While it has not been a long time since many USC students were in high school, it can often feel like a distant memory. USC's presentation of "I and You" takes the audience back to high school with the story of a girl named Caroline, who is sick and homebound, and a boy named Anthony, who comes over to work on a class project with her.
Liv Matthews, a fourth-year theater and political science student, portrays Caroline, a high school senior who has liver damage and can no longer attend school. Matthews said she read the script before auditions and knew right away she wanted to play Caroline.
“Caroline is a big weirdo who's eccentric and random and overdramatic, and that is completely me," Matthews said. "That’s part of the reason that I connected with the story and the character so much in the first place and wanted to play her, is because I saw a lot of myself in her.”
Asaru Buffalo is a first-year economics student playing the role of Anthony. Buffalo describes his character as "really chill" and "a star basketball player."
"This is the role that I wanted, but it was a two-person show, so what are the chances? I’m a freshman, there’s so many great, talented people here," Buffalo said. "I was very happy when I got called back for this."
David Neil Edwards is a fourth-year theater student and the director of "I and You." Edwards became interested in directing a play after being in a student-written and student-directed production during his first year of college. He said it was a "special" opportunity to be directed by another student.
Edwards said he searched for different plays that he would want to direct for a long time. When he learned about "I and You," he knew right away that this was the play he wanted to direct.
“My favorite thing about this play is how quickly it shows we can begin to love others, no matter how different we are or how long we’ve known them," Edwards said. "This play shows what it means to open up to someone and have them open up to you. We see these two characters knock down walls that each other have built up, and behind those walls they find love and trust and help.”
Edwards said he believes "I and You" is relevant and necessary for USC, which is one of the reasons why he chose to direct it. Students tend to "separate themselves" based on "stereotypes and classifications," he said, which can prevent collaboration and unity. This play is an attempt to combat those sentiments.
Matthews said "I and You" brings representation to people, such as Caroline, who might be chronically ill. She said she has a friend at USC who was diagnosed with epilepsy, which brought her to feel more empathy for her character and for people whose lives have been affected by various diseases.
"I and You" is being showcased in Lab Theatre, which is the "perfect" place for the play, according to Edwards.
"We have taken our Lab Theatre that is already a small, black box theater and we’ve actually shrunk the space down," Edwards said. "It takes place in one room, it's Caroline’s bedroom, and we have brought the audience even closer into her space."
Buffalo said the atmosphere of the show is important.
"It's like everyone is on the walls of the room, so everyone's getting this great perspective looking in," Buffalo said. "We can do so many unique things here that are instrumental to this show working that we wouldn’t be able to do in any other space."
Buffalo and Matthews said there are a lot of moments the audience will be able to relate to.
"We're not in high school here, we’re in college, but we’re still students. We still have to do work, we’re still trying to juggle extracurriculars, meet new people," Buffalo said. "There’s a lot here that’s overall building to a good message that anyone, not just USC students, would appreciate.”
"I and You" will take place from Nov. 20 to 23 at 8 p.m. in the Lab Theatre at USC's Booker T. Washington Building. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or at the door.