Photo: Melissa Maples (https://goo.gl/VNOgOc)
The New Year New Play Salon, held annually since 2014, features the work of a Pacific Northwest playwright and/or Pacific Northwest themes. A team of four evaluated all the submissions for 2016, and we are delighted to announce that the play selected to be read at our January 17 New Year New Play Salon is Tommer Peterson’s No One on Board Took Notice.
THE PLAY
Sea changes in the evolution of a people, or the transition of a culture, are most easily seen in hindsight. The moment the first mutation occurs, or the first reinterpretation of meaning is voiced, often go unnoticed by those closest to the event.
This story is a snapshot of a people and a culture in transition … in an unspecified place and time that appears to be pre-industrial … and no one wears shoes. It is told through the eyes of an elder woman, the first of her people to question long-held beliefs, and a young man discovering that he is perhaps the first of a new evolutionary line. Is the notion of the passing of time as fixed and linear as it seems, or is it possibly more fluid for some than others?
Ritual and tradition help explain the unknown. These practices, too, break down and evolve over time. What happens at the intersection of biological evolution and cultural change? Would anyone on board take notice?
“What we see is largely determined by where we stand…. or perhaps even more by where we choose to gaze and what we choose to remember.”
Today, at the threshold of 2016, we live in a world struggling with violence, racial and religious divisiveness, nationalism, xenophobia, intolerance, and a host of social ills rooted in cultural differences and (conscious and subconscious) assumptions and prejudices. Evolution and change are part of the solution.
This play is a poem and a prayer and a daydream and a vision and a bullhorn and a fire-alarm and a trumpet and blank check and a love letter to changing times.
THE PLAYWRIGHT
Playwright Tommer Peterson
Tommer Peterson is an independent theater artist and designer. In addition to No One On Board Took Notice, he has authored Va-Va-Va-Voom and co-authored with KJ Sanchez two documentary plays: Night at the Opera (2012) and Duck Soup (2011). A prolific set designer, recent design credits include 99 Ways to Fuck a Swan (WET, 2015), Dirty (WET/ACT, 2015), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (WET, 2013), Hiway 47 (American Records, 2013), Three Sisters (Juniata College, 2012), Mistakes Madeline Made (WET, 2008), Bobbie and Jerome, Dinah Was, and Obama, The Musical (Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 2006, 2007, and 2009), Christmas Carol (The Moore Theater/Bishop Blanchet, 2008), and Sex and Death (Balagan Theater, 2009).
CAST
Old Man: Nick Rempel
Old Woman: Pearl Klein
Young Man: Trevor Young Marston
Young Woman: TBA
Neighbor 1: TBA
Neighbor 2: TBA
Young Man 2 (non-speaking)
ABOUT THE SUNDAY SALONS
APL casts actors to read classic and/or provocative plays we want to engage as thinking artists but aren’t likely to bring to stage in full production. Anyone interested in the play or its context can join us. Each Salon is a unique, dynamic assembly of artists, intellectuals, provocateurs, friends, and family. We read, drink, eat, and — with minimal moderation — let discussion go where it will. And if you’d like to bring a piece of music to perform during the evening, feel free to do so!
FOOD
Salons are potluck. Please bring a dish and/or drink to share. Theme according to the play… or not!
FOR YOUR COMFORT
Seating is ample, but feel free to bring a cushion if you prefer the (hardwood) floor.
ACCESSIBILITY
Our location has a lot of stairs to navigate (15 just to enter) and, unfortunately, no current access options to avoid them.
SCHEDULE
4:00pm Arrivals. Mingling and food/drinks.
5:15-5:30pm Reading begins, to be followed by discussion.
10:00pm End time is a best guess. Leave when you need to; we allow the discussion to run its course.
NOTE TO OUR ACTORS WHO ARE READING
We will distribute the play digitally. Please bring your own printed copy or a device to view the file. Wifi onsite.
