Theatre artists on Staten Island often find themselves at a disadvantage that colleagues in other parts of the world don’t seem to suffer; their proximity to Manhattan. The skyline looms over us. For many, it’s a constant reminder of a “professional” world across the bay. So close, yet so far. 

On July 26th, ImpACT Theatre, a non-profit theatre group based in Staten Island, presented an original musical, Pages of Hope, about a young woman whose resilence leads in the face of illness.