Phillip Ball, who has appeared in and directed many Butler Little Theatre and Musical Theatre Guild productions, embarks on a new phase with his "First Farewell (or Get the Ball Rolling) Performance" tonight at the Succop Theater.

After nine years and involvement in about 90 different productions, area thespian Phillip Ball challenges himself anew with his "First Farewell Performance," also called "Get the 'Ball' Rolling." The show will take place tonight at 8 p.m. at the Succop Theater on the Butler County Community College campus.

"I'm drawing on everything I've done in the past," Ball said of the two-hour event. "The first half of the show is high-energy."

He said he ties songs in the first act to personal experiences, such as numbers from "Bye, Bye Birdie" and "The Baker's Wife" along with pop tunes and jazz standards.

"The second half is more of a concert style," he said.

He plans to perform three duets. Appearing with Ball will be Patrick Erkman, Lori Williamson, Kelly Benner and Brookes Decker. Musicians include Jessica Sanzotti and Elliot Roth on keyboards, Karen O'Donnell on drums, and Jack Swoboda on bass.

The purpose is to get him rolling, to raise enough money to take some classes or do some workshops.

"I'm not sure where this is going to take me. It probably won't take me away from Butler just now, but it might. It's possible," Ball said.

"I want to learn about what I don't know, polish what I do know, and get some validation for what I'm doing."

He's willing to stage a two-hour show to help him take the next step.

After expenses for the theater, equipment, printing and royalties for the music he's using, Ball said the show's finances are more in the maroon than the black. "Ticket sales have been going OK. I think I'm not going to end up owing anybody except myself," he joked.

Ball considers his age, 32, possibly a plus instead of a minus.

"I hoping that my maturity level is going to be an asset," he said. "A lot of young people just coming out of college are still wide-eyed. I've calmed down already. My age gives a little more validity to what I do. I've lived some life already. I've had experiences."

The show's promotional material announces that Ball is "having a child," figuratively of course.

"I figured it would catch people's eyes, get them interested in what I'm doing," he said.

He's been working on the ever-evolving show longer than the normal nine-month gestation period. It took a year and a half of selecting songs and weeding them down to the bare essentials, Ball said.

When the birth, or show, is over, Ball expects an experience that sounds like that of a new parent. "You have the two things: extreme fatigue that comes with all the preparations and then ... where are you going from here."

For him, it starts with getting things rolling.

"In my career, I'd love to be a paid performer. If it's just to supplement what I do in another job, that's OK. It's seeing how far I can go," said Ball, who currently works as manager at a Butler antique store. "It's a personal journey, an exploration. I want to see where it leads."

<B>WHAT: </B>First Annual Farewell (or Get the Ball Rolling) Performance<B>WHEN: </B>8 p.m. tonight<B>WHERE: </B>Succop Theater on the Butler County Community College campus<B>COST: </B>$20