Although they were actors in a play, they employed their craft to depict situations of domestic violence and the resulting fallout that occurs regularly in America, sometimes even at MSU.
Starting Thursday, the MSU theatre group Roial Players will display how domestic violence is closer to campus than many think, and that it doesn’t always begin with physical abuse.
The drama, “Blinded: A Survivor’s Story,” follows a fictional MSU student as she struggles to recover a sense of normalcy after an abusive relationship.
Roial Director Megan Kelly, who wrote and directed the play, said the intent of the play is to raise awareness of domestic abuse.
Kelly, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, or RCAH, and social work senior, said stopping victim blaming, or assuming the recipient of abuse has deserved it, is key.
“Domestic violence is more than just hitting someone, it’s this mental warfare that really messes with your thought processes and your mental health, especially when you’re trying to leave the relationship safely,” Kelly said.
One in four women will experience an abusive relationship sometime in their lives, said RCAH senior and Roial Assistant Director Marie Kaniecki.
Because it’s a situation that many students might encounter, Kaniecki said she hopes the audience takes away that an abuser is firstly a manipulator that asserts control over another’s life.
“It’s not just physical violence, it can start early on as emotional abuse, using money to control them, isolating them from friends and family,” she said. “It is not (the survivor’s) fault. The abuser in the relationship is completely in control of their actions. In some of these relationships, it’s possible they might not realize what’s happening until it’s too late.”
To take on the sensiti ve subject matter of the play, the cast received domestic violence training.
For RCAH freshman Courtney Eathorne, playing the lead role was different from anything she had attempted before, and the experience came along with growth in both her acting and in life.
“Playing Lilah is both physically and emotionally demanding,” Eathorne said. “It’s a big responsibility, but an absolute honor. Being a part of the show was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at MSU.”
Show times for “Blinded” are 9 p.m. on Thursday, 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. “Blinded” will be performed in the RCAH Theatre in the basement of Snyder-Phillips Halls.
Tickets are $5 at the door. $2 from each ticket will be donated to the Capital Area Response Effort, a domestic violence resource center.
