CSUSM Theatre Presents STOP KISS, Nov. 18-22

The theatre program at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) is pleased to present the award-winning play STOP KISS, written by Diana Son and directed by CSUSM School of Arts faculty Jason Heil. Running Wednesday, Nov. 18 – 22, the play is part romantic comedy, part tragedy, and part societal exploration.

Set in late 1990’s New York City, STOP KISS follows Callie, a traffic reporter and Sara, a public school teacher in the Bronx. Their friendship deepens, their feelings grow and then they must grapple with the aftermath of a brutal assault. The play examines the struggle for identity and commitment with which so many twenty-somethings wrestle. “Do you know who I am?” Callie asks Sara.

“I chose the play for CSUSM because it deals with identity,” Heil said. “Our students are in the process of creating their adult selves. In the play Callie has stumbled into adulthood without ever having to make a hard choice. She is existing, but not content. Sara enters her life and begins to ask difficult questions—questions that might require change in her very identity. I think many of our students deal with those questions every day.”

The play offers an interesting companion piece to Naomi Izuka’s Good Kids, presented at CSUSM earlier this semester. Good Kids also deals with assault (based on the Steubenville rape of a young woman by high school football players).

“Judy (Bauerlein, the director of Good Kids) and I chose our plays independently, but quickly realized that they complemented each other,” Heil said. “Both have an assault as a key plot point, but are really about the characters and how they respond to the adversity.”

Please note that this play contains descriptions of physical assault and violence which may be triggering to survivors.

Admission is $12 for the general public and $10 for CSUSM students. Tickets can be purchased online.

• What: CSUSM theatre performance of STOP KISS
• When: Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m.
• Where: CSUSM Performance Hall: Arts Building, Room 111.
• Tickets: Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for members of the general public and are available for purchase online or at the door.

Directions and Parking

CSUSM is located at 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road in San Marcos. Parking is available in campus lots with fees depending upon length of stay. Parking Structure 1 is the closest lot to the Arts Building, at the corner of Campus Way and Campus View Drive. For more information or directions to the campus, visit http://www.csusm.edu/guide.