It's difficult to know how to properly hyphenate the prolific Al Letson Jr.

Is he a playwright-actor? A film director-radio writer? A poet-social activist?

No matter. Letson enjoys creating unusual juxtapositions. For instance, his play, Julius X, which previously was performed at Baltimore's Theatre Project, melds the stories of Roman emperor Julius Caesar with slain civil rights leader Malcolm X. Another work, Griot: He Who Speaks the Sweet Word, has been described as "a hip-hop choreopoematic play."

And recently, Letson was one of three finalists from a field of 1,400 chosen to create a pilot program for National Public Radio.

For that matter, even a question as seemingly simple as Letson's place of residence has a multipart answer -- though he hails from Jacksonville, Fla., Letson considers Charm City his second home. He took time out recently to discuss his current genre-crossing effort.

IN HIS WORDS --I got the idea to write a play called A Summer in Sanctuary in 2006, while working as a counselor at a summer camp for disadvantaged children in Jacksonville, Fla. Each child had challenges that I couldn't grasp. For instance, 40 percent of them had lost a parent within the past year. I went in there thinking that I was going to change their lives, and I think I did. But ultimately, they taught me a whole lot more about me and my surroundings.

HOW IT'S STRUCTURED --It's a one-man show and it runs for about 90 minutes. It's definitely about the kids, but it's also very personal. I'm primarily portraying myself, but I also play about 20 different characters, from the kids to the woman who runs the place, to police officers.

There are no costumes or a set, but a DJ is on stage with me. There's also a multimedia portion, where I'll show some of the short films the kids made. And, in all my theater pieces, I use poetry a lot. I got my start as a slam poet.

HIS PROCESS --Last month, I looked at the script, and realized I only had 30 pages written. I knew it had to be 90 to 100 pages, so I sat down and banged the rest out. Then, I began familiarizing myself with the material. It's not the kind of scripted piece where I have to memorize every word.

Now, the DJ and I are working on the music, and I'm putting together the visual portion.

We get to Baltimore on [Friday]. There will be five days of really intense work, and the show goes up on the 21st.

A WORLD PREMIERE IN BALTIMORE --I'm based in Florida, but I have a long relationship with your city, and Baltimore plays a part in the show. I talk about the time I put eight boys from the community center into a van and drove to Baltimore. It's really funny -- when I tell people that I brought kids from a Florida ghetto to Baltimore, they say, 'To Baltimore?'

But I love Baltimore, and I was able to frame what they saw. We went to the Creative Alliance, Mount Vernon, the Aquarium. It gave them a whole new appreciation for the world around them.

GETTING IN SHAPE --The physical challenges of putting on a one-man show are huge. I'm 35, and I'm beginning to feel aches and pains. I started going to the gym in mid-January. I lift weights, but mostly I run on the treadmill to build up my endurance. When you're doing a solo performance, it's really important to keep your energy level high, because if your energy drops, the audience's will, too.

KEEPING THE AUDIENCE INVOLVED --In a one-man show, there are no other actors on stage. Donald Hicken [who heads the theater department at Baltimore School for the Arts] once told me that theater is a conversation with the audience. As long as you're having that conversation, people stay engaged.

So I keep changing it up. One minute, I'll tell a story really straight. The next minute, I'll tell it with a lot of music. For the third story, I'll use a whole bunch of voices. After that, I'll bring the audience into the story and make them part of it. I find a bunch of ways so it's not just me talking.

mary.mccauley@baltsun.com

"A Season in Sanctuary" runs Feb. 21 through March 2 at Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays. $10-$20. 410-752-8558 or www.theatreproject.org.