Dramatics Society offers audience a 'Kiss'

This weekend, Theresa Lang directed a moving performance of Diana Son's play Stop Kiss for the Dramatics Society of Boston College. It was impossible to distinguish between her directing choices and choices made by the actors, making the show feel incredibly real. None of the moments looked like actors blindly following a director's orders.

The show explored homophobia through the story of two women in New York City who become friends and are attacked after they share a first kiss. While many plays follow a plot from beginning to end, Stop Kiss jumps around between different chronological moments.

The show opened with Callie (Maggie Carr, A&S '10) tidying up her apartment while waiting for Sara (Jenny Driscoll, A&S '10) to arrive. She filled the time before the first lines by dancing and lip-syncing, keeping the audience entertained. When Sara arrived, the two interacted with the awkwardness of strangers. Later scenes revealed the eventual comfort between Callie and Sarah, reinforcing the other awkward moments as deliberately created.

At the end of the scene, Callie put on a sweater that had been part of the clutter of props and transitioned into the first scene from after the attack. She changed moods thoroughly, showing distress while being questioned by Detective Cole (Ryan O'Flanagan, A&S '10). Callie and Cole played off each other well; Cole asked questions with an insensitivity and almost roughness that Callie answered hesitantly while holding back information and avoiding his attempts to gain that information. Occasionally, it seemed that he wasn't being forceful enough to match the question and Callie's response.

From the first entrance of Drew Broussard, A&S '10, as Callie's friend and sometimes-lover George, the nature of their relationship was apparent. The two interacted perfectly as close friends from college, and they nailed the slightly jealous teasing about each other's love lives. In one of the best moments between them, George responded to the tricky "Does this dress make me look fat?" with a laugh-invading "I cannot, will not, ever answer that question." These early humorous interactions contrasted well with a later scene in which George reveals his worries about Callie through his frustration with her for letting him find out about the attack on the news.

Christina Lepri, A&S '10, displayed her wide range of acting talent in her roles as the witness, Mrs. Winsley, and her wide range of acting talent in her roles as the witness, Mrs. Winsley, and Sara's nurse. As Mrs. Winsley, Lepri was harsh and straightforward, deftly avoiding any of Coles' questions that she did not feel like answering. Although Mrs. Winsley softened when talking to Callie, she maintained directness and came nowhere near the kindness seen in Lepri's portrayal of the nurse. From the moment she entered humming "Amazing Grace," the difference in the two characters was stunning.

The show had many touching moments. In one, Callie and Sara slept in the same bed; they both wanted to do so but did not want to admit it. Sara's facial expression at one point showed the mixture of enjoyment and awkwardness both characters felt. Toward the end of the play, Callie helped Sara change in her wheelchair. Driscoll maintained a sense of helplessness throughout the scene and used her expressions to convey feelings she could not reveal through words.

Micheal Jorgenson, A&S '09, took on the role of Sara's ex-boyfriend, Peter, with ease. In a scene with Callie, Peter revealed his discomfort and deep concern for Sara. Callie and Peter moved back and forth between conflict over Sara and a sense of camaraderie bred by their worry about Sara's condition. In another great moment, Peter read to Sara about Australia. He humorously became excited about little things and stumbled over strange pronunciations without making the lines sound memorized. Throughout the scene, Peter's genuine caring for Sara's well being shone through.

Set designer Sarah Williams, A&S '08, created Callie's apartment while making it adaptable enough to use for all of the scenes set outside the main room. Music and light changes further distinguished a shift in time, although Carr's excellent transition in mood from upbeat to distraught would have been enough of an indication.

The actors handled all of the props on stage at least once, and used every set piece. Nothing was unnecessary. In one scene, Sara tried to hang her coat on a coat rack by the door, but the hook turned upside down. She dealt with the problem well by acknowledging it with a "whoops" and placing her coat somewhere else and Callie later worked this into the action by attempting to fix it while tidying up.

Overall the show balanced humor and seriousness wonderfully to draw the audience into the story; it left everyone touched.

The only real concerns with the performance involved line deliveries. Throughout the show, sections of lines felt rushed; where the script called for cut-off lines the flow tended to be unnatural. These problems did not detract from the performance, however, as the lines were still understandable and the rest of the show felt real.

From the humorous beginning to the poignant kiss in the final moment, Stop Kiss never failed to mesmerize the audience.