Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Reynolds and Chelsey Shirrell.
Hi Megan and Chelsey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Megan and Chelsey met in acting class at the Actor Training Studio in Kansas City and quickly became friends. Both had a theatre background. They knew this play, Sticks & Stones, was important and they wanted to bring it to life. They decided to apply for the KC Fringe Festival. When Chelsey’s name was drawn for a venue, they knew it was time to get to work. Shortly after, they hosted auditions and met many incredibly talented local actors, making casting a difficult process. However, the actors cast would soon prove to be the best choices for their roles. After spending a month together in the rehearsal process, everyone is ready to share this story with Kansas City (and beyond). We invited a small audience to preview the play, and the feedback we received was a great reminder of why we took this on. Here are two of the responses we received: “Sticks and Stones is a powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting story — told in shifting time frames, reflecting how memory is often fractured by traumatic events. It’s not always easy to watch but I found that I couldn’t turn away. The excellent cast, guided by its two co-directors, gives life to a play that is a master class in how traumatic events in our childhood impact our intimate relationships in adulthood.
We get to watch how Gemma slowly puts the pieces of her life back together. And maybe also to find inspiration along the way.” ““Sticks and Stones skillfully captures the experience of living with complex trauma through the lens of an ADHD brain. Even the stylized transitions showcase the frays at the edges of our memory and the strings of connection we make from our past to our present. Viewers will either find a piece of themselves or gain empathetic insight into the ways our past traumas and triumphs impact our daily interactions. Beautiful and painful at times to watch. I definitely plan to see it again.”
It has been incredible to know that people feel seen and heard through this play. There is so much packed into the hour, but there is truly something that everyone can relate to.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The cast has made producing this play a breeze. Initially, our biggest hurdle was a lack of budget. Megan is a teacher, Chelsey is a full-time grad school student. We didn’t have a lot of money to work with, but we were blown away by the support of our community. We received a sponsorship and several donations, helping to offset production costs.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Sticks & Stones is a unique piece in the KC Fringe Festival as dramas are often difficult to pull off in this type of structure. We think this makes it that much more special. Because of our backgrounds in mental health and education, producing an impactful piece that challenges, inspires, and teaches was important to us. Sticks & Stones illustrates the inner working model-part of attachment theory that theorizes how our early experiences and interactions shapes us and our view of the world. In this play, our protagonist, Gemma, is forced to face her own inner working model through memories, both painful and happy. Upon entering the theatre, the audience is immediately pulled into Gemma’s brain, unknowingly becoming bystanders to some of her most painful and vulnerable moments. As co-directors, we want the audience to walk away examining their own inner working model and self-narratives.
However, what sets us apart the most, in our opinions, is our approach in a rehearsal space. With such an emotionally intense production, it was important to us to protect our actors’ mental health by creating a trauma informed rehearsal space.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
This was Chelsey’s directorial debut, and Megan’s KC directorial debut. The most important lesson learned was that we can do it! Alongside our phenomenal cast, we’ve created a show from this script. We’ve learned just how important the lessons in this play are as we’ve heard from members of the community how excited they are to see trauma, attachment, and the inner working model being illustrated on stage. We’ve learned that producing plays like this one is needed and wanted in the Kansas City community.
Pricing:
- Ticket price $15
- Fringe Button $5
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kcfringe.org/product/sticks-stones/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sticks.n.stoneskc25
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/SticksnstonesKCFringe2025
