$25 GENERAL ADMISSION / $15 STUDENTS and SENIORS

CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

SYNOPSIS

Overture:

The stage is pitch black. A low, heavy electronic drone fills the space. One spotlight slowly fades on to reveal Samuel Salvage’s face–only his face. His eyes are closed. It is as if he is sleeping. He starts to mumble melodically as if “talking in his sleep.” His dream, if he indeed is having one, seems to become more distressing. He is tossing and turning, yelling out from his nightmare. Suddenly his eyes open…

Act I:

Stage lights reveal that Sam is on a raft with three other people he has never seen before. He is shocked, afraid, and confused. They are calm. His new unchosen compatriots explain to him that he is on a raft floating in infinite nothingness. The other three introduce themselves: Alyssa Mendez, Batilda Bousard, and Fa Guo. They explain that the only thing they have in common is that the last thing they remember before being on the raft, they were each living through a natural disaster, and take turns telling their stories through song. Alyssa was history professor living in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake, Batilda an Iraq war veteran living in New Orleans in 2005 during hurricane Katrina, and Fa a street performer living in Wuhan during the 1931 floods. Sam confirms that he too was living through a natural disaster as a British soldier in the private army of the East India Company during the Bengali Famine in India of 1772. He attempts to tell his story, but his memories are a jumbled mess. The others encourage him, saying that it took them a long time (infiniti?) to learn and then practice their song. They want to help him remember. He becomes frustrated and insecure/threatened. Perhaps he doesn’t want to remember. Against the warnings and pleadings of the others, he leaves the raft.

Act II:

Nowhere is singing by herself somewhere in infinite nothingness. Her song is not lonely sounding. Instead, she sings as if exploring patterns without end. We hear Sam from off stage trying to sing a half remembered melody, failing. Nowhere freezes. Sam enters still trying to remember his song. Playback of Nowhere echoes in the air. He hears this and tries to incorporate her song into his own. As she listens to him make mistakes she becomes increasingly frustrated until she finally sings a fragment to correct him. He suddenly sees her. A scene of chasing and pursuing ensues. Eventually he abducts her.

Act III:

Sam and Nowhere unintentionally return to the raft. Everyone, including Nowhere, are excited to see each other. Everyone except for Sam. All decide to have a trial. Throughout, Sam is convinced that he is the person on trial. However, the others never indicate who precisely is on trial. For them a trial is a memory ritual. For Sam, on the other hand, a trial is about guilt and punishment. Sam’s frustration grows as the trial becomes increasingly absurd. Suddenly, Sam confesses that he lied to everyone when he attempted to tell his story earlier. He was not a hero in India. He watched as a group of his fellow soldiers raped and murder a young Indian woman. He did nothing to stop them. The trial stops as the others realize the miscommunication: “You weren’t on trial, Sam. This isn’t about you.” This angers Sam even more because his confession has no consequence. Nowhere starts to sing a melody that the others recognize. They join her and sing, as a chorus, a song about time and memory. Sam is finally able to learn the song and joins them.

COVID-19 POLICY

To ensure the safety of our patrons and artists, Project [BLANK] is implementing the following procedures for all in-person performances and events:

• Masks are required for all audience members while inside our indoor venues, except while eating and drinking in designated areas.

• If you are feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19, please do not attend. We will be happy to refund your ticket.

Project [BLANK] will update these policies based on any changes in the recommendations and requirements of the State of California and national leadership. Thank you for helping to make our events safe and comfortable for everyone!