Pandemic Plays: Shelter in Place etc.

Shelter in Place: A play in one place A working title by Danny Bryck, directed by Jasmine Joshua, is part of a series of new plays collectively titled The Pandemic Plays, commissioned and produced by Radial Theater Project in association with 18th & Union.

As COVID tears through the country, actor couple Amelia and Benny have fled New York City to shelter at a relative’s cabin in rural Maine. They try to stay busy with self-tape auditions and zoom readings, at the same time struggling with the challenges of country life, quarantine, and existential dread. But the longer they’re isolated, the more the lines blur between their real lives, the scenes they’re acting out, and their feverish fantasies. As spring turns to summer and fall, the two race against time, space, and cyberspace to come up with a script that works.

Each of The Pandemic Plays will be performed live at 18th & Union during the month of October, 2020. There will be at least 5 live performances of each play, maybe 6.

The plays will be performed live and broadcast over a live stream. If possible we’ll have a small number of in-person audience members in addition to the live stream; that’s Plan A. If we can’t allow audience members into the space due to public health restrictions, we’ll perform at 18th & Union and the show will only be viewable online; that’s Plan B. And if we can’t have anyone in the space we’ll live stream from actors’ homes; that’s Plan C.

Plays are being written and staged to ensure proper physical distancing throughout the rehearsal and performance process.