Performing arts charity Troika Bermuda is filled with the kind of young people who dream of standing on the global stage and seeing their name in bright lights.Next week the budding performers will get closer to that chance, when they take part in the prestigious National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina.Helping them on that journey has been New York-based writer, actor and director Larry Floyd, who created the choreo-play ‘Misunderstood’ for Troika in 2011.Mr Floyd has spent the past few weeks ‘cleaning up’ the performance and making sure everything was spot on for the festival in Winston-Salem, from July 31 to August 3. He said it would be a life-changing opportunity for the 25 young Bermudians heading to the festival and might even launch their career in the performing arts, like it did his.“For me the festival was a matter of being able to go and perform on the next level, an international level,” he said.“It showed me there was a way to do this full time, because at that point I had done some regional theatre, a couple of pieces up at New Haven [Connecticut], but I really hadn’t considered how I could make a living from it, and going to the National Black Theatre showed me how.”He said the Island’s young people might have the opportunity to audition for theatre companies in the US, walk around with celebrities or see professional productions seating 500 to 1,500 people.‘Misunderstood’ is a 90-minute play, which tells the story of a group of forsaken students who are searching for purpose and meaning in a world that seems to confine their dreams and passions. Music was directed and composed by Leroy Francis and it was choreographed by Zalika Millett.To get them ready, Mr Floyd has been holding theatrical workshops, including ‘bodywork’ to get them warmed up for the stage and ‘tablework’ to break down the script and give them a deeper understanding of what’s going on in each scene.Troika will be the only youth company performing on the convention centre stage, which seats between 250 and 300 people, and Mr Floyd said “the pressure is huge”.“I try not to let them feel that pressure and just let it be about the show, but we are definitely doing some tweaking for the American audience,” he explained.The young people have had to be mindful of their Bermudian accents and how fast they talk. There were also some references in the play that were specific to Bermuda, like one made about the Transportation Control Department (TCD), which Mr Floyd hopes the overseas audience can grasp.The director said he has noticed a lot of growth in the young people and admits they are more willing to take chances and trust his advice.Mr Floyd started out singing in the church, before venturing into theatre at around 19 or 20 years old.He said: “Growing up in the church prepared me to do this. Church is very dramatic so even when I was growing up I was writing songs, directing the church choir, playing drums as a musician and when I got old enough those are the things that became normal to me.”As a member of the European style theatre companies, he was encouraged to learn about all aspects of the arts, including stage management, props, marketing and directing.He got his first shot running a production in 2005 from a director out of Howard University, named Crystal Perry. “It was scary, but I am never one to just do something so I was studying directing at the same time that I was directing. That’s how I work.“I think you should be trained in something you are supposed to do. I was taking directing classes at HB Studios in Manhattan, and have since gone on to get much more training.”He got the opportunity to work with Troika, after meeting co-founders, Seldon Woolridge and Shoa Bean, in 2008 or 2009.Mr Floyd said he was “very proud” of the young performers for putting their best foot forward with the project.“They are taking risks and asking the right questions and doing the right things,” he said. “I am proud because I think they understand the importance of this performance because the last time a Bermudian has been represented at the festival was exactly 20 years ago, when Earlwin ‘Bootsie’ Wolffe went.“It’s funny because now his son is the stage manager and his daughter is in the play.”“They really are cultural ambassadors for Bermuda, which is why we have done everything we can in the schedule to make sure they do take advantage of the majority of it so they are the pride of Bermuda as the young talents.”For more information about Troika see www.troikabda.com.