A Ball State student directing a play will donate the proceeds to an organization that benefits the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
The play, “Stop Kiss,” is about two women, Callie and Sara, who fall in love in New York. They share a kiss at 4 a.m. in a park, which leads to a violent hate crime by a bystander. The attack leaves Sara in the hospital.
Playwright Diana Son wrote the play in 1998.
“Right now, it’s interesting to come at this play from a different angle because of the American consciousness,” Tyler Dwiggins, director of the play, said. “We’re starting to focus on discrimination against same-sex couples.”
The cast and crew is made up of Ball State students. Friends, family and businesses have donated the money to fund the play, Dwiggins said.
The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to the LGBTQ community, will receive half of the money from tickets, he said.
“The Trevor Project is about helping young people who are afraid in a similar way that Callie is,” he said.
In the play, the story is told in pieces with scenes before and after the attack. He said this setup makes the audience look at Callie and Sara’s relationship blossom. The show also is about “acknowledging who you are and having the bravery to be yourself,” Dwiggins said.
“It was my goal to tell a story that would encourage people to take a look at the LGBT[Q] community and maybe have more empathy than they had before,” Dwiggins said. “And additionally, in a very concrete way, raise money for those people.”
Performances will be at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Muncie Civic Theatre. Tickets are $10.
