In Scott RC Levy’s first year, the Fine Arts Center took a bit of a detour from its familiar programming with a potentially off-putting contemporary production (“In the Other Room”) and a challenging musical (“Assassins”).

This season, the FAC director of performing arts is doubling down with an ambitious new Second Stage Series, which opens up the underused, 108-seat Music Room to intimate productions and experimental works.

First on the docket: “Make Sure It’s Me,” a work-in-progress examining the complex issues around traumatic brain injuries, a signature injury of the Iraq war. In the two-act production, we witness the frustration and despair created by the loss of one of a soldier’s most precious assets: control of his mind and behavior. The handful of soldiers in “Make Sure” were taunted, mislabeled, ignored and blocked from meaningful care before finally finding a place in the military-funded study run by a neurologist with her own baggage about the subject.

It’s certainly a worthy subject to be developed in Colorado Springs, where the military is practically an industry. And playwright Kate Wenner — a journalist for 30 years, a writer and an award-winning producer for ABC News’ “20/20” — is a credible voice on the topic.Right now, though, I’d call “Make Sure It’s Me” a good start.

The central problem: Manifestos don’t often make great theater. Wenner’s evolving script (we were told that new scenes had been added that day) is so burdened by the duty to deliver an important message, it can’t find a compelling center.

That’s partly because Wenner has yet to fully developed the characters, most of which are expressed by their profession (doctor, lieutenant colonel) or their inconvenient new behaviors. Unfortunately, that’s not enough for a satisfying two and a half hours of theater.Still, director Tim Muldrew and a cast of some of the most recognized actors in the area earnestly dig into what they have. Ashley Crockett lights up her Dr. Fitch, the neurologist who runs the treatment program. And the actors behind these damaged soldiers — Jason Lythgoe, Chris Medina, Marisa Hebert, Hossein Forouzandeh and Emory Collinson — deserve high marks for their committed portrayals. Jen Lennon, who plays a battered military wife, also was riveting.

While this production didn’t meet a satisfying balance among the time commitment, the $15 ticket price and the quality of the evening, it’ll be interesting to see where FAC director Levy’s new project will go. The Second Stage Series continues with a WYNOT production (Dec. 13-30), a musical based on an award-winning children’s book (March 21-31) and a new play festival (April 18-28).

The bigger question, though, is will they fill seats? The intimate theater experience — especially one driven by work-in-progress productions — has been widely embraced by this theater scene, including The Millibo Art Theatre, Theatre d’Art, Star Bar Players and others. To succeed, the FAC will have to produce an experience that’s a cut above.

Another factor: the room’s acoustics, which sometimes shatters or blurs dialogue. And finally, minimal production values aside, the wall behind the stage is overdue for a painting.

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The FAC second stage minutes before the Saturday performance of “Make Sure It’s Me” began. Photo by