Far Away
By Caryl Churchill
University of Oregon Pocket Theatre
October 2010
Directed by Brian Cook
Scenic Design by Jarvis Jahner
Lighting Design by Frani Geiger
Sound Design by Ryan Primm
Costume Design by Jonathon Taylor
Stage Management by Jasmine VanDemarr
CAST
Joan: Alexis Schaetzle
Harper: Kelly Kern-Craft
Todd: Ryan Primm
Ensemble:
Dana Fleck
Brandon Hudson
Jonathan James
Charlotte Johnson
Krista Messer
Katy Pelissier
Sarah Ruggles
Peter Vergari
John Zoller
In Far Away, Churchill asks, "How do we choose sides?" Is it always right to default to the side we're born into, or is it sometimes morally right to defect or even to opt out of choosing? How much wrong can our side do before we realize that we're not on the right side? Is there a right side? In the play, Harper reassures her niece Joan by saying,
You’re part of a big movement now to make things better. You can be proud of that. You can look at the stars and think here we are in our little bit of space, and I’m on the side of the people who are putting things right, and your soul will expand right into the sky.Joan initally takes Harper's advice, but as she grows up and as the word gets progressively darker, she begins to wonder if her aunt was right.
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| Joan (Alexis Schaetzle) wakes in the middle of the night and sees something. |
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| She asks her Aunt Harper about what she saw. |
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| Harper (Kelly Kern-Craft) warns Joan not to say anything about what she saw. |
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| Harper explains that what Joan saw was not what she thought. |
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| Joan makes hats. |
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| Prisoners. |
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| Prisoners wearing hats. |
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| Prisoners. |
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| Joan leaves the battle to come home to her husband, Todd (Ryan Primm). |
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| Harper demands to know what Joan is doing. |
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| Harper is concerned. |
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| Joan recounts the story of her journey. |