Riley is also a graphic artist who has a design company with her wife, Jess, in Wyncote.

by Rita Charleston

A beachside house at the Pines on Fire Island proves a strange setting for two straight couples — sister and brother Chloe and Sam and their spouses, John and Sally — on the Fourth of July. Upon his recent death from AIDS, Sally’s brother bequeathed her his Fire Island home, surrounded by friendly, partying gay neighbors on either side of the fence. With the companionship of each other, and the diversions of food, drink and party games, the four main characters reveal that they are nevertheless completely alone with the pain they experience from their troubled marriages.

Written by Terrence McNally and directed by Rob Rosiello, the 1991 comedy-drama, “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” continues at Old Academy Players in East Falls through March 24. The play is an indictment of ignorance and stagnancy in the fight against AIDS, as well as a powerful look inside dissolving marriages and the capricious nature of death.

Caitlin Riley takes the role of Sally. She has previously been seen on stage at Old Academy in “Suddenly Last Summer” and “A Song I Forgot to Sing.” An actress for just the past three years, she started showing off her talents on stage at Town & Country Players. When she’s not acting, Riley, a copywriter, joins forces with her wife, Jess Glebe, a graphic artist, in a design company located in Wyncote.

Born and raised in Reading, Riley first attended Penn State, majoring in Film and Television Production. “I was shy so I planned to work behind the camera and ultimately become a screen writer,” she said. “I worked in Philly and New York as a production assistant for about six years but eventually became disillusioned. So I decided to teach and enrolled at Temple University to get my Masters in Education. I taught for about a year.”

But Glebe was offered a job out in California, so the couple moved out there for a time until, Riley remembers, “We began to miss our families and decided to move back to Philly. But while I was out in California, I decided I might want to pursue acting. So when I came back here, I signed up for an acting class. I knew if I paid the tuition, I would have to go. And guess what? I fell in love with it, and it’s been full speed ahead ever since.”

Today, just three short years later, Riley said she’s enjoying every minute she's on stage. “I find with each character I play, I learn a little something more about myself which I can then take into my relationship with others. And even dealing with the characters I feel most disconnected with always allows me to find something that reflects myself. For example, that’s true in the case of Sally. In the beginning, I judged her very harshly but ultimately began to recognize some shared goals. So although I may not be able to relate to her totally, I am able to relate to the struggles she has had.”

Part hilarious and part poignant, Riley hopes the audience will be “laughing at one moment and crying the next as each of the four characters struggles to reflect and understand each other. And as for me, I just hope to be acting more and more as the years go by.”

Riley, 34, said she’s happy she began this career later rather than sooner. “Since there's a lot of rejection in this business, facing rejection is easier when you are older. For me, starting in my 30s instead of in my 20s has been beneficial because I’m more aware of who I am and can deal with the rejection that comes every actor’s way much, much better.”

For ticket information, call 215- 843-1109.