An Eastern alumna is trying to bring more HIV awareness to campus – with the help of a play starring an actor familiar to most students.

The play features RonReaco Lee, who is best known for his role as Tyreke in the 90s television hit “Sister Sister.”

Three stories are told to illustrate how wrong choices of three different individuals affect their lives.

The first story in the play tells about a woman whose husband is cheating on her. The second is about an elderly man who becomes a “sugar daddy” for a younger girl. The final story is about a girl who rebels against her parents’ strict rules when she leaves for college.

Angela McGee, who graduated from Eastern in 1991, wrote the play “What You Don’t Know Can Kill You” in 2005 after she volunteered for an HIV non-profit agency.

The play will be performed 5 p.m. Sunday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Grand Ballroom.

McGee said she learned so much about the disease and the people it affected that she wanted to help the cause.

The play is free to all students and does not cost Eastern anything to produce, said Mona Davenport, director of Minority Affairs.

Davenport said the play is funded by a grant through the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“We are blessed to have money from the state of Illinois to support the production,” McGee said.

She said the entire production cost about $150,000.

Davenport said the school was even sent posters and fliers to distribute.

The Office of Minority Affairs, University Board, Delta Sigma Theta and the Health Education Resource Center will distribute packets at the play.

McGee said she wanted the play to go to 10 universities in Illinois, so she chose universities she had ties to.

She said people need to be aware of HIV.

“People knew the statistics, but the rate of infection continued to rise,” McGee said.

She said the play will educate students but will also entertain them at the same time. McGee wants students to know they can prevent themselves from getting the HIV.

“The message is ‘Get tested so your mind can be rested,'” McGee said.

She added that they will also be offering testing for HIV.

After visiting the 10 universities, McGee said the play will hopefully go on to high schools and other sub-communities.

McGee said the goal is to “eradicate this disease, one person at a time.”

Sara Cuadrado can be reached at 581-7942 or at slcuadrado@eiu.edu.