Taking risks in “This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing”

Growing up is tough, even in the world of fairytale and fantasy.

In the latest ASU MainStage production, Finegan Kruckemeyer’s “This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing,” three sisters must find their own individual paths through a fantastical world as they discover more about what truly matters to each of them in life.

“The beauty of this fairytale is that the young women in this play are actually creating their own world,” says the play’s director, Erika Hughes, who is an assistant professor of theatre in the School of Film, Dance and Theatre. “So they make their own magic in a way that is very relatable and also teaches us that we all make our own magic.”

When we meet sisters Albienne, Beatrix and Carmen, at the play’s inception, they are only 12 years old. The story spans 20 years of adventure and change as each girl grows into her own woman.

“So much of popular entertainment offers only ‘the princess’ as a model to which girls may aspire,” says Lance Gharavi, associate director of the School of Film, Dance and Theatre and artistic director for the MainStage season. “’This Girl’ has no princesses, just three orphaned heroines. Each of them struggles to find her own way of making it through a dangerous world, each makes something very different of herself. While Kruckemeyer’s script is irresistibly fun and playful, it also offers a grittier, more complicated and ultimately more empowering vision for girls than the one the multi-plex has made familiar.”

Behind the Scenes: This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing from ASU Sch of Film, Dance & Theatre on Vimeo.

Emily Nash, an undergraduate in the School of Film, Dance and Theatre, plays Carmen, the girl who does nothing. She thinks the play is particularly relatable for college-aged students like herself. “A lot of ASU students are in a similar position to these girls,” says Nash. “They’re on their own for the first time and they’re trying to figure out who they are. While they’re here, they’re going to have to try to figure out what’s important to them.”

Appropriately, playing this role has allowed Nash to practice doing just that. “During the process of this show, a very comfortable zone has been created for me to experiment, to try new things,” she says. “I feel like it’s helped me take more risks as an actress.”

“This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing” is a Theatre for Youth production, which means it is suitable for young audiences, but the themes in this story will appeal to theatregoers of all ages.

“I think it’s a play that will really make people think about their own life journeys, the risks that they’ve taken, and how to support people as they grow,” says Hughes.

Catch one of seven performances of “This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing” at the Lyceum Theatre, 901 S. Forest Mall, on ASU’s Tempe Campus:
Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.
Feb.19 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.

Tickets prices are:
$16–General; $12–ASU Faculty, Staff + Alumni; $12–Senior; $8–Student
Purchase tickets online or call 480.965.6447.

Media Contact:
Katrina Montgomery
Editor Assistant
480.727.4433