In the fall of 2025, a cohort of Theatre Arts students at Stetson University began working on a Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) play that also intended to draw awareness to a modern social issue. The cohort soon decided that women’s healthcare was the issue they wanted to explore, and that led to Collide. Written by Travis Romero with co-writing done by CJ Barnes, Gianna Christensen, Calista Karapiperis, and Miles Reynolds, this play intended to present women’s healthcare issues to an audience of middle school and early high school students.

In an unspecified region of California, three recent high school graduates, Blair, Frankie, and Percy are going on a final trip before they each go their separate ways. But the intended celebration soon deteriorates into tension when the trio get lost and start to argue. Just as they’re about to split up for good, a mysterious guide shows up and strives to reveal truths that were hidden from them before.

While contributing to the writing process of this play proved to be challenging for me, this play remains as one of the single most important shows I’ve worked on. This play was written with the intention of touring to schools in the area, and it has messages that can be understood and interpreted by a younger audience. It uses the notion of a mysterious tree to show multiple eras of women’s healthcare related issues in a past-to-present fashion. This was further supplemented by the choice to emphasize props and costumes in the play to ensure touring could’ve been feasible.

Credits: Directed by Julie Schmitt, Scenic Design by Krista Franco, Lighting Design by Aaron Frank, Costume Design by Calista Karapiperis, April 2026.

Photos by AndYou Films