Virtual Play: How Can I Say This So You Will Stay?

You are invited to the virtual reading of the play How Can I Say This So You Will Stay? It is a fantastical journey through the research of BSU's Dr. Jacquelyn Sweeney and Dr. Amy Damrow from Kent State University. The play, written by Morgan McGuire follows a group of student teachers thrust into an academic study on the difficult dialogues we try to avoid in life with those who hold different ideological space than we do. As the students delve into topics ranging from Black Lives Matter to the contentious 2016 election, the ways their politicized identities play out in their everyday life become clearer to them and those around them. The questions of who we really are and the tension that creates with the world around us come to the forefront. Do we stay in the room with that tension or do we leave? How can we stay? The play is inspired by collaborative research involving Bowie State University and Kent State University undergraduates and made possible through a Bowie State University grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more on the research, see this article:

Damrow, A. L., & Sweeney, J. S. (2019). Beyond the bubble: Preparing preservice teachers through dialogue across distance and difference. Teaching and Teacher Education, 80, 255-265.

R.S.V.P. here: How Can I Say This So You Will Stay?

* A brief paired conversation will take place following the reading and those who stay will be paired with someone from around the country. The playwright and actors will also take questions.