TheaterWorks Hartford, in partnership with Riverfront Recapture, will present the North American premiere of Amy Berryman's debut play, Walden. Directed by Mei Ann Teo (Jillian Walker's SKiNFoLK: An American Show) and taking place on a natural, undeveloped site along the Connecticut River, the production marks a return to in-person events for TheaterWorks Hartford, as well as its first outdoor show in its 35-year history. Running July 24-August 22 in person, with an opening on July 28, and streaming August 15-29, Walden is set in the not-so-distant future and explores themes of climate change, space travel, and sibling rivalry. It features performances by Diana Oh ({my lingerie play}), Jeena Yi (Ivo van Hove's Network, Judgement Day), and Gabriel Brown (Love and Money, Bobbie Clearly), all making debuts at TheaterWorks Hartford.
In Walden, after returning from a year-long Moon mission, Cassie (
Jeena Yi), a NASA botanist, finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods, where her estranged twin sister, Stella (
Diana Oh), a former NASA architect, has found a new life with climate activist Bryan (
Gabriel Brown). Old wounds resurface as the sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart.
The site-specific, outdoor, immersive staging of Walden is made possible by an award-winning team of designers. Upon arrival, audiences will be greeted by
You-Shin Chen's expansive environmental set design that includes a custom-built cabin, chicken coop, and vegetable garden. Lighting by designer Jeanette Oi-Suk-Yew embraces natural sources of light and slowly builds in intensity as the glow of dusk disappears.
Alice Tavener's costume design is both futuristic and DIY repurposed. All of these visuals are complemented by
Hao Bai's 360-degree sound design which has the audience wearing sanitized headsets during the performance, greatly enhancing the intimacy of the immersive environment.
In May,
Sonia Friedman Productions presented the world premiere of Walden on the West End as part of the
RE:EMERGE Season in a production directed by
Ian Rickson.
"Walden came from my deep anxiety about climate change," says playwright
Amy Berryman. "It's set in the future where climate change has intensified, and humanity is struggling with whether to save the planet or flee it. I was curious about the question of what we're going to do when it's too late to really turn things around. Are we there already?"
"I'm drawn to stories that are wrestling with our future," says director
Mei Ann Teo. "The outdoor, immersive staging allows us to transport the audience more deeply into the themes of the play. We surround the audience with the natural environment, our current climate crisis, and the imagination of the characters who are actively trying to imagine a new world."
"With the production of Walden, it was important that we lived out our vision for the American Theater," says
Taneisha Duggan, TheaterWorks Hartford Artistic Producer. "We are not reaching for a status quo, but visibly displaying a way forward. The not-to-distant-future is multi-melanated, is on a continuum in gender and sexuality, is mindful of our relationship to our land, is, is, is... We imagine, on the stage, the bridge from where we are today to the future--so that you, the audience, may build it. This work engages in the paramount question: 'who are we, who do we want to be, and how in the heavens do we get there?' Because I believe that theater, and the industry it supports, has an obligation to set the vision for our collective future through the art, and the way we make it."
In-person performances of Walden, starting at $95, will take place at Riverfront Recapture, located at 100 Meadow Road in Windsor, CT, and run Tuesday-Sunday at 8pm from July 24-August 22, 2021. A recording of the production will be available to stream for $25 from August 15-29, 2021. Tickets can be purchased online at
www.twhartford.org or by calling 860.527.7838.
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