Second-stage play 'Stop Kiss' emphasizes message on identity

Roxanne Wellington said all stories essentially come back around to Polonius' advice to Hamlet -- "To thine own self be true."

Roxanne Wellington (Photo submitted by Southeast Missouri State University)

As the director of Southeast Missouri State University's fall second-stage play, Wellington, Southeast assistant professor of acting and voice, finds the same to be true with "Stop Kiss."

"If you follow what's right in your heart and you do what's right, then you can never be wrong," Wellington said. "You have to live your life with knowing that you did what was right for you and that you can't let other people's fear or your own fear stop you."

"Stop Kiss," written by Diana Son, first was performed in 1998. It follows the story of characters Callie and Sara in New York City and the effects on them as victims of a hate crime after their first kiss.

New York City is a character in and of itself, too, according to Wellington.

"It's this idea of, 'Where any dreams can happen' -- if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere," Wellington said.

There are limitless possibilities surrounded by millions of people, but because of that, the city holds a kind of underlying danger. Callie already knows the ropes of the city, and Sara, who's from St. Louis, comes in with bright eyes. When she lets her guard down for just a second, Callie's worst warnings come true.

Wellington noted Sara's optimistic, idealized view versus Callie's cautious nature is what makes the play so relatable for audiences.

"I think we can all identify with different elements of the things they do and why they do the things they do," Wellington said.

Wellington said she prefers the intimacy a smaller show offers. The cast is made up of only seven people. The plot unfolds from Callie's perspective, but each of the characters is crucial to her overall progress.

"I think it's really cool to watch the other characters as spokes in the wheel to push her," Wellington said.

Lead Coline Duncan felt a connection to Callie's character from the beginning. She knew she'd be able to play the part because she identified with it. Callie's growth from always picking what's safe to being able to speak her mind is something Duncan knew firsthand.

"I see myself going through that same journey in life that Callie did," Duncan said.

Karl Hawkins is the dramaturge for "Stop Kiss," or as he calls it, "Google for the show." He researched the setting and past productions to ensure the accuracy of Southeast's presentation. Hawkins is usually on stage, but he said he was able to use what he knows as an actor to help him offstage.

"'What kind of stuff should I look up if I was an actor in this play? What kind of stuff would I need to know?'" Hawkins said.

Even behind the scenes, Hawkins related to a message of identity. The 1990s period is key to understanding the brutality of the assault, although hate crimes still are evident 20 years later.

"You can transfer this into race and the Michael Brown case or any other thing that's been going on in the world racially," Hawkins said. "You can tie this into France, which just happened, or you can tie this into transgender women and men being killed and all those reports that are starting to come out. You can tie it to anything."

Actors aren't miked in the Rust Flexible Theatre, so Wellington's expertise as a voice coach comes in handy. She said the actors have to master the casualness a close conversation calls for, while projecting enough for 200 people to hear.

"It's, 'How do we make it real, but also intelligible?'" Wellington said. "Intelligible eloquence, it's this idea of, you have to be able to be understood, and then fit for the character."

The story may be LGBT-based, but the message of "Stop Kiss" is about choosing love regardless of circumstances -- that love is found in the most unexpected of places. Wellington said it's easy to pick the less risky option, whether it be a job, place or another person, yet in turn, the possibility of what could have happened is lost.

"You're just watching two people fall in love, man or man, woman or woman, and so I think the most important thing for people to remember is being able to identify yourself and being OK with that and not just going on living life like it's not worth living," Duncan said.

"Stop Kiss" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 and 12 in the Rust Flexible Theatre. Tickets, which are $12, may be purchased at the River Campus box office, by calling (573) 651-2265 or online at RiverCampusEvents.com.

Pertinent address:

518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.