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Relative Theatrics Announces New Virtual Play After Changes Due To Pandemic

Anne Mason

Relative Theatrics is back on schedule with its eighth season. It's just announced a new play called The Care and Feeding of Small Animals, which will be streamed virtually while performed live by its cast.

Relative Theatrics, founded in 2013 by Laramie native Anne Mason, has brought live theatre performances to the area. There were originally multiple plays set to be produced for Relative Theatrics' eighth season of programming. But after Mason realized that the pandemic was not going away anytime soon, she made changes.

"So I got on to the New Play Exchange, which is this phenomenal library of scripts by playwrights that elect to have their work there, and you can either see samples of their scripts or just access the entire play," she said. " It's a really wonderful tool for producers, especially for producers that want to put new work on stage, which is something that is prominent with relative theatrics."

From the exchange, she found The Care and Feeding of Small Animals written by Brooke Erin-Smith. The play is a "story [that] presents questions about the expectations placed upon future generations, about consent vs. control, and about the philosophical debate regarding predestination," according to a press release sent out by Relative Theatrics last month.

When Mason read the first few pages, she couldn't stop.

"I was so drawn into the whimsy of this play, the delightful characters, but also the cerebral elements that come into larger ethical questions surrounding genetic engineering, cloning, and how we want to be shaping our, our future through the children that we raise," said Mason.

She said the play also fit the hybrid model of performing live with a virtual audience, without losing the heart of the story.

Mason expressed that there is excitement around streaming plays with a live audience viewing it on their screens at home.

"It allows a lot of flexibility, and leeway, and really allows us to expand our reach," she said.

The play is available to watch throughout the month of February.

Naina Rao comes to Wyoming Public Radio from Jakarta, Indonesia. She has worked at NPR for Story Lab and the nationally syndicated show, "1A". Naina graduated from Michigan State University in 2018 with a B.A. in Journalism. Naina enjoys swimming, listening to podcasts and watching Bollywood movies.
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