Countywide : Play Explores Impact of Breast Cancer

A new play about breast cancer will premiere Sunday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, but those expecting simply a lecture on the disease could be in for a surprise.

That’s because the play’s creators hope to touch their audience not only with an educational pitch but by examining the humor and horror faced by breast cancer patients and their loved ones.

By basing the play in part on interviews with breast cancer survivors, they hope to achieve a realistic tone that will bring a new level of awareness about the disease.

“We want people to see (cancer) in human terms,” said Robert Knapp, author of “Every Part of Me . . . A Journey of Discovery.” “We hope it breaks through any denial people have and helps them realize that ‘this has to do with me.’ ”

The play, presented by Orange County’s STOP GAP theater production company and funded through a grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, focuses on how breast cancer changes the lives of three women and a man.

The cancer diagnosis is just the beginning of the story, which goes on to explore the impact of the disease on family life, friendships and relationships.

An especially moving moment in the play comes when a young, physically fit woman learns she has cancer, said director Don Laffoon. “She’s jogged, she’s dieted. She doesn’t feel sick on the outside,” Laffoon said.

At one point in the play, a woman whose cancer re-occurs discusses how attitudes about the disease have changed in the 10 years since she was last stricken.

The play also contains the kind of “cathartic humor” that gets sufferers and their families through the pain, Laffoon said. For example, a male character whose wife has breast cancer says: “Don’t worry, I’ve always been a leg man.”

Laffoon and Knapp said the play takes its authentic tone from the interviews they conducted with cancer survivors and their families.

“Their stories were told with such humor and honesty,” Laffoon said. “There was a feeling in the room that by sharing their stories . . . they could help others.”

Tickets for the play are $15. For more information, call (714) 854-4646. The theater is at 4255 Campus Drive in Irvine.