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Diana Son's Stop Kiss, which deals with an homosexual relationship between two women, was presented by Front Row Theatre Co. at the University of Pennsylavia. Callie and Sara, the two main chracters engaged in the play, do not expect this relationship and the violence that explodes with rage, because they previously think themselves heterosextual. The setting of the play showed how comfortable and cozy Callie's room is: the clothes just thrown on the sofa and the books left unorganised on the shelves. The actors were dedicated to their characters, so the scene, where Callie visits Sara who is in a coma and folds the comforter to put her feet out, was dipicted nicely with strong impression to the audience. The production of the play tried hard to be same as what is described in the written script and the effort is well-displayed in the overall setting and the performances of actors. |
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Diana Son's Stop Kiss, which deals with an homosexual relationship between two women, was presented by Front Row Theatre Co. at the University of Pennsylavia. Callie and Sara, the two main chracters engaged in the play, do not expect this relationship and the violence that explodes with rage, because they previously think themselves heterosextual. The setting of the play showed how comfortable and cozy her Callie's room is: the clothes just thrown on the sofa and the books left unorganised on the shelves. The actors were dedicated to their characters, so the scene, where Callie visits Sara who is in a coma and folds the comforter to put her feet out, was dipicted nicely with strong impression to the audience. The production of the play tried hard to be same as what is described in the written script and the effort is well-displayed in the overall setting and the performances of actors. |
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Diana Son’s play, Stop Kiss, which was performed by the University of Pennsylvania’s Front Row Theater Company and directed by Maryana Geller, is a powerful story about standing up for yourself and overcoming hatred. Callie and Sara meet, become good friends, and then become lovers. However, their first kiss has disastrous consequences when a man sees them kissing and assaults them. Sara, who resists the man and tries to protect Callie from him, ends up in a coma. The fact that this trauma happens right after their first kiss shows how much oppression the lgbt community faces in our society. As soon as the two women discover their feelings for each other, they must immediately deal with being outcasted, which is a lot to handle at once. However, Sara shows a lot of strength throughout this trial, and Callie eventually gains strength as well. As horrible as the event is, it strengthens these two women. |
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On March 18 Front Row Theater presented Stop Kiss by Diana Son at Houston Hall Auditorium. The play stuck to the traditional script making it more enjoyable and professional. From the directors to the assistants to the actors everyone seemed professional. The directing team in the back was equipped with high technology and made the sound and light changes come in the perfect time. At the same time the cast was very professional. This made them look real and very similar to the characters one imagines while reading the play. Overall it was a great play. The only aspect of improvement could have been making the play shorter without taking out the significant scenes. |
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The setting was wonderfully made. As for the lighting changes from red to blue, the cues were too subtle and I didn't realize that it was for the before/after kiss scenes until I read one of the blogs. I've read the play and although the performance was great, it was too long, caused by scene changes which could not be helped. If any of the scenes had been cut out, the story wouldn't have been the same though. One of the characters, George, was the best actor, and Callie and Sara also performed well. The awkwardness between the two was palpable as they realized their affection for each other was more than the feelings of friendship. Watching Callie realize this and overcoming her fears of what people thought of their relationship was important. And after the attack, Callie's dedication and love were so apparent. The play was worth going to and a good first experience. |
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The performance of Stop Kiss was thought provoking. During the first scene in the hospital, Sara is in the bed and Callie comes in to see her. Callie is nervous and anxious. Her facial expressions and hesitations when approaching Sara's side convinced me that she truly cared for Sara. Callie's love of Sara and dedication toward her well being are demonstrated when she lifts the blanket from Sara's feet. Small actions like this, although subtle and often over noticed, are what makes relationships stronger. On a technical side, the use of the space by the set designer was well done. The detail of the existing architecture and subtle color in Houston Hall Auditorium effectively brought the audience closer to the action on stage. The extended scene changes could have been shortened if a smaller set and a more courageous lighting plot was used to define space and location. Less time would have been needed to change over the scenes if the director had used fewer props and focused the audience's attention to certain areas of the stage using lighting. However, the choice of music and overall artistic choices and direction helped portray the show's message of the true power and essence of relationships. |
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The stage prop with the light of different colors in the background of the stage was a creative transition between scenes. Unfortunately, the connection between the light color and the preceding or succeeding scene did not become apparent. This could maybe have been helped by a greater variation in the music between the scenes. As to the play being too long, it is not much to do about that. The script is written, and the producers can not deviate too much from what the playwright intended. An important part of this play is to show the audience the beauty of lesbian love and then tell the story of the evil that demolished this beauty. This beauty could maybe have been enhanced by bringing more sensuality into the acting. The actors were a little cold about their portrayals of affection, while this love is supposed to be strong. |
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The students of the University of Pennsylvania's Front Row Theater Company presented Stop Kiss by Diana Son. The play was performed in the Class of 49 Auditorium at Houston Hall. The size of the room was just right so that everyone could hear the actors clearly. The play is about two friends, Callie and Sara, who develop feelings for each other. They kiss and become victims of a hate crime. The performance was great. In the beginning Callie was speaking quickly and was hard to understand. Later her expressions brought out the intensity of the scenes. It was impressive of the characters in the play to have no difficulty in switching their feelings and emotions and the mood of the scenes back and forth since the play had alternating scenes before and after the kiss. The scene when Detective Cole interrogating Mrs. Winsley was effective. Mrs. Winsley's facial expressions were exactly as one would imagine when reading the play. The play was a bit longer than I had thought. When I read the book, it seemed like a short play. So it got a bit tedious towards the end to continue watching the play. However, overall it was a good and entertaining event and the university should organize more similar events. |
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The actors did an excellent job, especially when it mattered most. By this I mean they were able to express to the audience the mutual feelings of uneasy affection between the two women. Their ability to create the akwardness between the women before the kiss and the emotions in the hospital were crucial to the play. Also, the boyfriend George did great job of displaying how people's ingorance of situations becomes apparent when they attempt to sympathize with the victims for the wrong reasons. |
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Front Row Theatre Co. presented the play, Stop Kiss, at the University of Pennsylvania. This play was performed by Penn students and coincided with the play written by Diana Son. The written play describes the plot and allows the readers to interpret and to imagine how dramatically characters carry out their acting. During the show, the audience had a chance to visualize another possible outlook of the written play. The show nicely and vividly depicted how Callie dresses Sara after Sara has been in the coma. The props and settings were easily noticeable and helped the audience to immediately follow the story. Featuring this show in the future at the university is a good idea, because it provides an opportunity to feel and experience the atmospheres of the plot. |
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Diana Son’s Stop Kiss, a play about two friends who become lesbians, was performed by the University of Pennsylvania’s Front Row Theatre Company at Houston Hall. The play was staged in the Class of 49 auditorium which provided a very intimate setting because of the proximity of the audience to the stage. The medium sized room also allowed for good lighting and excellent hearing. In the play, Callie, a traffic reporter in New York City, and Sara, a teacher who moved from St Louis to New York City, become friends and go on to develop more intimate feelings for each other. After much hesitation and uncertainty they share a kiss but are then the victims of a hate crime. The play is made more interesting because it does not follow chronological order. Instead events that take place before the kiss are alternated with events after the kiss. This however meant that props had to be changed after every scene, making it rather time consuming. Having read the script before, the cast did well to adhere to their characters. At first Callie spoke very rapidly, but by the third scene this was rectified. Mrs. Winsley, despite having a small role, was very convincing, especially in her conversation with Detective Cole, where she had to brush off his persistent questions as to her husband’s whereabouts. All in all, it was a great play and it would be nice to see more of this type of productions on campus. |
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Stop Kiss not only devels into the forming of a sexual relationship between main characters Callie and Sara but also touches upon the need for people to do what makes them happy. The dialogue between the main characters often touched upon what drives them, what bothers them, what they think of their jobs, and what they want out of life. The actresses in this production depict the characters main ideals about life well; however, Callie was not portrayed as stand-offish as in reading the script. Other than a bit of overacting on Callie's part, the people involved in producing this production really caputured the ideals of author Diana Son. The dark stage setting for hospital sceens and transitional music allowed for the viewers to sense a deep connection between Callie and Sara, despite the tragic gay beating, and led the audience to want the main characters to find happiness with one another. |
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The women depicted in the play "Stop Kiss" have every right to engage one another in what ever they agree. The man guilty of the crime perpetrated against Sara intruded upon their privacy as arrogant people do, and I was pleased to see that there was no scene showing the violence actually occurring. Also, all of the acting was well executed, though the roles of the detective and George seemed more convincing. |
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