By Nora Sorena Casey
Special to the Daily Press

SM AIRPORT — At first glance, one might misinterpret the title of Cindy Lu’s new play, “The Four Man Plan: A Romantic Science.” But the play is, in fact, about one woman and her experiences dating four men at once — a tactic for finding true love she highly recommends.

Tonight, the Ruskin Group Theatre presents the premiere of Lu’s one-woman play — a theatrical experience-cum-dating-tutorial that delivers a comic punch along with practical advice on nabbing that elusive soulmate.

Lu’s play, directed by Paul Linke, is based on her own tried, tested and successful approach to dating.

“Yes, the goal is to date four men at a time,” she said. “But it isn’t as simple as it sounds. The Four Man Plan consists of a carefully developed set of postulates, graphs, charts and theories. For example, there are the ‘Wait for Sex Index,’ ‘The Rule of Chuck,’ ‘The Half Man Imperative’ and ‘The Chick’s Chick Angle.’”

Lu, 36, has been acting for 17 years — having appeared in “Desperate Housewives,’ “Six Feet Under,” “ER,” “Frasier,” “Friends” and “Seinfeld” — but had begun to grow tired of similar roles. She combined her creative drive with experience as a writer and improv actress, opting to write for herself. She embarked on her first play in November.

Lu contends that the Four Man Plan creates competition among the men and is a surefire way to see who is the most interested. It combines modern science with the old fighting-for-the-lady theme, she said.

Lu turned her life experiences into her first writer/performer play. She takes the stage and talks about her own experiences from before and after the plan, sharing her anecdotes and epiphanies about dating. The show is set up to allow audience questions throughout the performance, and cocktails — “Planners Punch,” invented for the show, will be served.

“It’s very much a comedy,” Lu said. “It’s a little raunchy at times — PG15, PG16 maybe.”

But regardless of its comedic potential, Lu swears that her Four Man Plan will lead single women to the perfect man.

“I developed (the Four Man Plan), I practiced it, and then I met my fiancé and we’ve been together for five years,” she said. “So I guess it works.

“I’ve had girlfriends do parts of the plan and now one of my friends has a 1-year old, another is engaged in Utah.”

But tonight’s debut of the show will mark the first time that Lu’s dating methodology is condensed and made available for the single public.

Lu will be selling her new book, based off the play, in the lobby after performances. It also is available at www.thefourmanplan.com. The book provides all the information from the show as well as 80 extra pages of text and graphs and charts that will prepare the owner to begin her own plan.

For Lu, this is only the beginning of her career as a writer/performer.

“I already have two more show ideas and a book idea,” she said.

The director, Linke, has been a professional actor and director for almost 30 years. He has directed shows at Ruskin including “That May Well Be True” and “Caterpillar Soup.” He has created, acted in and directed several one-person shows, including “Nobody Don’t Like Yogi” starring Ben Gazzara, off-Broadway at The Lambs Theatre, and Charles Nelson Reilly’s hit “Save it for the Stage.”

Linke also starred in such feature films as “Motel Hell,” “Grand Theft Auto” and “Parenthood,” and was the founder and original artistic director of the Powerhouse Theatre in Santa Monica.

“The Four Man Plan: A Romantic Science” will run from July 14 through Sept. 2 at Ruskin Group Theatre, 3000 Airport Dr. at Santa Monica Airport. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Fridays, and 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets are $20.

Call (310) 397-3244 or go to http://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com.