“There’s nothing worse than getting what you wanted.”

That great line comes from Donald Margulies’ two-woman play, “Collected Stories,” presented by the Ensemble Theater Collective (ETC) through June 13 at Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater.

The line is spoken by Carol Mayo Jenkins, playing Ruth Steiner, famed short story writer and curmudgeonly teacher.

The play’s title alludes to the first anthology penned by Ruth’s timid protegé, Lisa Morrison, played by Anna Bullard. (In the play, the title of formerly bulimic Lisa’s book is “Eating Between Meals.”)

The play is an intellectual, literary game of cat and mouse, but after awhile, it’s hard to tell who is the cat and who is the mouse. The actresses make the intelligent script crackle with energy.

This latest presentation by director Elizabeth Craven of ETC (and Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse) and Cinnabar head Elly Lichenstein is a must for local theater lovers.

The details: 3333 Petaluma Blvd. N. $20-$22. 763-8920, cinnabartheater.org.