Conversations with the Director of Stop Kiss: Finley Shields

*Stop Kiss will be shown at the Long Theatre on March 3rd and 4th at 7PM.

“There’s so much power in love, and it’s almost rebellious to love, and be in an LGBTQ+ relationship. This shouts to me: we won’t be erased,” is a quote from Finley Shields, the director of University of the Pacific’s Production of “Stop Kiss.”

The aforementioned quote resonates highly across time and space, and is one whose meaning can be deciphered across the following article. 

Shields is a senior Media X major with a focus in Stage Management. 

Shields found their passion in theater, the journey to theater was not immediate: 

“I originally came in as a Spanish major, and I switched my major twice. I realized that I was miserable, I realized that what I wanted to do was theater.” 

Most recently, their advisor allowed them to do independent studies. Last spring, this looked like working with the Conservatory of Music’s opera, and this spring, this looks like working with the “Into the Woods” production. Becoming the director of “Stop Kiss” culminates their senior Capstone project, and their research for the National Conference of undergraduate research. 

A concise study of the time period was done on Shields’ part as a result of the combination of “Stop Kiss,” being their Capstone project and center of their undergraduate research. This allows Shields to have discussions with the cast about the time period, and the way that culture affected socialization. 

“‘Stop Kiss’ is set in 1998 in New York. It is about two women falling in love. The first part of the plot is a slow burn. The second, is about what happens after their first kiss – where they end up getting hate crimed, with one of them badly injured.”

Shields mentions that noting the year of this play is critical. “1998 is important because these situations are relevant today, even though it’s 25 years later. It came out at the same time as a brutal hate crime¹ that happened that caused a lot of legislation to come forth. This was also at the tail end of the AIDs crisis. Meaning that a lot of things are happening in New York in terms of gay rights,” says Shields. 

While there certainly have been strides made in the right direction, Shields maintains that there is more that needs to occur, and rightfully so. “A lot people cite the 2015 same-sex marriage ruling (Obergefell v. Hodges), saying that we have come so far. But with all the anti-gay laws being passed and spoken about, and the life expectancy of trans-women being 25 years, we still have [the problems of 1998] going on,” says Shields. 

After touching upon the history of “Stop Kiss,” Shields notes some unique challenges and success from their time working on the production.

“Working with friends is definitely a challenge, but it pushes me to be a better director. Another challenge is not currently having a tech director. I currently have a set of PVC pipes and curtains all in my room waiting to be built into the set.” And as for Shields’ successes: “Definitely watching actors grow into their roles and seeing them come into their own from the beginning of rehearsals.”

Having conversations about “Stop Kiss” with Shields, was definitely a meaningful endeavor – just as watching the play will be.

1. The brutal hate crime that Shield’s references is the murder of Matthew Shepard in October of 1998. See the following link to learn more about the Matthew Shepard foundation: https://www.matthewshepard.org/