(L-R) Asmat Kaur Taunque and Skyler Ware in “The Sunrise from the Moon” at Caltech Ramo Auditorium (Photo – Sully Braun)
A Caltech “spacey” (out of this world!) theater experience.
By Carol Edger Germain
It is a good idea to arrive early and read the Playbill. The background of the actors, director, and writer are “out of this world” as well (again in a good way). It was fascinating to read about the various areas of research being conducted by the four student actors: Sahangi Dassanayake as Denise Folkendale; Asmat Kaur Taunque as Annaliese; Skyler Ware as Mina; and Matthew Torrres as Charlie (you will see why Matthew Torres was the perfect choice as caretaker of the aquarium). Director Brian Brophy is an award-winning Cal Tech faculty member with worldwide directing and teaching credits. There is one professional actor, Jane Brucker as Calvin Greer. Writer Hannah Manikowski’s point of view is to “excavate magical within the mundane and the mundane within the magical,” and she successfully presents that point of view in this story.
The story is set in a future where space exploration has advanced to the point where NASA has successfully established a colony of humans on the Moon and christened it “Montgomery.” The experiment was progressing but suddenly suffers a tragic collapse, with the exception on one 15-year-old girl, Annaliese, who manages to survive for ten years, adapting to her loneliness and endlessly gazing at the Earth, obsessed with one day visiting the ocean. She is rescued and returned to earth, but before an ocean trip can even be thought of, competing agendas between NASA investigators add stress to the goal of debriefing her. They want to know as to the cause of the collapse of the colony and how she has lived the last ten years. A public aquarium has been closed to the public and serves as the detention/interrogation location for Annaliese until the investigators feel they are ready to orient her to life on Earth. She tolerates it fairly well, but remains intent on seeing the ocean as well as seeking her own identity and determines where she fits in. She has different levels of interaction and communication with the other four characters, and connections (or lack of connection) occur accordingly. There is a rolling undercurrent of conflicting perspectives, goals, and power, and the audience rides the “science-coaster” along with Annaliese. The technique of occasionally using stage sized film clips of communications was effective, flowing along with the live action and adding to the minimally decorated set.
Caltech Ramo Auditorium 1200 E California Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91125 If you are not familiar with the Caltech campus, take the time to study the map. Friday 4/14 and Saturday 4/15 at 7:30 pm Sunday 4/16 at 2:30 pm Tickets are available at this link or call 626-395-4652 for discounted tickets. $25 General admission, $15 JPL/Staff/Seniors, $5 Students For more information call 626-395-3295.
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