MFA Dissertation
“Approaching the Small Planet: Remain in Light‘s Starship Road Trip as Metaphor for Theatrical World-Building” (Awarded Distinction, University of New Mexico, 2022).
Remain in Light
Living aboard a remote space station, an organization of aliens ventures out on interplanetary assignments to gather information about other worlds and report what they’ve learned back to their employers (a mysterious entity called “Management”). After a night of partying, the team awakes on a dilapidated starship cruising towards the planet Earth, with only their emotional baggage, piles of drugs, and a collection of Talking Heads cassette tapes to pass the time. On their doomed journey towards Earth, relationships are tested, hierarchies are toppled, and secrets are revealed about Management’s true intentions for the planets they visit.
A starship road trip for sad verbose creatures, especially those seeking love and sunlight as they travel the endless void of space. Length: 90-120 min
Characters: 5 roles to be played by actors of any gender, race, and ability. The ranking system utilized by characters in the play necessitates gender- and color-conscious casting. Intended to be performed with multiple trans and gender non-conforming performers.
Jane Kim Stein: The Modern Prom Thesis
A karaoke-infused, queer, femme Frankenstein prom queen revenge fantasy recommended for chaotic neutrals who can’t socialize.
Jane, a doctoral student of science, has fled to her childhood home in hopes of finishing her dissertation in peace and quiet. But the science isn’t working right, and she keeps getting distracted — by her lovestruck lab assistant, by the impending high school reunion, and by the ex-prom queen who for some reason wants to be her friend. Can Jane balance her own hubris with the emotional needs of others, or will she spiral further into cruelty and madness in order to earn her doctorate? Is she destined to be an evil science genius, or will she remain the lonely valedictorian that nobody talked to in high school? And what on earth is she supposed to sing at karaoke? Length: 120 min
Character Breakdown: 3 femme, 1 nonbinary
Mick the Mapmaker
Mick makes maps, a rare and useful skill in a city where the streets have changed their shape and where nobody can remember their name. A play with stylized language and opportunities for abstract, imaginative, and innovative staging and design. Length: 90-120 min
Character Breakdown: 1 masc, 2 femme, 1 nonbinary, and chorus (3+)
El Campo Santo Podcast:
“There’s No Ghost In Ghost Ranch”
An anxious texter finds themself alone on a silent retreat that was meant to be shared with their ex. A short play commissioned for the El Campo Santo Podcast, a project of Blackout Theatre.
Performed by Caroline Toby Graham
Directed by JD Otsuka
A Yourd 