The Florida Players will present an unconventional play, “True Genius,” starting tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Squitieri Studio Theater at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Brian Lugo, the director, first read the play in 2007. He thought the story by David Holstein was fascinating because it doesn’t follow the format of contemporary theater.
He said it’s fun and different because the main character, Scooter, finds himself in a struggle to make a decision on how to handle the strange love he has fallen into.
Scooter is an interesting character because he was in a comfortable world until he gets thrown for a loop because of the girl he falls in love with, he said. Scooter is a relatable character, but he takes sarcasm to a new high.
The comedy has a small cast with only five characters. Lugo was already drawn to the story but the small cast is what convinced him to direct the production.
“True Genius” is Lugo’s first directing experience, and he wanted to start small, he said.
Lugo said it’s not the kind of theater that spills its guts on stage by being melodramatic.
“It’s very connected to today,” he said.
As director, Lugo’s biggest obstacle has been holding back from setting up the show how he sees it rather than how the writer intended it to be performed.
Lugo worked closely with the show’s scenic director, Helen Ammon, to bring his vision to the stage. Ammon said that it took about a month of analyzing the script for her to come up with her final interpretation.
The set changes minimally throughout the show and focuses more on quick scene changes to keep up the pace, she said.
Ammon’s vision includes the juxtaposition of reds and oranges that represent the struggles of the heart with stark whites that represented clarity of thought and purpose, she said.
She said she saw struggle between the heart and mind as the main conflict, so she reflected that in her set design.
This is the first budgeted set design project Ammon has directed. She said this experience has made her realize how important it is to think about space for actors to move.
Corey Snow, who plays Scooter, is a sophomore aerospace engineering major.
He said Florida Players opened up the opportunity for him to be in a show at UF without being a theater major.
Snow said Scooter’s character is written so that audience members will be able to connect to his struggles. The character is dealing with a psychological disorder, but the overall theme of someone trying to go further in life is what will stick with people, he said.
Wyland Oyama, acting coach for the show, has had coaching positions before, but said he has learned from his experience with “True Genius” that it takes an extraordinary focus and commitment to run a production.
When directing, he sees the big picture and how much coordination it takes to bring everything together, he said.
The characters are written as underdogs who the audience wants to root for, he said.
The biggest struggle for Oyama has been to get actors comfortable in their characters’ skin, he said.
“I’ve seen the actors in this show bring these characters to life, and I’m most excited to see the audience walk away with the intriguing story of Scooter,” he said.
