Messner ’01, right, in production of Time Stands Still. Click photo to enlarge. Photo courtesy of Everyman Theatre.

When war strikes in a distant nation, the only way that many Americans experience it is through the lens of the journalists and photographers who risk life and limb to get the shots that capture war’s horrors and tragedies. But what is the personal cost for those who show such courage?

Assessing that human cost to the chroniclers of war is the essence of Donald Maguiles’ play Time Stands Still, which opened last week at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre with UMBC alumni Eric Messner ’01, acting,  and Mandy Moore ’07, acting, among its ensemble.

“When I was at UMBC I used to go and see shows at Everyman Theatre,” Messner recalls, “then for a time after graduating, I lived five blocks away from the theatre. It’s a place where I’ve always wanted to work, and now I’m getting that chance….  I’m so proud that I get to open the final season in their Charles Street space, the same space that I would go to see their plays when I was at school.”

Moore observes that “there are some very big fascinating questions being asked in our production.  I feel lucky to play such fun, joyful role in the discussion.  It’s that sharp kind of theatre where you are asked questions and not told what to think.”

“It’s a really great play,” Messner concurs. “There’s just so much going on emotionally and Donald Margulies has such a wonderful gift for writing dialogue.”

Time Stands Still runs at Everyman Theatre through Sunday, October 7. For more information and tickets, go to  http://everymantheatre.org/.

Moore 07, far right, in production of Time Stands Still. Photo courtesy of Everyman Theatre.