New theater, new play, new rules at Naperville Central

Sometimes it seems like destiny, you know?

You rack your brain to come up with something different and then the fates align and everything seems so clear.

John Ludlam knows a little about that.

As president of Theatre Central at Naperville Central High School, he knew it was his job to come up with something different for the group’s annual Experimental Theatre shows that open tonight and continue through Saturday.

As a senior, he’s been around long enough to know past presidents faced with the same task have tackled everything from Shakespeare in the Park to student-faculty productions.

But this year, Ludlam had an advantage those past presidents didn’t have. Central is undergoing a major renovation that has resulted in, among many other things, a spanking-new Black Box theater.

The theater pretty much reflects its name: a fairly stark box that currently seats about 120, but contains something most high school theater groups don’t have access to: a thrust stage.

What that means is the student-actors must learn to play to an audience that’s not only very close, but also on three sides of the stage.

And what that means is those same actors must rethink some theatrical rules they’ve lived by. Suddenly it’s not only OK, but expected that you’ll turn your back on some members of the audience. And now you’re acting for people who can almost touch you and not for the guy in the corner 30 rows back.

If that isn’t enough, Ludlam presented his cast with a new play called “Sometimes,” written by Ian James, who graduated from Central just last year.

New theater. New play. New rules. It doesn’t get much more experimental than that.

“I guess,” Ludlam says, “I was born in the right year.”

Play’s the thing

“Sometimes” is a funny and poignant play about four college students who have been randomly assigned as roommates and how they cope.

The characters are familiar to anyone who has ever had a roommate: there’s the loud jokester; the quiet wallflower; the ladies’ man; and the guy who’s always stressed and wants to move out.

It’s based, at least partially, on the experiences James had when he went off to college.

“It starts out funny,” Ludlam says, “and winds up with a serious message.”

Ludlam has been active in the theater program for all four years at Central and has performed in virtually every major production.

This, though, is his first experience with experimental theater, and his first shot at directing what is almost an entirely student-run production.

“It’s weird to have control,” he says. “Usually I’m just a puppet in somebody else’s vision. Now I’m the puppeteer.”

Show your butt

As director, one of Ludlam’s first challenges is to get his actors used to playing to an audience that almost surrounds the stage.

“The golden rule of theater is never turn your back on an audience,” he says. “I tell them it’s OK to show the audience your butt.”

The proximity of the crowd allows the actors to “get a lot more real in the situation … it brings the show to life.”

Tom Wojcik, a junior who plays one of the roommates, has been involved in theater for only the past year or so with roles in “Figments” and “The Music Man.”

He says he finds working on the smaller stage makes his acting a lot more personal.

“You have to work on little subtilties,” he says. “It allows you to refine your expressions.”

It’s also a perfect fit for a show that includes both comedy and tragedy.

“It goes so much deeper,” he says. “It’s almost poignant in the way we handle it. It’s the best role I’ve ever played. It’s a beautiful production.”

Ultimately, he says, no matter what the theater, the play’s the thing.

“It’s not the stage that makes the play,” he says, “it’s the acting inside the play.”

Behind the curtain

Tom Ulbrich, the faculty member overseeing this weekend’s production, says he’s serving largely as executive producer of the student-written, student-acted, student-directed, student-produced show.

He’s available to offer guidance, but this truly is student-theater at its best.

Krissy Ludlam, John’s sister, knows what Ulbrich is talking about. As the student producer, she’s in charge of almost everything happening behind the scenes, from getting the programs and tickets printed to making DVDs and contacting reporters.

She’s spent a lot of time at Theatre Central, but hardly ever in front of the footlights. Ask her for her stage credits and she’ll tell you about her role in “Figments.” She played a dead man.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she says of her backstage role. “You get to see all the stuff you don’t necessarily see when you’re in the audience.”

Her brother, meanwhile, remains focused on bringing “Sometimes” together both behind and in front of the curtain. He’s very aware that, by its very nature, experimental theater can be a high-risk, high-reward type of thing.

“It’s not perfect yet,” John Ludlam said a week or so before opening night. “But we’re looking pretty good.”

If you go

If you go

What: Experimental Theatre production of “Sometimes”

When: 8 p.m. today through Saturday, April 21-23

Where: Black Box theater at Naperville Central High School, 440 West Aurora Ave.

Tickets: $5