“Behind and a little above the eyes”

That’s where Hilda’s grandmother tells here to picture the words that she is trying to telepathically send her way.

Not ordinary words, mind you. More along the lines of kumquat, spiral and trapezoid – words that can’t be guessed serendipitously.

This practice between the grandmother and granddaughter sets the stage for Obie-winner Lucas Hnath’s, “The Thin Place,” now playing at ACT Theatre.

We enter the world, and the mind, of Hilda (Abigail Boucher) as she unceremoniously appears on stage and addresses the audience. The house lights remain on, so there’s a moment where you start to wonder if the play has even started.

Which raises the question – where does reality end and fiction begin? A theme, it turns out, that is central to the tightly constructed ghost story that starts to unfold over the next 90-minutes.

As Hilda recalls those conversations, she ponders the very real possibility that her grandmother was readying her for the next phase – the ability to hear her grandmother’s words beyond the grave.

Hilda toys with the idea that there may be some type of connective thread between this life and when you die.

A chance meeting with Linda, a psychic who quickly befriends Hilda, seems to sell her completely on the idea when she proclaims, “When you die, you merely pass on to something else.”

Linda (Julie Briskman) does what psychics do, and she eventually lets Hilda know it’s just a trick. It’s not that different from psychotherapy, but what she does actually works.

Even so, Hilda will not give up on the idea that connecting with spirits in the afterlife is still possible.

The interactions between Linda and Hilda can be intense at times. So when the action takes a turn and we are introduced to a few friends at a gathering, it comes with some relief – even if it doesn’t really move the plot along.

“The Thin Place” is bolstered by a strong cast. In addition to Boucher and Briskman, Ray Gonzalez plays Linda’s cousin and fix-it man, Jerry. And Alexandra Tavares plays Sylvia, the benefactor to Linda’s lifestyle while she finds her path to U.S. citizenship.

The staging is sparse – two chairs separated by a side table – and the lighting unconventional. But as the play hurls forward, both elements are put to optimal use as the tension builds to the play’s riveting conclusion.

“The Thin Place” runs through April 10 at ACT Theatre. For additional information and tickets visit: https://acttheatre.org