"It is a very meaty and intense script. This is the first time audiences in this area will see this new kind of show," says Ken Urso of Middleton, junior theatre major and director of "The Shape of Things," a drama by contemporary playwright Neil La Bute to be staged and produced by students Friday through Sunday, Jan. 23 to 25, at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The play will be performed in the Studio Theatre of the Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23; at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24 and at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 25.

Admission is $5.50 for the general public and $3.50 for students. Tickets are available at the UWSP Box Office in Room 103A of the University Center, by calling 715-346-4100 or 800-838-3378 and at the door if the performance is not sold out in advance.

"The Shape of Things" is a production of Players, the student organization of the Department of Theatre and Dance. The thought-provoking hit play opened in London in 2000, then ran on Broadway in 2001. La Bute, an acclaimed writer and director, has had much success with movies like "Nurse Betty," "Your Friends and Neighbors" and "In the Company of Men" and the off-Broadway play "Bash."

Evelyn, an art student at a small Midwestern college is played by Lindsay Verstegen, Appleton. She sets out to remold the introverted Adam, played by Dan Gutierrez, Milwaukee. Adam�s friends Jenny and Phillip, played by Megan Simmons, Villa Park, Ill., and Dave Schoonover, Wales, are concerned as Adam is transformed. The drama contains sexual content not suitable for children.

Urso cast the play with actors who have qualities similar to the characters they portray. In directing the play, he asks the actors to draw from their personal experiences as they fill their roles. Costume designer Sarah Dallman went into the closets of the actors to select contemporary clothes to fit the script. However, she will create original costumes for Verstegen, whose character dresses in bizarre combinations of color and style.

A simplified set, designed by Ian Toyozumi, Ogdensburg, has several levels so that scenes can change quickly without breaking the action for prop changes. Props designer is Laura Rogers, Fort Atkinson, and lighting designer is Joanna Falk, Appleton. The play uses popular music for breaks between scenes and acts. Sound designer is Mike Wiskow.