LAB! Theatre’s production of ‘Stick Up Kids’ to leave students ‘on the edge of their seats’

LAB! Theatre’s next production will take audiences back to the 1990s — criminal style.

“Stick Up Kids” — written by UNC junior Sam Smith — will premiere Thursday as a part of the company’s main stage season.

The play follows two brothers who make a reservation at an elite New York restaurant and spend the rest of the play robbing people to pay for it.

Set in the 1990s and written in minimalist style, the play has a different tone than other LAB! shows this season, said Adam Kever, the play’s director.

“It’s a gritty piece,” he said. “People come in not knowing what to expect and leave on the edge of their seats.”

Smith said he focuses a large portion of his time in college writing plays. He wrote the original draft of “Stick Up Kids” in his independent study, he said.

“I had an image in my mind of a big guy standing next to a little guy, and this became the inspiration for the dynamic between the two brothers,” Smith said.

The play is a part of LAB! Theatre’s ongoing commitment to staging student-written work, said Stephanie Linas, LAB! producing director.

“LAB! is dedicated to giving students artistic opportunities that they might not get outside of college,” she said.

Linas said writers can workshop their pieces as they are produced, meaning scripts like Smith’s are further developed through the course of production.

“The rehearsal process has been more of an evolution,” Linas said.

Smith said this is the second year a student-written piece has been produced on the LAB! main stage — a development he is excited to be a part of.

“It’s great to see more student-written work being incorporated into the LAB! tradition,” Smith said.

Patrick Robinson, an actor in the show, said he enjoyed working with the minimalist script, which features short lines and limited instructions to actors.

But he said these features also made it more challenging to figure out the backgrounds of the characters’ lives.

“We didn’t know the characters’ ages from the script,” he said. “But we added context for the characters through our discussions.”

David Navalinsky, director of undergraduate production, said LAB! provides students with a safe zone to practice getting scripts right.

He hopes the audience appreciates the work students have put into the production, he said.

“Students are incredibly supportive of their peers, and I love to watch them collaborate,” Navalinsky said.

Robinson said he hopes the audience will find the play exciting and mystifying in its brevity.

“It’s bringing up things in people’s lives that aren’t at the forefront of what they usually say, like God and obligations to family,” he said.

Linas said that “Stick Up Kids” is a testament to the thriving artistic generation at UNC.

“Many people may not know about it,” she said. “But it’s here and it’s strong.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.