BLOOMINGTON -- Shepstonism No. 1: "I'm no better than the next man ... I just outlast him." Shepstonism No. 2: "If you don't blow them away with your talent, grow on them with your diligence."

A Shepstonism, since you asked, is a collection of words to live by, assembled by one Alan Shepston of Normal.

"They define me as a person," he says after recounting a life story which, if nothing else, is definitely unusually defined.

Shepston confesses this on the brink of unveiling a magnum musical opus that has been in the works for more than a dozen years.

And it's set to define who he is for one and all: a self-composed/directed/produced/starring rock opera, "Krell: A Life's Journey (In My Dreams)."

In it, he plays a quirky young superhero named Krell who doesn't quite fit in. Which, you guessed it, represents the alter-ego-life of Alan Shepston.

Involved along the journey are songs, reveries, comedy routines and a nearly schizophrenic moment when Krell and Shepston meet and exchange Shepstonisms/Krellisms.

It's being world-premiered in the big way the creator always dreamed: on the stage of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, at 7:30 p.m. Friday. And it comes with a $25 price tag that Shepston hopes people will be willing to gamble on.

Currently unemployed and on disability, Shepston has invested every last dime of his savings in giving "Krell" the deluxe BCPA treatment he feels it merits, to the tune of around $20,000.

He began it all at age 48. He turns 61 July 13. That's a long gestation for any work of art, one that was first publicly broached in a hopeful Pantagraph story that ran 12 years ago to the week.

He has no doubt some acquaintances that may view him as frankly "delusional." Or simply ask, "What's he doing on stage singing?"

Look familiar?

Longtime Central Illinois dwellers may recall Shepston as the former sports director for Peoria's channel 19 or as the first on-camera talent hired by Bloomington's fledgling channel 43 in the early '80s.

Now with a shaved head and bulked up due to years of weightlifting, Shepston might not be immediately recognizable to those viewers.

During his TV heyday, his thinning crown was abetted with a toupee dictated by the powers that be, all the better to come off as more camera-friendly. "And I hated every minute of it," he sighs 30-odd years later.

Even so, his pitch-perfect broadcaster's voice smoothly handled the basketball play-by-play for both the Bradley Braves and the ISU Redbirds.

Since then, Shepston has run a career gamut almost dizzying in its extremes. His gigs, lasting an average of one to five years, have included:

Morning radio show at B-104, host program manager for B-N's TeleCable (pre-Comcast), sales manager for The Pantagraph, Twin Cities Ballet and School of Dance general manager, gas station attendant, car salesman, pizza delivery man, receptionist at State Farm and, most recently, part-time janitor at the Bloomington Cultural District - site of this weekend's world premiere.

When the first Pantagraph story on "Krell" ran in June 1997, Shepston says he gave himself around five years maximum to get the show on the stage.

Funding woes, a broken marriage, raising two daughters, a decades-long battle with mental illness and other factors intervened, forcing him to extend the five-year limit 2.5 times over. "I never lost the confidence that I would get it done," Shepston says.

In the end, his dream was facilitated when he was left a cash inheritance by his late mother (she was originally going to be made a part of the show, and discussing it still chokes Shepston up).

Though not a professional musician, he willed himself to become a songwriter, and wrote tune after tune, eventually bringing aboard veteran Twin Cities musician and arranger Erik Nelson, owner of Eclipse Studios in Normal.

"He would come in with his songs and guitar and do a vocal," recalls Nelson. "Then I would create an entire arrangement around that and compose more music based on what he did, which let the songs come to life."

And about those songs? "I thought they were cool ... interesting stuff, with some very nice songs. I mean, they were bare bones, maybe just a chord or two, but actually really nice songs."

Observing the process, too, over the 12-year haul have been close friends Marsha and Jerry Polacek of Danvers, who allowed Shepston to set up a makeshift studio in their basement in Normal, circa the mid-'90s.

"He used to practice there," recalls Marsha Polacek. "We heard the original tunes and words he was writing, and we really liked some of them. We thought, 'That is a talent.'"

Keenly aware of his battles with mental illness and other travails, Polacek says, "Al is a very kind and giving and generous guy, even when he doesn't have anything to give. He's just always wanted to prove that you can do anything you set your mind to."

She adds, "And, with Al, that is definitely the truth."

Meanwhile, back in the land of dreams, alter ego Krell is preparing for the final showdown with his real-world counterpart, on stage, in full public view.

"There will be people who know Al Shepston and they'll say, 'this has to be a joke - this guy's a sportscaster and newscaster!' And they may also say, 'yeah, that was a joke,'" he muses.

"But, you know? That's a risk I'm willing to take."

At a glance

What: "Krell: A Life's Journey (In My Dreams)," a rock opera by Alan Shepston

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, 600 N. East St., Bloomington

Tickets: $25

Box office number: (866) 686-9541