Baltimore Center Stage has announced the cast and artistic team for its next production: the world premiere of A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction, produced in partnership with the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
Written by Baltimore playwright Miranda Rose Hall and delivered virtually, the production is a darkly comic play about climate change and performed by a single actor, Lindsay Rico.
According to the producers, it’s a show that provides “an awakening about what it means to be human in an era of man-made extinction.” They describe the play as “a communal experience driven by intimate storytelling that encourages audiences to wake up and contend with the climate crisis around them.”
Baltimore Center Stage says it’s partnering with the National Aquarium in an effort to “engage theatergoers in meaningful interdisciplinary dialogue” about the local and global impacts of the climate crisis.
“I can’t wait for our audiences to experience A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction,” said Director of Artistic Partnerships and Innovation Annalisa Dias, in a statement.
“At a time when the impacts of the climate crisis feel so present (from ice storms and mass power outages across the Midwest to the COVID-19 pandemic), this play offers us all a profound and hopeful pathway to contemplate the enormity of the interconnected challenges before us. I’m also thrilled that we’re partnering with the National Aquarium on this project, and that they’ll be helping us and our audiences find meaningful action we can take locally and nationally.”
Rico, the sole performer, is a member of the Actors’ Equity Association. In addition to Hall, the artistic team includes Taibi Magar, Director; AmBer Montgomery, Assistant Director; Clint Ramos, Scenic and Costume Designer; Ma’moon Tebbo, Assistant Scenic Designer; Sylvana Hardesty, Assistant Costume Designer; Stacey Derosier, Lighting Designer: Bailey Costa, Assistant Lighting Designer; Twi McCallum, Sound Designer; Dean Radicliff-Lynes, Film & Post Producer; David Lee Roberts Jr., Video Director & Editor; and Norman Anthony Small, Production Stage Manager.
The show is Baltimore Center Stage’s second production of the 2020-21 season, after The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls. Like Glorious World, it is being produced in person and filmed.
Sponsored in part by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction begins streaming on April 15 and runs through May 9. Ticket prices are $40 for a household, $25 for an individual and $15 for a student or senior. For more information, visit www.centerstage.org or call the box office at 410-332-0033.
