The Center for Arts and Theater is determined to prove that there is a Grand-Canyon-sized difference between the usual perception of boring, ancient Greece and the frantic, fun energy of Greek Theater in the comedic play, “The Birds.”

“The Birds” will start its performance tonight in the Black Box Theater and will run until Saturday. All performances start at 7:30 p.m., and admission is free. Audience members are encouraged to arrive early.

The play is set in ancient Greece, but is ironclad in absurdity. The story follows Pisthetaerus , a slacker, and his sidekick, Euelpides, as they attempt to create a new city in the sky called Cloud Cuckoo Land with the help of Epops, the King of the Birds.

“It’s a really old play, but what surprises audiences and actors alike is how funny it is. It’s slapstick humor. There’s a lot of punches and kicks. It’s all over-the-top, silly, ridiculous fun,” said Lisa Abbott, director of the show and professor in the Communications Arts Department. “Thematically, it’s about how the world where you live in is wherever you are. Everything that they’re trying to escape, bureaucracy and all of that, follows them. The good and the bad all moves together.”

“The Birds,” will be performed by this summer’s Rehearsal and Performance class. The students in Abbott’s class have been acting as a theater company, rehearsing, designing costumes and creating dance moves for the play since the beginning of summer.

“The play itself calls for a couple of dance numbers. They’re fun little numbers. It’s kinda our interpretation of how birds would get down and party,” said Tsiambow Akuchu, who is the play’s choreographer as well as the Bird King.

“The birds — they’re going to be in tights and leotards, and then we got wings attached to their leotards,” Rebecca Farris, costume designer, said.

James Brooks, who is playing the lead role of Pisthetaerus assures students that they’ll be surprised of what Greek Theater can offer.

Brooks said, “This is something totally different. It’s really, really funny. It’s not humor that’s outdated. No, this humor is in your face, right here, all for it.”