Among everything that Anna Benlien ’23 (Adolescence Education) read during her time at SUNY New Paltz, the one that stuck with her most was a play she read as a first-year student: Samuel Beckett’s existentialist classic “Waiting for Godot.”
So when the time came to develop her senior-year Honors Program thesis, Benlien took the opportunity to pay homage to a favorite.
“It was always a play that stuck with me after reading it when I first started at New Paltz,” she said. “It changed my outlook on life and had me thinking about how people often wait for things that never show up.”
She drew from that inspiration to create “Waiting for Summer,” an original play of her own that finds new ways of exploring the abstract nature of relationships and expectations. It debuted at SUNY New Paltz’s Shepherd Recital Hall on Dec. 15, 2023.
Benlien’s story follows characters known simply as “Him” and “Her,” who reunite after many years apart, reconnecting on a childhood playground, and gradually express their romantic feelings for each other.
“I started writing about waiting for a person in your childhood who you wished came back,” she said. “I was interested in exploring the concept of time and how, while we believe it’s finite, it is often something abstract.”
Benlien took on this project despite having limited education as a dramatist.
Collaboration was the key to her directorial debut, as she relied heavily on a cast and crew of fellow New Paltz students with performing arts backgrounds to help her bring the script to life.
Sky Rolnick ‘24 (Theatre Arts; Communication Disorders), who came with an extensive theatre background, served as assistant director for the piece, and the cast included Michael Puglisi ‘26 (Political Science), and Kyra Saffon ‘26 (Theatre Arts), with and Olivia Riddle ‘25 (Theatre Arts) serving as understudy for “Her.”
“I thought it would be exciting to explore something I couldn’t do in my major,” she said. “I had never done theatre before, and I thought this could be a way to stretch muscles I didn’t know existed. My partners lent their expertise to me and became a peer mentors throughout this process.”
Benlien found another mentor in Digital Media & Journalism Professor and Honors Program director Patricia Sullivan.
“From the time that I met Anna as a first-year student in the Honors Program, I was impressed with her creativity, determination, and drive,” she said. “When she first approached me about doing a play, I encouraged her from the start. Her writing, directing and collaboration on this project illustrate the strengths she will bring to her teaching career.”
The first-time director impressed peers and professors alike when “Waiting for Summer” was first staged in December 2023.
“Seeing her approach this play from the perspective of her background in history education made her a natural fit for storytelling,” said Rolnick. “Having this knowledge of historical events lent itself well to a writing process concerned with how to best communicate the nature of time.”
Benlien aspires to bring that knowledge of historical events to academia, with the hopes of one day bringing her passion for history, as well as social justice, to the next generation of Hawks.
“I want to bring all that I’m passionate about to future students to show how interconnected subjects like history and social justice are,” she said. “It’s important to mold well-rounded students who understand the intricacies of our history and the passage of time.”
Click here to learn more about the Honors Program at SUNY New Paltz.
