What would have happened if Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein had bumped into each other in a Paris bar at the turn of the century?

This is exactly the question that Steve Martin tries to answer in his play, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”

The play will be performed tonight at Stephens Auditorium by students from Emporia State University in conjunction with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

A different production of the play will be presented Saturday night by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Although it is unusual for two mainstage productions of the same show to be invited to the same festival, it is not entirely surprising. Last year, “Picasso” was the most frequently produced play in the country.

Ron Frederickson, professor of theater at Emporia State University, is the director of “Picasso.” Frederickson decided he wanted to do the play after seeing a professional production in San Francisco last year.

“I love the play,” Frederickson said. “I’ve always enjoyed Steve Martin’s work. When I read the play, I realized there was more to him than I thought. I found it to be a very rich comedy.”

Frederickson said he has enjoyed the challenge of a fictional play that involves real historical figures.

“I love drama that spins off of historical figures and events,” Frederickson said. “Steve Martin has done a brilliant job of conceptualizing what would have happened if Picasso and Einstein had actually met.”

Frederickson said it was important to him that the humor of the play grow out of the text, and not be layered on top.

“I think the best comedy is situational,” Frederickson said. “People trying to be funny rather than letting it build out of the characters and situations is not as funny.

“The best comedy has a real strong basis in reality,” he added. “Fiction is sometimes the best means of telling truth.”

For the cast and crew of “Picasso,” the last month has been very busy. The show closed its run at Emporia State the last weekend of December. The next weekend, the KC/ACTF selection committee met, and notified the cast that they had been selected to perform at the festival.

Since then, the crew has been trying to figure out how to take the show from their theater at Emporia State, which seats 402, to Stephens, which seats 2700.

“Adjusting to the size will be an interesting thing,” Frederickson said. “We’re going to close the proscenium quite a bit to make the space more similar to our stage.”

Although some minor changes will have to be made, Frederickson said the show will be very much like the way it was originally produced.

“We designed the show with the view in mind that it could tour,” Frederickson said. “The set and lighting design are quite simple.”

Frederickson said he and the actors worked hard to make sure the text and subtext were clear to the audience.

This is a show where the audience can relax and understand —Steve Martin has made that very easy to do, Frederickson said.

“I’m proud of the company of actors we’ve assembled; the sense of ensemble is very strong,” he said.

Both shows start at 8:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday. Tickets for the performances are $7 for students and $10 for general public, and will be available in the Stephens lobby immediately before the shows.