Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play
by Anne Washburn
Directed by: Jack Reuler
Costume Designer: Janet O'Neill Lighting Designer: Ko Gwikyoung |
University of California San Diego
Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre March 2015 |
|
We all believe in the value of the performing arts, but the deepest test of their importance is what role they would play if society had to be rebuilt from scratch. Washburn looks at this question by following the collective recollection of the TV show “The Simpsons” through the century following a catastrophe that left the world without electricity. The story telling starts around a camp fire, then moves to a vaudeville like circuit and finally blossoms into a fully realized theatrical production. As the technique of story telling gains sophistication, the story tellers progress from merely remembering episodes to reshaping the stories to explore their shared trauma.
Since the play follows a new renaissance of society, the settings needed to reinforce that arc of progress. The first act is set in a patch of woods that was chosen just because it’s near a stream with fresh water. In the second act an auto garage has been clumsily reclaimed as a rehearsal space. By the third act that garage has been thoroughly transformed into a dedicated performance venue.
In the first act a black drop gave the forrest a sense of void that was simultaneously expansive and oppressive. A return to the physical remnants of society was represented by mounds of car parts scattered through the garage. The back wall spun in three segments at the beginning of Act III to quickly reveal that those same parts had been used to completely reimagine the space.
Since the play follows a new renaissance of society, the settings needed to reinforce that arc of progress. The first act is set in a patch of woods that was chosen just because it’s near a stream with fresh water. In the second act an auto garage has been clumsily reclaimed as a rehearsal space. By the third act that garage has been thoroughly transformed into a dedicated performance venue.
In the first act a black drop gave the forrest a sense of void that was simultaneously expansive and oppressive. A return to the physical remnants of society was represented by mounds of car parts scattered through the garage. The back wall spun in three segments at the beginning of Act III to quickly reveal that those same parts had been used to completely reimagine the space.