A story that delves deep into the basis of human emotion through the lens of two characters recently awoken from a coma, “Thinking It” is an upcoming production put on by the Performing Arts Department, written by Washington University’s Playwright-in-Residence Carter Lewis and directed by Andrea Urice. The show, which will be performed this weekend in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre, tells the story of Connie, a 19-year-old girl who has been in a coma for 11 years, and Nick, a 19-year-old boy who (just three days prior) impulsively jumped out of his window while high and landed on his car, also falling into a coma. After the consciousness of Connie meets that of Nick in the liminal space between life and death, the two souls fall in love—only to awaken once more to the real world, both at a loss for how to articulate what they are feeling.

“The fact that Connie and Nick are meant to be together is what brings them back to life, but once they’re revivified, neither of them really can remember what happened,” Zack Schultz, a senior who plays Nick, said. “Nick has the sense that it was something really important, and Connie calls it a fiery burning but neither has a person to attach the feeling of love to.”

Courtesy of the Performing Arts Department

Senior Zack Schultz, left, and sophomore Carly Rosenbaum play the main characters in ‘Thinking It,’ an upcoming production by the Performing Arts Department. The play, written by Playwright- in-Residence Carter Lewis will run from Nov. 17-20 in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre.

As Nick, an old-English-literature-loving hipster, struggles to piece together the “important something” of the past three days with his spiritual mother Helen (who suggests he find the answer in his faith), Connie searches for her identity, stunted immeasurably by her years-long coma. Both the head of the coma ward, Dr. Hoskins, and Nick and Connie’s caretaker, Madeline, also work to help the patients puzzle through the events of the previous few days, searching for clues as to the source of their strong, heartfelt emotions.

In playing Connie, Carly Rosenbaum, a sophomore, has the task of shaping how the character comes into her own.

“The question for me was how to play a character who is sometimes 9-years old and sometimes 19. How do both a 9-year-old and a 19-year-old inform her character?” Rosenbaum said. “In working through the script with Carter and Andrea, it’s been so interesting to see parts of her immaturity and maturity come out in different ways.”

Because this is the premiere performance of “Thinking It,” both Schultz and Rosenbaum have had the privilege and responsibility of originating roles. Rosenbaum also noted the unique aspect of originating a character who couldn’t actually exist in real life in the way that she does in the show.

“It gives you a certain freedom through suspension of disbelief,” she said.

Throughout the rehearsal process, all of the actors have had the chance to work directly with the playwright, Lewis, allowing them each an additional part in the evolution of the script itself.

The underlying theme of the show, represented in the title, takes on a philosophical tone: The confluence of truth, feelings and reality and how we, as human beings, might justify our own emotions as one thing or another.

Despite such heavy ideas, the fantastical element of the play provides it with another dimension, removing it from the realm of overwhelmingly sad or depressing theater.

“It’s a play that deals with the serious topics of healthcare treatment and being in a coma, but there are also so many funny moments, with Carter’s quirky and hilarious dialogue,” Schultz said. “It’s as if you have a comedy writer writing about drama.”

“Thinking It” is a two-hour play with an intermission. It will be performed on Nov. 17, 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. and on Nov. 19 and 20 at 2 p.m. in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre. Tickets are $10 for Wash. U. students, $15 for Wash. U. faculty/staff and seniors and $20 for the general public. They can be purchased at the Edison Theater box office or online at edison.wustl.edu.