Sunday Salon – No One on Board Took Notice by Tommer Peterson

Photo: Melissa Maples (https://goo.gl/VNOgOc)

Photo: Melissa Maples (https://goo.gl/VNOgOc)

The New Year New Play Salon, held annually since 2014, features the work of a Pacific Northwest playwright and/or Pacific Northwest themes. A team of four evaluated all the submissions for 2016, and we are delighted to announce that the play selected to be read at our January 17 New Year New Play Salon is Tommer Peterson’s No One on Board Took Notice.

THE PLAY

Sea changes in the evolution of a people, or the transition of a culture, are most easily seen in hindsight. The moment the first mutation occurs, or the first reinterpretation of meaning is voiced, often go unnoticed by those closest to the event.

This story is a snapshot of a people and a culture in transition … in an unspecified place and time that appears to be pre-industrial … and no one wears shoes. It is told through the eyes of an elder woman, the first of her people to question long-held beliefs, and a young man discovering that he is perhaps the first of a new evolutionary line. Is the notion of the passing of time as fixed and linear as it seems, or is it possibly more fluid for some than others?

Ritual and tradition help explain the unknown. These practices, too, break down and evolve over time. What happens at the intersection of biological evolution and cultural change? Would anyone on board take notice?

“What we see is largely determined by where we stand…. or perhaps even more by where we choose to gaze and what we choose to remember.”

Today, at the threshold of 2016, we live in a world struggling with violence, racial and religious divisiveness, nationalism, xenophobia, intolerance, and a host of social ills rooted in cultural differences and (conscious and subconscious) assumptions and prejudices. Evolution and change are part of the solution.

This play is a poem and a prayer and a daydream and a vision and a bullhorn and a fire-alarm and a trumpet and blank check and a love letter to changing times.

THE PLAYWRIGHT

Playwright Tommer Peterson

Playwright Tommer Peterson

Tommer Peterson is an independent theater artist and designer. In addition to No One On Board Took Notice, he has authored Va-Va-Va-Voom and co-authored with KJ Sanchez two documentary plays: Night at the Opera (2012) and Duck Soup (2011). A prolific set designer, recent design credits include 99 Ways to Fuck a Swan (WET, 2015), Dirty (WET/ACT, 2015), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (WET, 2013), Hiway 47 (American Records, 2013), Three Sisters (Juniata College, 2012), Mistakes Madeline Made (WET, 2008), Bobbie and Jerome, Dinah Was, and Obama, The Musical (Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 2006, 2007, and 2009), Christmas Carol (The Moore Theater/Bishop Blanchet, 2008), and Sex and Death (Balagan Theater, 2009).

CAST

Old Man: Nick Rempel
Old Woman: Pearl Klein
Young Man: Trevor Young Marston
Young Woman: TBA
Neighbor 1: TBA
Neighbor 2: TBA
Young Man 2 (non-speaking)

ABOUT THE SUNDAY SALONS

APL casts actors to read classic and/or provocative plays we want to engage as thinking artists but aren’t likely to bring to stage in full production. Anyone interested in the play or its context can join us. Each Salon is a unique, dynamic assembly of artists, intellectuals, provocateurs, friends, and family. We read, drink, eat, and — with minimal moderation — let discussion go where it will. And if you’d like to bring a piece of music to perform during the evening, feel free to do so!

FOOD

Salons are potluck. Please bring a dish and/or drink to share. Theme according to the play… or not!

FOR YOUR COMFORT

Seating is ample, but feel free to bring a cushion if you prefer the (hardwood) floor.

ACCESSIBILITY

Our location has a lot of stairs to navigate (15 just to enter) and, unfortunately, no current access options to avoid them.

SCHEDULE

4:00pm Arrivals. Mingling and food/drinks.
5:15-5:30pm Reading begins, to be followed by discussion.
10:00pm End time is a best guess. Leave when you need to; we allow the discussion to run its course.

NOTE TO OUR ACTORS WHO ARE READING

We will distribute the play digitally. Please bring your own printed copy or a device to view the file. Wifi onsite.

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Tommer Peterson’s play selected for Jan Salon

Playwright Tommer Peterson

Playwright Tommer Peterson

The New Year New Play Salon, held annually since 2014, features the work of a Pacific Northwest playwright and/or Pacific Northwest themes. A team of four evaluated all the submissions for 2016, and we are delighted to announce that out of a very competitive pool of applicants, the play selected to be read at our January 17 New Year New Play Salon is Tommer Peterson’s No One on Board Took Notice.

Perhaps best known for his work as a designer, Peterson also has authored or co-authored several plays, including Va-Va-Va-Voom and (with KJ Sanchez) two documentary plays: Night at the Opera (2012) and Duck Soup (2011).

No One on Board Took Notice starts from a simple yet infinitely complex premise: What we see is largely determined by where we stand…. or perhaps even more by where we choose to gaze and what we choose to remember.

Learn more about Peterson and this exciting new play.

Playwrights, send your new scripts!

(L-R) Playwright Stacy Flood takes notes on the discussion about his new play, The Pleasure & Sorrow of Your Company, as fellow playwrights Olivia Pi-Sunyer and Ina Chang listen. | Photo: Zhenya Lavy

(L-R) Playwright Stacy Flood takes notes on the discussion about his new play, The Pleasure & Sorrow of Your Company, as fellow playwrights Olivia Pi-Sunyer and Ina Chang listen. | January 2015 New Year New Play Salon | Photo: Zhenya Lavy

We are now accepting submissions for our annual New Year New Play Salon. Entering its third year, this popular New Year New Play Salon features the work of a Pacific Northwest playwright and/or Pacific Northwest themes.  Check out our guidelines, and help us spread the word to area playwrights!

Submission Deadline: Nov 1
Notifications Made: Dec 11

Sunday Salon – The Sound in the Next Room by John Longenbaugh

A community gathering to explore classic and/or provocative plays and share live music. Held in APL’s  Downstairs Studio, each Salon is a unique and engaging assembly of Artists, Intellectuals, Provocateurs, Friends, and Family. We read, drink, eat, and let the discussion go where it will.

Details for July 26:

THE PLAY

The Sound in the Next Room, a PNW-based Thriller

THE PLAYWRIGHT

John Longenbaugh

CAST

EUCA/CLARICE – Alex Highsmith
MELANIE/LESLIE – Annie Paladino
CLEO – Emily Jo Testa
DANIELLE – Kate Kraay

READERS
We distribute the play digitally. For the Salon, please bring your own printed copy or a device to view the file. We have wifi.

FOOD is potluck. Please bring a dish and/or drink to share. Theme according to the play… or not!

SEATING is ample, but feel free to bring a cushion if you prefer the floor.

LOCATION NOTE: Our location has a lot of stairs to navigate (15 just to enter) and, unfortunately, no current access options to avoid them.

SCHEDULE 
4:00pm Arrivals. Mingling and food/drinks.
5:15-5:30pm Reading begins, to be followed by discussion.
10:00pm End time is a best guess. Leave when you need to; we allow the discussion to run its course.

Sunday Salon – The Pleasure & Sorrow of Your Company by Stacy D. Flood

A community gathering to explore classic and/or provocative plays and share live music. Held in APL’s new Downstairs Studio, each Salon is a unique and engaging assembly of Artists, Intellectuals, Provocateurs, Friends, and Family. We read, drink, eat, and let the discussion go where it will.

Details for January 25

THE PLAY

The Pleasure and Sorrow of Your Company examines the effects of drone warfare both at home and abroad. The drama unfolds as the tapestry of one couple’s relationship unravels and a crucial mistake renders lives in jeopardy.

An initial draft of this work was created during an extension of the ACT Theatre Intermediate Playwriting group led by Stephanie Timm.
THE PLAYWRIGHT

Playwright Stacy D. Flood

Playwright Stacy D. Flood

Stacy D. Flood’s work has appeared at ACT Theatre, in SOMA Magazine, Seattle Weekly, three Seattle Fringe productions, and Starbucks’ The Way I See It campaign. He has served as a lecturer at San Francisco State University — from which he earned an MA in English, an MFA in Creative Writing, and a Clark/Gross Novel Writing Award. He also has been awarded both a Getty Fellowship to the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and a Gregory Capasso Award in Fiction from the University at Buffalo. Furthermore, I have been an artist-in-residence at the Haut de Fee Centre in France, La Serrania in Mallorca, and The Millay Colony of the Arts in New York. He currently has a short piece in SnowGlobed at Theater Schmeater.

CAST: TBA

READERS
We distribute the play digitally. For the Salon, please bring your own printed copy or a device to view the file. We have wifi.

FOOD is potluck. Please bring a dish and/or drink to share. Theme according to the play… or not!

SEATING is ample, but feel free to bring a cushion if you prefer the floor (it is carpeted).

LOCATION NOTE: Our location has a lot of stairs to navigate (15 just to enter) and, unfortunately, no current access options to avoid them.

SCHEDULE 
4:00pm Arrivals. Mingling and food/drinks.
5:15-5:30pm Reading begins, to be followed by discussion.
10:00pm End time is a best guess. Leave when you need to; we allow the discussion to run its course.