Journeymen Theater’s production of Life’s A Dream isn’t unlike the condition its title invokes. Leaving the theater is kind of like waking from a dream, with the second act affecting and vivid in your mind, with the vaguely incomprehensible first act quickly fading from memory.

Life’s A Dream is the signature work of Pedro Calderon de la Barca. The script has kind of an unusual poetic quality, with some lines spoken in verse while others trail off without any particular rhyme scheme. The actors do a fine job in making the dialog flow as well as possible, without sounding sing-song or awkward. The work, the directorial debut of Alexander Strain, a frequent, welcome presence as an actor in area productions, plays with the ideas of consciousness and reality in a way that is interesting, if not always effective. A spare but smart set, filled with stars and abstract nods towards a palace-like setting, contributes to the mood.