ESU Backup Insider

Stage II, East Stroudsburg University’s student theater organization, selected Stay by Lucy Thurber as their production this year “because we wanted a play that would be universally relatable for audience members and also would provide opportunities to highlight the talents of the student actors and designers,” said Tamir Cousins-Ali, a senior from East Stroudsburg majoring in musical theatre and in sociology. Cousins-Ali is the director of the production.

“Everyone knows someone who has struggled to deal with the effects of a negative situation,” Cousins-Ali added. “The audience can identify with the trauma and how it affects others.”

In the play, Rachel, a successful author of short stories, is trying to finish her first novel while also teaching at a prestigious college. Besides dealing with her students, her mother, and her recently unemployed brother, Rachel is also continuing to deal with a dysfunctional and abusive childhood that has left her closed off from almost everyone except a secret angel that helps her see into other people and learn their deepest thoughts.

Stay is the final drama in Thurber’s “The Hilltown Plays,” five dramas that follow a woman from a childhood of poverty, alcoholism, and abuse in a western Massachusetts mill town, through college, through coming to terms with one’s sexual identity, and into adulthood.

“Rachel is a damaged, lonely individual,” said Marti Goodfellow, a senior theatre major from Voorhees, N.J., who plays the central character in the drama. “She doesn’t really know how to connect with people so she uses writing as an escape. She’s afraid of loving and being loved because of her abusive childhood.”

Goodfellow added that “Rachel, through a guardian angel only she can see, has a magical ability to look inside other people and find out what caused them the most pain. The angel, who showed up in response to Rachel’s plea for help, also has given her rules for managing her ability.”

Tensions develop when Rachel encounters Julia, one of her students, who has a similar gift but hasn’t developed the self-control to use it responsibly. The intimacy that develops between them both attracts and repels Rachel.

In addition to directing the drama, Cousins-Ali is composing a score for the production. “As a director, sound helps me to dive into the heads of the characters and create an emotional context for the audience for each scene,” he noted. “Sinister and sweet alternate, so the audience feels unsure about whether the characters want to hurt or help each other.”

“There are no heroes or villains,” Cousins-Ali added. “Everyone has the capability to play either role. The drama shows how hard it is to stay true to your moral compass.”

Sam Kashefska, a senior from Cape Fear, N.C., majoring in theatre, is assistant director of the production. Cast members include Diana Rockman, a freshman theatre major from East Stroudsburg, as Julia; Daniel Michel, a freshman musical theatre major from West Grove, Pa. as Billy; Nicholas Kasander, a freshman psychology major from Easton, Pa., as Tommy; and both Kimberly Goldberg a freshman theatre major from West Orange, N.J. and Jenna Worrell, a senior from Philadelphia, Pa. with majors in theatre and psychology, as Floating Girl.

Stay is recommended for mature high school students and adults. Some people may find the contents of the play triggering. The drama includes discussions of domestic abuse, violence and childhood trauma, and depictions of light physical violence, sexual situations, and smoking.

Curtain times for the production are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3, 4, 5 and 2 p.m. October 6. All performances are in the Dale Snow Theatre of ESU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg.

General admission is $10; senior citizens, faculty and staff (with ID) are $7.00; and students (with ID) are $5. Because of the intimate nature of the Dale Snow Theatre, advanced ticket purchase is strongly suggested.

Tickets are available online in advance at esu.edu/theatretickets (credit cards only online). Remaining tickets are available at the box office one hour before curtain on performance dates (cash and checks only at the box office).

For more information, please email esuarts@esu.edu or call (570) 422-3483.