CANTON -- St. Lawrence University’s Department of Performance and Communication Arts will perform the play “Dark Water” from Wednesday, April 4, through Sunday, April 8, at 8 p.m. each night in the Edson R. Miles Black Box Theatre. Tickets are free but required.

Angela Sweigart-Gallagher, assistant professor of performance and communication arts, is directing this semester’s production, which she adapted from the original play by David Stallings.

Inspired by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, “Dark Water” follows the harrowing journey of Barnacle, a mother sea turtle, played by Mikayla McLean ’20 of Schenectady as she seeks to save her young daughters from the encroaching oil.

On her quest she encounters friend and foe alike, as she grapples with the dangers posed by humans and other animals.

The play is also a coming of age story, as Barnacle’s son, Weed, played by Hamidou Sila ’21 of Bronx must decide whether or not to risk his own life to save his sisters.

The cast features Henry Liebers ’19 of Schenectady as the villainous seagull, Gullet, and Isabelle Murray ’21 of Yarmouth, Maine, as the perpetually cheerful dolphin, Daedalus, rounded out by a strong ensemble of actors including, Sarah Dobrin ’20 as Lily, Bregede Castillo ’21 as Elder Fish, Nicole Hamilton ’19 as Blue Heron, Jahmosi Hay ’20 as Charmer and Pad, Ellen (Mel) Olsson ’21 as Clam and Sheepshead, Jalissa Perez ’18 as Foam, and Madeline Sheen ’21 of Calcium as Pregnant Fish.

Depicting the 2010 oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, the play brings the truth of human consequences to light by telling the story through animals -- the ones impacted most severely by this incident.

“The most challenging part is trying to express the pain, the panic, the hurt, the death, everything these animals went through as a result of this oil spill,” said Paige Currie ’19 of Lockport. Playing multiple parts in the play, as well as creating the music adaptations, Currie has been involved with the production of this play since January, when preparations began.

While she has been involved in many productions, Currie said that “Dark Water” is the first where they have had the opportunity to work with the original author of the play.

“This is a really unique experience,” she explained, “because when he is here, we are able to bounce ideas off him and have him consider things he hadn’t thought of when he wrote the play.”

Sweigart-Gallagher said she chose the play, in part, because of the way the oil spill provides an opportunity to explore environmental concerns as well as other issues.

“(Stallings) really mines how ecological disasters exacerbate or intersect with other slower moving economic or social disasters, particularly in the south,” she said. “Sadly, the play feels even more relevant in our current political climate and with the recently loosened restrictions on offshore drilling.”

“Dark Water” has been making a positive impact on the environment since the first rehearsals. Not only have the crew and cast been using recycled items for sets and costumes, even the paper programs have given way for greener, electronic versions.

“We’re running it as a sustainable production, so that’s huge,” Currie said, “from everything on the stage to the costumes … nothing is new.”

On a whole, Currie said their hope with “Dark Water” is to call attention to all the human error in the world and leave the audience more aware of their environmental impact. She said the production touches on issues of politics, human corruption, racism, classism and religious corruption.

“We kind of touch on every type of human manipulation that there could possibly be and try to embody that in a human form.”

Tickets can be obtained for free online or in person at the Gulick Theater box office beginning on Wednesday, March 28.

For more information, contact the Department of Performance and Communication Arts at 315-229-5184 or visit www.stlawu.edu/performance-and-communication-arts.