Photo Flash: RAIN AND ZOE SAVE THE WORLD Debuts at EMOS 2018

Rain and Zoe Save the World by New York-based playwright Crystal Skillman, recently named the winning script by a national panel of judges for the 2018 Earth Matters on Stage (EMOS) New Play Competition, opened this weekend.

In Rain and Zoe Save the World, two Seattle teenagers embark on an impulsive motorcycle journey to join a group of oil protesters on the east coast. But as they follow a major pipeline across the country, what began as two young activists' longing to belong to something greater than themselves gives way to Rain and Zoe discovering that the true danger in this world might just be growing up.

The production runs at the University of Alaska Anchorage from April 20-29, 2018, as part of the 2018 EMOS Symposium, hosted by the UAA Department of Theatre and Dance. This student production is directed by Ty Hewitt and features actors Tai Kim (Rain), Luna MacCarthy (Zoe), Lisa Marie Castro (Ensemble 1), and Jordan Crenshaw (Ensemble 2). Creative Team includes: Megan Stanford (Scenic Designer), Daniel Glen Carlgren (Technical Director/Props Designer), James Branstetter (Lighting Designer), Colleen Alexis Metzger (Costumer Designer), Krisha Manuel (Sound Designer), Daniel Anteau (Production Manger), and Aurora Hoefferle (Stage Manger).

EMOS is a triennial event, founded in 2004 to call forth and foster new dramatic works that respond to the ecological crisis. A series of presentations, workshops, panels, and play readings surrounded the opening of the production. Dr. Brian Cook operates as the Assistant Professor and Chair of EMOS 2018.

Oberon Springs by M.G. Erickson was the runner-up for this year's EMOS New Play Competition, and the other finalists were The Lovebirds by Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich, Preapocalyptica by Erin Marie Panttaja, and The Man's Bitch by Debra Thomas. All of the plays received readings this weekend as part of this special event.

Rain and Zoe Save the World has received new play development from The New Harmony Project, Oregon Performance Lab, HERE, and The Lark Theater in New York.

Rain and Zoe Save the World by Crystal Skillman. April 20-29, 2018 - Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm; Sunday at 5:00pm. UAA Mainstage - Located in the UAA Fine Arts Building, 3700 Alumni Drive, Anchorage, AK. WEBSITE: www.earthmattersonstage.org

Photo Credit: James R. Evans

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