Jenni Samuelson watched intently as a handful of students rehearsed a final scene. The lines were brief, bouncing from actor to actor, several voices working as one. Samuelson leaned forward, smiling, her eyes willing them on.
When they finished, she threw up her hands, sprang from her chair and showed the students the hairs standing on her forearm.
“You’ve got it,” she told them. “Lock it in!”
The 20 UC Merced students in Samuelson’s advanced performative storytelling course were nailing down details for public performances less than a month away. The production of “If All the Sky Were Paper” will be a payoff for months of preparation. However, it is equally rewarding to work with Samuelson, a continuing lecturer in global arts studies, and dive into the emotionally powerful scripts she chooses, students said.
"If All the Sky Were Paper" reflects the work of literary historian Andrew Carroll, who has spent decades tracking down and preserving correspondence written by Americans touched by war. Carroll gathered letters and emails from conflicts spanning the American Revolution to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The stage adaptation gives those voices — soldiers, families, caregivers — expression through performance.
A performer playing Carroll serves as the narrator, sharing the author’s personal journey of discovery as he introduces the writers and tugs on the threads that connect them.
The UC Merced Arts production of “If All the Sky Were Paper” is set for the first weekend of May at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, 645 W. Main St. Performances are 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or at the door.
The advanced performative storytelling course attracts some students with an extensive background in theater, but most have little or no experience. Alberto Maniscal’s last time on stage was in eighth grade.
“I wanted to revisit that,” the fifth-year mechanical engineering major said. “I’m super excited for what’s to come, and I love the people in this class.”
Andrew Seal, a fourth-year cognitive science major, will make his theater debut with this production. He has taken two other courses taught by Samuelson.
“She’s just super positive,” Seal said. “She’s a delightful professor to have.”
Many of the cast members took Samuelson’s performative storytelling course in the fall. The course delves into techniques, movement, vocal expression and stage spacing. Unlike the advanced course, it doesn’t include a public performance.
Sonny Yang was one of Samuelson’s students last semester.
“Being in this production has lit a fire in me,” the fourth-year global arts studies major said. “It’s so interesting, getting into a process and sticking with it, working with so many people.”
Yoli Espindola had a similar story. She took the fall performance course partly to become more comfortable speaking to an audience, a talent the second-year political science major needs to become a successful lawyer. Espindola credited Samuelson with building her confidence.
“She helps you progress as a person and learn from your mistakes,” she said.
Espindola said the letter writers in “If All the Sky Were Paper” stirred her emotions.
“These soldiers were people. They have families, they have children, wives, husbands. And those people get these letters and don’t know if their loved one is safe.”
The production is supported by the Peter J. Gallo Memorial Foundation, Merced Sunrise Rotary, the UC Merced University Friends Circle, the Central Valley Opportunity Fund, Laird Manufacturing, the Merced County Education Foundation, the Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union, Amie Marchini Senior Care, Professor ShiPu Wang, Barbara Hoffman and Carolyn Vara.
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