There’s one chance to get that perfect kiss. A moment in which two people can catch on fire. Summer Stokley, the prominent female character in Kissless the Musical, she never gets that chance.
Three Cy-Fair students star in this Houston Family Arts Center production, which opened Sept. 11 at the BerryCenterand had its last performance in downtown Houstonat the HobbyCenterSept. 22. If it does amazingly in New York, there is a chance to carry Kissless all the way to Broadway.
Chance McClain, the writer of Kissless, takes all of the typical high school elements of stereotyping, bullying, fitting in and wild emotions that come with being a teenager and strings them into a sharp-witted, hilarious, intense play accompanied by funny, heartwarming songs that kept me laughing through every scene and had me in tears by the end.
According to junior Mark Jammal, who has been involved from the beginning since the play was written, McClain submitted it to the New York Music Festival for a chance to take it all the way to the East Coast on off-Broadway. He was rejected and told that improvements needed to be made to the script before they believed he would be ready for the competition. McClain began to go through readings of the play and cast parts.
Little did anyone know that he would get a lucky break when a group in Koreadropped out of the NYMF, opening a spot for the cast to go to New Yorkfor 13 days in an off-Broadway production of Kissless in front of producers.
Kissless the Musical is the first play in the history of New York Film Festival to be composed completely of unpaid actors with the majority of the cast being teenagers. Most of the plays it’s competing against are the exact opposite – paid professional actors, some of which who have won Tony’s, which are the equivalent to a Grammy or Emmy for Broadway stars.
Jammal plays Cory Smoot, one of the three “jocks” who befriends the prominent male character, Derek West.
“Cory is spaz, goofball in a way,” Jammal said. “I have to not think about what I’m doing or saying. I need to just let it all out, but definitely drinking lots of caffeine always helps.”
When he got the part, he had no idea that he would be headed toNew York.
“This experience is a dream come true. I want to become a professional actor, and I agreed to it thinking that it would be a great opportunity,” Mark says. “It’s been a ride.”
Junior Natalie Patton also landed a role as a “redneck” in the ensemble.
Patton said she hopes to one day become a professional director.
“The life lesson you can take from Kissless is: if the chance is there, take it. If you want to do it, go for it. In Kissless, it’s like if you want that kiss, then get it. That’s exactly what I’m doing by going toNew York.”
Freshman Jelena Galagaza plays two parts: “nerd” and “goth” ensemble.
“This is a great experience, and most people don’t get to do this. I’m the youngest one in the play, and it’s so surreal. I’m so happy, I barely have words for how excited I am… It’s mind blowing,” Galagaza said. “When we performed the first show on Sept. 11, it suddenly hit me. We’re going toNew York. This is it.”
Kissless begins with four stereotypical groups of high school age teens – the goths, the jocks, the nerds and the rednecks. Separation runs so deep between the cliques of teenagers that when goth Summer Stokley must spend six weeks of her summer with jock Derek West, the idea is unimaginable. In an unexpected turn of events, the two find themselves forming a friendship and slowly growing to love each other.
But, this forbidden romance won’t be changing the views of their friends any time soon – or Derek’s dad, jock himself, who makes it perfectly clear that whatever is going on between them is simply unacceptable. Their connection seems to slowly be breaking under the pressure from those around them, and Summer and Derek find themselves molding into these stereotypes. But just when it looks like the gap between them grows too large for either to jump over, they realize that they both want to be with each other and shouldn’t let anyone stop them.
Even though they never get the chance, their relationship isn’t the only one that changes forever. It manages to break barriers for the deeply divided cliques in their high school. It affected the lives of Cy-Fair’s own Mark Jammal, Natalie Patton and Jelena Galagaza by giving them a trip toNew York Citythat could change the hobby they love into a lifetime.