Overview
In the near future, Stella and her fiancé, Bryan, are waiting at their remote cabin for Stella’s estranged twin sister, Cassie. Raised by their astronaut father to be NASA scientists, the twins have taken different paths: Cassie has just returned from a successful moon mission, while Stella left NASA behind. When Cassie arrives, old conflicts reignite, forcing the sisters to choose between life on Earth or pursuing a future in space, as humanity’s fate hangs in the balance. WALDEN is a thrilling and engrossing new play that wrestles between the gravitational pulls of duty and desire.
Casting & Production
Casting
STELLA – Early thirties, Cassie’s twin sister. Former NASA colony architect, her mouth moves quickly to catch up with her even faster brain, her thoughts zigzag like tracing a constellation. She is still deeply heartbroken she will never go to space, harbors secrets and resentment as she struggles to welcome her sister into her new life. Born first.
CASSIE – Early thirties, Stella’s twin sister. NASA botanist, physically strong, seems put together in the midst of all her success, but inside is doubtful and falling apart. Overwhelmed by the deeply human experience she is having since landing back on Earth. She digs and uproots. Looking for a way to blow up her life, as well as looking for a way to get closer to her sister. Born second.
BRYAN – Mid thirties, Stella’s fiancé. A member of the populist political movement Earth Advocates, laid back, kind, emotionally open, strong, still grieving the loss of his brother, struggling with the wall Stella has built around herself.
Setting
PLACE
The American Wilderness
TIME
The Not-So-Distant Future
Reviews
“Amy Berryman’s intelligent and compassionate climate-disaster drama… Berryman has crafted a web of characters delicate enough that one pluck of a strand sends vibrations through the whole structure.”
–New York Magazine
“WALDEN is the best kind of speculative fiction, balancing the most crucial questions about humanity’s future with the problems of three little people… This is one I’ll be thinking about for a long time, and WALDEN’s life on the stage should be just as lengthy.”
–Rachel Graham, TheaterMania
