2017 Helen Hayes Nominee (Outstanding New Play)
“Dares us to reject what we think we believe.”—Washington Post
“Introduces more provocative notions in its 45-minute first half than many theater companies manage in a season.”—Washington City Paper
“A Molotov cocktail to the mind.”—DC Metro Theater Arts
“TRANSMISSION… will be a yardstick for me as a critic for years to come when it comes to audience engagement.”—DC Theatre Scene
Synopsis
An immersive, participatory sermon on the viral evolution of culture from the radio age to the present. Devised for an intentionally intimate audience, all seated in 1930s armchairs clustered around period radios, the performance is a sonic mashup of 20th century history and 21st century dangers that’s part jazz, part science lecture, and part ritual invocation. Together, performer and audience investigate what it means to be inundated with narratives in our always-connected, always-sharing culture and explore the desperate need for skepticism and inquiry in a landscape of spin, lies, and out-of-control memes. It’s an antidote for the excesses of the 21st century.
Development History
Production: The Welders (DC, 2016). Workshop Production: All for One (NY, 2018). Reading: Tampa Repertory Theatre (FL, 2016).
Learn More
You can learn more about Transmission on the New Play Exchange.
