Roleplay
Shannon Flaherty
An new play examining love, sex, power, and consent on campus.
Originally created in 2018-19, Roleplay was inspired by the startling results of the 2018 Tulane University Climate Survey on Sexual Misconduct. The study revealed that 41% of female students and 19% of male students reported being sexually assaulted during their time on campus. The show was a collaboration between then Adjunct Professor Darci Fulcher, filmmaker Katie Mathews, Tulane Professor Jenny Mercein, Goat in the Road Productions, and fifteen Tulane University students (listed below). The group worked for over a year to create the 90-minute show that follows eleven students through their Sophomore year of college. The show won a 2019 Big Easy Theatre Award for Best Ensemble. Roleplay was remounted with a brand new group of students in 2023.
September 5 - 15, 2019 (premiere)
January 25 - February 5, 2023 (remount)
Tulane’s Lupin Theatre, 150 Dixon Hall Annex
”Stories are personal, first drafts are imperfect, stakes are high, conversations are necessary, and confrontation, in theatre, is key.”
- Alex Ates, American Theatre Magazine
“How ‘Roleplay’ Reflected Tulane’s Experiences With Assault”
Roleplay is available through Dramatic Publishing. Purchase it here.
*Photos by Joshua Brasted
The Team
Student creator/performers (2019): Aaron Avidon, Carl Briggs Jr., Ross Brill, Alexandra Elam, Hannah Gordon, Grace Graughnard, Robert Holmes-Acourt, Miranda Kramer, Nagelle LeBoyd, Hailey Mozzachio, and Lucy Sartor. Roleplay was also built by Annalise Harknett, Noah Hazzard, Hannah Kent, and James Weiss, with student choreography by Tessa Rebold.
Student performers (2023): Mackenzie Bell, Joseph Benefiel, Lourdes Castillo, Khaja Daniel, Colin Foley, Scott Hawkins, Isabel Kaufman, Rosalind Roland, Taylor Sacco, Laney Tellegen, and Siena Vincent with assistant stage manager Charlie Peeler.
Artist and production team (2019): Darci Fulcher & Chris Kaminstein (co-directors), Shannon Flaherty (Production Manager), Jenny Mercein (producer), Kit Sternberger (stage manager), Kevin Griffith (set design), Owen Ever (properties), Ellen Bull (costume design), Dylan Hunter (sound design), Joan Long (light design), Jasmine Williams (master electrician), Betsy Primes (sound board), Michaela Brown (asst. stage manager).
Artist and production team (2023): Darci Fulcher (co-director), Nick Javon (co-director), Jenny Mercein (producer), Shannon Flaherty (producer), Chris Kaminstein (producer), Ellen Bull (costume), Owen Ever (properties), Steve Gilliland (sound tech), Kevin Griffith (set), Dylan Hunter (sound design), Joan Long (light design), and Kit Sternberger (stage manager).
The Film
The Roleplay process was followed by documentary filmmaker and project co-originator Katie Mathews. Over the course of the 2018-2019 school year, a group of professional and student filmmakers documented the creation process in an attempt to portray the social issues that college students grapple with today, and how art can be transformational in confronting these issues. The Roleplay documentary film is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2021.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FILM HERE.
Roleplay was made possible by support from by support from the Tulane University Campus Health and All In: Tulane's Commitment to Stop All Sexual Violence, the Newcomb Institute of Tulane University and the Donna and Richard Esteves Fund at the Newcomb Institute, School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University Lurcy Grant, Nancy Rebold and Matt Rebold, and a Carol Lavin Bernick Faculty Grant. Early development of Roleplay was sponsored by the Hangar Theatre AIRS Residency.