Cyberhoaxing with Erez Rose

"When I was little I used to go into chat rooms and pretend to be someone else," admits Erez Rose. Just a few days shy of his 21st birthday, Rose was raised in a generation that wears its online profiles like a second skin.

Or sometimes, a costume.

"I think we all did," he laughs of his childhood antics playing with his personality online. "I think it shows how much control you have, and how easy it really is to manipulate people through the Internet."

Rose's innocuous chat room role playing may have been no big deal, just the modern world's update of a kid's prank phone call. But in Dark Play or Stories for Boys, the Apollinaire Theatre Company production in which Rose currently stars, misrepresentation and cyber-fraud yield far more dramatic consequence. Rose plays 14- year-old Nick, a web surfing teen who comes across an online personals ad from 16 year-old Adam (Mark Vashro). Nick responds to the ad as "Rachel," and the two begin an online rapport and romance; but the emotional stakes are raised when they meet IRL (that's 'net-speak for "in real life"), and Adam discovers the girl of his dreams is really a boy. The play by Carlos Murillo is based on true events that took place in Manchester, England, where for the first time in British history a person was convicted for inciting their own murder.

Upper photo: the logo art for "Dark Play or Stories for Boys."

Lower photo: Emerson BFA student Erez Rose plays Nick in "Dark Play or Stories for Boys." Photo: Danielle Fauteux Jacques.

Crossing the Line

"It's racy," says Rose of the show. But he's quick to add that Nick isn't looking to maliciously manipulate Adam. Rather, he's just a lonely adolescent with questions about his own sexuality who is desperately seeking an outlet for affection.

"He doesn't really have anyone in his life," explains Rose of Nick. "He doesn't have any love in his life. There's just him and his mom, and she's an alcoholic. ... He's just lonely and wants to have friends. I could sympathize with that. ... And yes, he's definitely crossing a line ... but it makes the kids feel something: love, compassion. ... And I think a lot of the characters he [Nick] makes up are aspects of his own personality coming out through Rachel."

No harm, no foul. But there's a fine line between exploring one's self-identity and emotionally manipulating others.

"In the past, people online have misrepresented themselves to me in a malicious way," adds Brian Quint, an actor who plays about 10 different characters in 'Dark Play,' most of them manifestations of Nick's online imagination. While Quint doesn't want to discuss the specifics of his own experience being deceived online, there's no doubt that in a wired world one's identity is certainly a malleable thing. Take a flip through Facebook, mosey around MySpace, or fix your target on Manhunt, and a curious reality becomes clear: never before has it been so easy to construct our own persona. What we choose to reveal about ourselves, and just as importantly what we do not - from our favorite movies to our political persuasions, to the self-portraits we judiciously select to post for our online friends - alternately provides honest opportunities for self-representation and tantalizing temptations to construct the identity we wish we had, exciting opportunities for self-expression and daunting choices with regard to privacy.

"We all make choices in life about how much we want to reveal about ourselves," says Quint when asked what message he hopes audience members will take away from the show. "And we take chances every time we reveal ourselves."

Take a flip through Facebook, mosey around MySpace, or fix your target on Manhunt, and a curious reality becomes clear: never before has it been so easy to construct our own persona.

Sexual Politics

The gender role-playing in 'Dark Play' also goes to the heart of another issue regarding identity: sexuality.

"The other story that I think is important, is that it's about a teen - two teens really - trying to struggle with and figure out his sexuality," says Quint. He believes that the Internet has played a large role in the struggle with sexual identity. "In my generation, we had to hide ourselves for so long and decide how much we revealed about ourselves," he explains. "When I grew up, I didn't know any gay people. It was a very isolating experience. The Internet allows people to overcome all of that isolation. Even if you live in a small town like I did, you can still reach out and find somebody who is gay."

"The question is, are they safe? Are they real?" he adds.

In 'Dark Play,' Nick and Adam's sexual experimentation moves off the computer screen and into real life, where the nature of identity is nearly as blurred.

"They end up hooking up," says Rose. "And as Nick is sucking him off, Adam calls him 'Rachel.' It bothers him [Nick], and makes him feel really bad about himself. Because they do have a connection; they were drinking, having fun."

"They meet again," adds Rose. "And Adam says Nick's name instead of Rachel's. And Nick really falls for him."

As much self-exploration as there is afoot, Rose stops short of calling "Dark Play" a simple coming out story.

"A lot of people don't believe in bisexuality, and just being attracted to a person," says Rose. "But I don't know if Nick really falls for - I don't think Nick is saying, 'I want a guy, I want a dick.' I think Nick is saying he wants someone, and the fact that this boy touches him, listens to him, gives him all this attention [is part of the attraction]."

In fact, Nick narrates the story of his tryst with Adam after bedding a college girlfriend at the start of the show. When she notices a mysterious scar, Nick is forced to reveal the story of how he received it. Though she suspects Nick's story is merely a joke, Rose says that her blas? reaction reveals yet another theme of "Dark Play," one that neatly dovetails with its examination of how a wired generation communicates and how open they are to shifting senses of self-identity.

"The fact is, she lays on his [Nick's] bed after he tells her. ... This girl is willing to have sex with him after she knows that he blew a guy," says Rose.

"I think that's the new millennium," he adds. "That's what it should be about."

Apollinaire Theatre Company's production of Dark Play or Stories for Boys plays Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday through March 22 at the Chelsea Theatre Works (189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea). For show times and ticket info, call 617.887.2336 or visit apollinairetheatre.com. Performances are followed by a reception with