Ames resident Marty Ellenberger takes on quite a task in tonight’s Ames Community Theater performance of “Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead.” The actor plays a homeless man dwelling in the New York city subway system. He also plays a drug dealer, an inspirational speaker and a Rush Limbaugh-like talk show host.

The one-man show consists of seven characters who, according to director Stacy Brothers, “reveal the hidden humor, fear, hypocrisy and rage of people living in America today.”

Brothers and Ames Community Theater officials entered the play into the 1997 AACTFEST competition at the Des Moines Playhouse this weekend. They will be competing for a slot in the regional competition to be held in Fargo, S.D. this May.

“What this competition does is allows the community theaters to do plays that you wouldn’t find in their regular theater seasons,” Brothers said. “The play is very contemporary, very cutting-edge.”

“Pounding Nails” was written by New York native Eric Bogosian, who is most recently known for his movies Talk Radio and Suburbia.

“He tends to deal with very adult, urban issues,” Brothers said. “[The play] plays on a lot of our fears, but it has some very funny moments as well.”

Ellenberger, an employee for Iowa State media relations, was described by Brothers as “just a regular guy” who loves acting.

“He does a really good job at giving each character a unique personality,” she said.

A preview performance of the play will be held tonight at the ACTORS Studio, 120 Abraham, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $3 with all funds going to the production costs of the play.