Michael Walkup is passionate about two things: HIV/AIDS awareness and his community.

So instead of obeying the cliché of "Do as the Romans" while studying abroad last year, Walkup (junior-theatre) spent his time in Italy putting together a play about AIDS and its impact on State College. Coordinating the production was not a simple task.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hard work," he said with a laugh.

Walkup spent his afternoons in Italian coffeeshops scribbling away in notebooks about AIDS' impact on home. He then sent his ideas across the globe via e-mail to his friends from Penn State Thespians. Those ideas have been molded into AIDS and the Art of Living, a play which will premiere tonight at the 2nd Annual MasquerAIDS Ball at the Days Inn Penn State, 240 S. Pugh St.

Walkup said that, much like combating AIDS, one couldn't put together the play alone.

"Kathryn Keller is superwoman in my eyes," he said.

Keller (junior-journalism), a member of Thespians, contributed as much as Walkup to AIDS and the Art of Living, and she now wears several titles -- chairwoman, producer and stage manager -- as proof. While Keller views last year's performance at MasquerAIDS -- a rendition of Quilt: A Musical Celebration -- as a success, she's been working overtime to make sure this year's act is even better.

"We've been working on this year's show since September," she said. "Last year we felt that more could have been done had we had more time."

MasquerAIDS, in addition to live theater, will also include dinner and dancing. All proceeds from the event will go to The AIDS Project, 315 S. Allen St., an organization that provides HIV/AIDS prevention education and offers support services to those infected with, and affected by HIV and AIDS.

Organizers of MasquerAIDS stress that despite medical advances in the treatment of AIDS, tonight's event is as relevant as ever.

"More people are living with AIDS today, but that doesn't change our importance," said Maria Pena, assistant director of The AIDS Project. "This is serious -- people still do die from AIDS."

Keller shared similar sentiments.

"In a place like State College where things like AIDS and death seem so far away, this is important," she said. Through theater, "maybe (audiences) can relate. We give them a tangible straw to grasp."

AIDS and the Art of Living will be tangible, Keller said, because it incorporates elements from numerous famous plays, including Rent and Falsettoland.

Walkup said that theater gives audiences a different, albeit accessible, way of looking at AIDS.

"We live in a community in which AIDS awareness as a movement has not taken a firm enough hold," Walkup said. "There's a lot of work to be done with college kids to communicate and educate. Theater quite literally acts out that problem, and it offers up possible solutions and sources of hope."

All of the performers in AIDS and the Art of Living are members of Penn State Thespians. Pena credits the group for making the production a reality and for providing those afflicted with HIV and AIDS a voice.

"People with HIV or AIDS might not want to divulge what they're dealing with," she said.

Ultimately, Pena said, the entire State College community can benefit from what Thespians has put together.

"They're doing it all themselves," she said. "It's all students -- some from Thespians, some from past Thespians groups. It's going to be dramatic, uplifting and inspirational. The event really stands out. One, it's all student run. It's an opportunity for the Thespians to showcase their own talents. Two, it's live theater as a concept where people can learn about HIV and AIDS. It's really something new to the community."

Tickets for the 2nd Annual MasquerAIDS Ball are $40. The event begins at 6 p.m., with AIDS and the Art of Living at 8 p.m. For more information, call 234-7087.