KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 14, 2024

A former high school wrestler, Kennesaw State University professor Aaron Levy’s play, “The Student Body,” draws from familiar source material and features familiar actors.

The lead character is a wrestler dealing with body image issues, as Levy did. Playing that role is KSU theatre and performance studies major John Lumapas, a friend of Levy’s son Holden, who did initial readings of the play years ago as Levy developed it.

Along with Lumapas, the play’s cast features two KSU alumni from the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, 2019 graduate Brandy Bell and 2022 graduate Erin North.

And the play addresses something currently in wide cultural awareness—the teen mental health crisis—bringing together myriad familiar elements, both personal and professional.

“I think it was inspired by a few things, mainly what’s going on in our schools and our country with teen mental health,” said Levy, who teaches English in the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “It doesn’t take a preachy angle to it, but I think it’ll generate a discussion.”

The play is produced by the Destination Theatre Company of Atlanta and opened on Friday at the Chaddick Theatre at The Galloway School in Atlanta. The final night of the play is this Friday.

Levy conceptualized “The Student Body” as a parent and as a writer, reading books and reports, listening to podcasts, and generally paying attention to students shining the spotlight on the issues they face each day.

“The original idea was to tackle body image, which obviously falls under a mental health umbrella, and it expanded to other issues,” said Levy, who recently shared his work with KSU Department of English faculty on a panel meant to encourage faculty to be more attentive to both their own and their students’ mental health. “Teenagers are not likely to read Jonathan Haidt’s book ‘The Anxious Generation,’ which has informed a lot of what I’ve learned about the topic. But if we can get them to the play, they might sit in the same audience and see the same story as their parents, as school officials, teachers, community members, and then we can have a substantive conversation afterward about what to do.”

The play opens with Bailey, played by Lumapas, a half-pound over the 98-pound weight limit for a wrestling meet. It then delves into topics of body image, disordered eating, mental health, and what someone will do for the people who love him. Diagnosed with anxiety at 14, Lumapas said the material hit home with him, and his longtime association with the character has helped him bring Bailey to life.

“Acting is how I leave all my insecurities behind,” he said. “When you’re acting, you’re somebody else—somebody else's story, somebody else's life—and it's your job to breathe life into that character and stay truthful to what they are. Honestly, that’s really beautiful.”

Originally from Stockbridge, Ga., Lumapas first acted in the third grade as Frog No. 2 in “Rumpus in the Rainforest.” From there, he acted as often as he could and was a mainstay in theater in his high school. He chose Kennesaw State for the opportunities afforded to theater graduates via the connections they make in Atlanta’s theater community through their professors and fellow actors.

North and Bell can attest to those connections as well. Playing supporting characters in “The Student Body,” they didn’t cross paths at KSU but worked together on another play at Actor’s Express in Atlanta last year.

Bell was pleasantly surprised at how the play dealt with the topic of teen mental health humorously. She also said it helps the cast to have the playwright on stage helping with the production, especially with a humorous work.

“I was most excited about collaboration,” she said. “When it comes to new works, having a playwright in the room really can make all the difference of being able to collaborate, being able to share with the playwright the thoughts, the original ideas of what's in your mind, what's been transferred on paper, and how we transfer it on stage.”

North said Levy wrote deep, rich characters with traits that everyone can relate to, critical for delivering a difficult message in an accessible way.

“I think the play handles the subject matter delicately but still delivers the intensity of the message” she said. “This script is following different characters that we all might have come across in real life and their trajectories that all lead to a common thread of mental health, even if it’s unbeknownst to them. And this play demonstrates how so much noise from the outside world can influence their coming of age.”

Originally, Levy wanted to produce the play with a high school cast, but felt a target audience of high schoolers with older cast members on stage would better send the play’s message. So each performance of this run with professional actors will conclude with a talkback session involving the actors and mental health professionals, talking about the play and how it addressed the mental health crisis.

In the future, Levy said he’d like to take the play to other high schools and maybe bring high schoolers to the stage with it. In any event, he hopes he has presented a difficult issue in an accessible way with relatable, familiar characters.

“This play is for teenagers and the adults in their lives,” Levy said. “Hopefully everybody can gain something from it.”

Story by Dave Shelles

Photos by Darnell Wilburn Jr.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.