Pier One Theatre opened their 50th season of theater on the Spit with “Cosmic Hostel,” a comedy written and directed by Homer’s Sally Oberstein.
The 16-member cast performed four shows last weekend and will perform four more, May 26, 27 and 28.
“All of the ‘Cosmic Hostel’ characters you’ll meet today are taken from real-life people who I’ve met throughout my travels,” Oberstein explained in a note in the program. “Each one of their stories could have been a full-length play.”
The story follows a group of international travelers, each with their own quirky characteristics, staying at a hostel at the top of a steep hill. The play focuses on the relationships the travelers develop when approaching wildfires force road closures and threaten an evacuation from the hostel.
“I didn’t know where the play was going to be performed, so the setting could be any place that deals with wildfires. But, of course, it fits beautifully on the Kenai Peninsula,” Oberstein told the Homer News.
The cast features several Pier One actors who have been performing in Homer for decades, such as Peter Norton and Linda Ellsworth. The cast also includes high school students Dayus Geysbeek and Ireland Styvar.
The performances come after several rewrites and delays.
Oberstein was traveling in Spain in 2021. “When I was there, I got COVID and took a month of time to write while I was recovering,” Oberstein said. “Back in Alaska, I took the script to the Valdez Theatre Conference, where they did a reading of it at the theater conference in 2021.”
Oberstein said the script has changed a lot since the Valdez reading.
The Valdez Theatre Conference is a statewide event started in the fall of 1992. The conference’s mission, according to its website, is to give a venue for playwrights to present their work in the Play Lab, where writers receive feedback from theater professionals and their peers, according to the website.
She tried to stage the show in 2022, however, COVID caused it to be shutdown.
The auditions and original cast were set in May 2022. Oberstein was out of town so rehearsals were held via Zoom. When the cast started meeting in person Oberstein watched by distance.
For this year’s show, Oberstein used the original 2022 cast instead of running auditions again, except those who were unable to return. She said she invited others she has worked with to round out the cast.
“The fun that we appear to have on stage isn’t half of it. The camaraderie, excitement and friendship, the whole feeling we have backstage together as a cast has been a treasure. It’s something the entire crew loves,” Oberstein said.
Christine Kulcheski plays Barb, owner of the hostel and setting for the entire duration of the show.
She called the show an “amazing opportunity” and praised the bonds she has built with cast members.
“ … We have had more fun than you can possibly imagine bringing these characters to life. It’s also a lot of work, with a lot of ups and downs, but worth every minute.”
Ethan Martin and Christine Kulcheski rehearse for Cosmic Hostel at Pier One Theatre. Photo provided by Christopher Kincaid
Writer and director Sally Oberstein shares notes with actors after the Saturday evening show at Pier One Theatre on the Homer Spit. Photo by Emilie Springer/Homer News
