'Coastal Starlight' actors discuss deeper meanings and how they relate

Nouwen Craft and Ryan Chu have been on stage before at Abilene Christian University.

But not in lead roles.

That changes on their resumes beginning Monday.

Both landed key roles among six actors who star in "The Coast Starlight," this year's Cornerstone play for ACU freshman. It's also open to the public.

Craft is a Texan. Chu is adopted Texan, living his first 10 years in Hong Kong

He is T.J., a Navy medic who is taking The Coast Starlight - a real West Coast train - from Los Angeles to Seattle. He has only a short time to make a major decision in his life.

She is an artist, who carries her sketchbook with her. She begins to draw the different passengers in the train car. She is especially drawn to T.J., sensing something is amiss is his life. She wants to capture that anxiety in her artwork.

The passengers sit on the west side of the car, where they have the best view. But Jane sits on the opposite side so she can observe the others and draw them.

They passengers do not talk to each other in the end. That is, in real life. However, they converse through their imaginations.

The passenger named T.J.

Chu is a junior musical theater major, as is Craft.

He was in "Light in the Piazza" and was the understudy for Prince Eric in "The Little Mermaid."

Chu cherishes his biggest role to date at ACU.

"It's honoring and humbling, From my perspective of seeing people play leads, I always admired them and think, 'Oh man, to be a lead who have so much prove and so much to show," he said. "People are looking up to you so you to have to be the best of your examples.

"It was a reality check. This isn't the goal in life. It's just my turn to be on stage. In my perspective of being T.J., with everyone on stage, it's a matter of, whose turn is it?" he said. "It's been a very, very cool experience. Every rehearsal, I'm constantly reminded of how much I love theater. Not because of the way I perform but because seeing my other castmates absolutely kill their roles. Seeing theater come to life."

Chu said he was challenged to connect to his character.

"Honestly, the way I put myself into T.J. is, before we even auditioned for our roles, Nouwen and I sat down together and talked about how we relate to these characters."

Family trauma, for example.

T.J. was raised by his grandmother because his mother died. He became a medic so he could be there for someone whenever he could. Chu did not have a father in his life.

"I really related to that on a very deep level," said Chu, whose mother worked hard and always was tired. "T.J. is feeling helpless and not being able to help his mom. I related to T.J. in feeling helpless and wanting to help."

But T.J. has come to realize that is not what he wants in life anymore. That is why he is on the train.

He has seen green fields during times of conflict, and he wants to find those again in his life, Chu said.

T.J. wants to be decent in everything does, and that is difficult being in the military. His grandmother raised him to be kind. He can curb his anger because he has that in him.

Chu said he related to that because of his ethnicity.

"I come from an Asian background and culture and we're always taught to never to raise our voice or hit one another. Be calm and kind to one another. There are so many points in the play that T.J. can absolutely lose his mind or get i a fight but he actually substitutes it with kindness and humility and decency."

The passenger named Jane

Craft was drawn to ACU after one year of college.

"People care about you here," she said.

And that plays into "The Coast Starlight."

Jane is in her 20s and draws cartoons.

"She never puts her sketchbook away," Craft said. "She is sketching the people on the train."

And why is she on the train?

She is going to Seattle, where her boyfriend lives. But, she fears, he will tell her it's over.

And so, she has brought that baggage along with her sketchbook.

"She is curious and intrigued by everyone and everything," Craft said. But especially by T.J.

"I get to draw these characters every time that walk on stage," she said. The other four characters come and go but T.J. and Jane ride it out to Seattle.

The characters mingle with the audience, she said, and Jane provides descriptions of the passengers.

Jane is someone who wants to please her parents, who believed it was best for their daughter to see the world, thus she winds up in L.A. There, however, she sees people her age with talent and promise get "ravaged and eaten away."

Yet, Jane knows she doesn't have much life experience and "she is starving for that," she said. "There is wanderlust in her but sometimes that can be a bad thing. She is so fearful that is going to happen to her.

Another passenger tells her to stay away from T.J. Sure, you want life experience, but he's trouble.

"He'll break your heart," Craft said. "She really doesn't know what's good for her."

Craft said her relationship with her parents is something to which the freshmen could relate.

"She feels like there is nothing she can do to make them proud of her," Craft said. "But she's never going to stop trying. I know a lot of freshmen can relate to this as well, Maybe the only reason they are in college is to please their parents. Or they really didn't want to go. I've heard a lot of stories like that, actually."

Jane doesn't talk about her parents in a bad way, Craft said,

"She's very complimentary of them but you can tell by some of things she says, like, 'I'm doing this because I think it'll make them proud.'"

But what freshmen may relate to most is that Jane doesn't believe she has a home. To Jane, who is from Providence, R.I., and moving around a lot, it's an awful thing not to have a home."

Craft said freshmen may be realizing they will never live back home.

There are characters who are dealing with depression, anxiety and other issues. Craft said she is fortunate not to have dealt with those challenges, but she knows other students have.

Students will find a character to relate to, she said.

"Even if it's, 'Oh, I miss home,'" Craft said.

She said the imaginary conversation angle of the play makes more sense in person.

"They don't actually talk to each other, but if they did, 'This is what I would've said to you,'' she said.

T.J. is on stage first, and then is joined by Jane. They begin in the waiting area, then board the train.

He believes Jane is pretty and wants to talk to her. He brings up his dilemma to her. That leads to an "anything and everything conversation," she said.

In reality, she is sitting there drawing, "captivated by him. She can't put her finger on it," Craft said. She knows something is up, however.

The imaginary story leads to a sweet kiss. But will it in real life when they arrive in Seattle?

"Beautiful things can happen," Craft said, "but we are in our own worlds or don't want to share our experiences with strangers. Sharing can produce these beautiful outcomes."

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: 'Coastal Starlight' actors discuss deeper meanings and how they relate