Students act in, direct play about AIDS

By Alison Angel

angela@thejohnsonian.com

“The Yellow Boat,” runs Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. Photo by Paul Ricciardi • ricciardip@thejohnsonian.com

“The Yellow Boat,” an inspiring true story about one boy’s struggle living with AIDS, will kick off the fall season in Winthrop’s Department of Theater and Dance.

Erin Lee, senior theater education major, is the play’s director and chose the story. 

Student directors apply for a show by putting together a portfolio. They plan to design it for the faculty, who make the final decision about the content.

Lee first applied as a junior and applied again as a senior after taking Directing I and II which are two classes required in order for theater students to apply.

She was originally inspired by the play two years ago when she came across it in a theater education class. 

Lee said the show is so good because of the script itself, which David Saar wrote based on the life story of his son Benjamin.

“It’s just a really good show and it’s really well-written,” Lee said. “It hasn’t been that hard to make it good.”

“The Yellow Boat” follows the story of Benjamin, who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion when he was young. 

It follows him on an intense emotional journey until his death in 1987. The boy was eight years old. 

Lee said the tragedy of the plot is what really brought them together as a cast.

“That’s one thing I love about

theater is the community it builds with people,” Lee said.

This is Lee’s directorial debut for a full-length play. She is making the transition from actor to director for the first time.

“I think the biggest difference is that there’s so much responsibility on the front end (as a director),” she said. “As an actor, the responsibility is at the back end.”

She said that as an actor, your main wish is to work with a good director. 

Sophomore theater major Philip Calabro plays 8-year-old Benjamin, who received AIDS a blood transfusion. Sophomore theater education major Sarah Gunter and theater major Christian Hubbard play his parents. Kyle Amick and Meghan Smith play doctors. Photos by Paul Ricciardi • ricciardip@thejohnsonian.comLee is focused on being the best director she can be for her actors. 

Pulling their talent and potential out is the main challenge, which casting plays a huge part in, she said.

“If you cast good people, then you can sit back and watch and there’s just magic on the stage,” Lee said. “It’s really all about the casting.”

Philip Calabro, sophomore theater major, plays the lead role of Benjamin.

Trying to understand the struggle of what the character went through is the most challenging part of the play, he said.

“Everything that happened in his short life can leave you speechless,” Calabro said. “Conveying his true story to the audience, to have them leave the play thinking is my main goal.”

The show is very important to Lee not only because it’s her debut as a director, but also because of the message it sends. 

The show brings the AIDS epidemic to light by documenting a boy’s difficulties, and AIDS is an issue Lee is very passionate about.

“That’s my goal in the show: to raise awareness for people,” she said. “It’s really important for people to see that it’s still an issue in the world today.”

“The Yellow Boat” will be performed in Johnson’s Black Box Theater at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 29, to Saturday, Oct. 2, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3. 

Tickets are $5  with student I.D. and $10 without on Sept. 29  and 30, and $8 with I.D. and $15 without on Oct. 1 to Oct. 3. 

Junior theater major Bailey Robinson, who plays Joy, fights the AIDS to help Benjamin battle the disease. Photos by Paul Ricciardi • ricciardip@thejohnsonian.com