. All of this, by the way, is done without a single set piece and only the most minimal of props. Like great storytellers, the two actors (along the production team, including musician Eric Jensen and director Michelle Hensley) create a full world in the mind ­ a world that is nearly lost now, replaced just by Hollywood memories.

"Stones in His Pockets" runs through Jan. 31 at Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis. Tickets are $25 ($15 student tickets available Sundays). For information and reservations, call 612-203-9502 or visit online.