Elmira College

« Back to Recent News

Highlighting Student One Act Plays: Skin

Elmira, NY (04/16/2020) — Each theatre season Elmira College highlights student directed one-act plays in which students direct a fully-produced short play. Each student is responsible for their choice of play, casting, and both technical and performance preparation.

This year, since classes were moved online before the scheduled performances, the project became a "paper project." As part of their paper project, the three student directors each submitted written director's notes and were asked to create a short video about what they would have brought to the stage.

This week the spotlight is on Emma Faunce '20 and her adaptation of Skin by Ray Goldberg.

In Goldberg's play, the relationship between two women grows into what many would consider a "sisterly" bond. The play also shows the growth and development of the relationship as it takes on many forms. Faunce shares her inspiration in the director's notes below and in her video project posted online.

"I wanted to direct Skin because I found the relationship between the two women fascinating and was excited to build on that relationship to create an interesting dynamic of two sisters," said Faunce. "The characters in the play are not quite as they appear and subtext is the most important thing in this show. What the characters say is not always what they mean, making the characters deeper and more realistic. I also found through directing it that these characters could be taken in a multitude of different ways, however, all of them rely upon a strong relationship between the two sisters.

For casting purposes, these two sisters are probably biologically half-sisters, and through working on it in rehearsals we found that despite being sisters they also have different socioeconomic statuses and life experiences."

"Another reason I wanted to direct this show was that it puts women on stage in both a positive and negative light, which I think is important because women, as well as just people in general, are complex, they have good and bad sides, which is highlighted in the show. Both Lindsay and Jess do questionable things but also invoke our compassion as humans."

"I was drawn to Skin because despite its somewhat heavy message and technical complications, it remains a funny show that made me laugh and I could visualize very clearly on the stage and foresee it being received well. Because, while the show does discuss the idea that you cannot change the past and must live with your choices it is also dead funny, and aligned quite nicely with my sense of humor."

Media Attachments

Copyright © 2025 Merit Pages, Inc. • All Rights Reserved. • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Opt Out