New speech instructor and director of the Nicholls Players, Daniel Ruiz, plans to pick up where former University director, Stanley Coleman, left off. Ruiz said he wants to bring in a new level of the “real world” to theater skills.

“While I certainly look forward to training those who really do want to break into the theater and film industry,” Ruiz said. “I really want anyone taking my class to learn how to become better performers of life, to be more comfortable in their own skin interacting with a wide variety of people, being more vulnerable and more expressive.”

Teaching students how to connect to people, express themselves, grab and keep other’s attention and be dynamic and poised are all traits Ruiz wants to impart in his students.

“These are all skills we need in the real world, and I will teach them to you through the exciting lens of theater,” Ruiz said.

Projects Ruiz is working on at Nicholls include the 24-hour play festival, the fall presentation of the play “Big Love,” the musical “The Great Trailer Park Musical” and the restructuring of student leadership to reflect the leaders of an actual theater company.

Ruiz said the fall play “Big Love,” which will be held in October, is a very modern and funny story based on an ancient Greek play, “The Suppliant Maidens,” by Aeschylus.

“It’s hilarious, it’s exciting, and there is a great story in it about what marriage really is in the modern world when two people love each other enough to make that commitment,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz said the 24-hour play festival is an event where the cast and crew will have one day to write, direct and produce short plays to be performed.

“It’s like an experiment,” Ruiz said. “It’s a little dangerous, a little crazy, and I want people to see just how amazing live theater can be when people are really passionate and driven about making it.”

The 24-hour play festival will take place in November in the Bayou Suite and Le Bijou Theater.

In the spring, the Nicholls Players will present the musical “The Great Trailer Park Musical,” which Ruiz described as “South Park meets Desperate Housewives” and is about a stripper invading a peaceful Florida trailer park.

Ruiz said one reason he chose this particular play is because the Nicholls Players have not performed a musical in years, “and it’s time.”

The changes that Ruiz said he plans to make to student leadership of the Nicholls Players will create the positions of artistic director, managing director, production manager, director of public relations and business manager.

“I really hope that these new titles and responsibilities will add a bit more seriousness and professionalism to our company, and that it is reflected in the quality of our product we offer to the audience,” Ruiz said. “I also plan to be a bit more active in the direction of the student organization than the advisor has been in years past.”

Dr. John Doucet, associate professor of biological sciences, who has written 14 plays himself, said he plans on collaborating with Ruiz over the next few years.

“He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to theater,” Doucet said. “He is energetic, and I think Nicholls will be invigorated by him coming to campus.”

Ruiz said he wants to see Nicholls’ theater become more vital to the cultural life of the Nicholls community.

“I want people to talk about it and participate in it as a must-see and must-do, to know that seeing live entertainment on their campus is an important part of experiencing art and culture that enriches our lives and make us feel more human,” Ruiz said. “I want to regain our reputation as a reliable and ever-improving university fixture that is always there and always reflecting the hopes, dreams, fears, and values of the community.