THE GOLDEN RECORD to be Presented by all Break Productions in Collaboration with Blue Owl Films
The audience watches the drama as if they are accompanying the characters through space and converse with the actors and guide the plot development interactively.
"The Golden Record," a new play by Micah Kosstrin-Greenberg, pioneers the use of virtual theater for science fiction. It brings a futuristic cosmic fantasy to life on Zoom using beautiful visual effects, digital makeup, audience participation and techniques of immersive theater. Presented by Wall Break Productions in collaboration with Blue Owl Films, the performances are July 8 to 30, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 PM, plus a special press opening performance Saturday, July 10 at 8:00 PM.
Unlike the Zoom readings and plays which have now become familiar, there is no fourth wall. The audience watches the drama as if they are accompanying the characters through space. They also converse with the actors and guide the plot development interactively.
The play's title is a reference to a NASA time capsule program, "The Golden Record," in which Voyagers 1 and 2--robotic interstellar probes--carry a twelve-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.
Kosstrin-Greenberg's play is set after the twilight of humanity, when our species made two final leaps toward the stars. Into the cold universe, as an eternal light of our being, have been sent two complete human consciousnesses, Rebecca and Andrew. Their minds are immortalized through technologies and sent into space as a testament that we existed. In their consciousness lies the memory of humankind.
The bridge between them is a newly emergent female artificial intelligence (never named, but referred to here as "AI") which is gaining consciousness on a disabled spacecraft. She transforms, at various points in the play, into Rebecca who once had been the sole companion of Andrew. He was in space for eons but for the last three centuries, he has been entirely alone. The drama centers on whether "AI" can recapture Rebecca's memories, which have been lost to interstellar hazards, and save Andrew from a lethal collision in space.
"AI" is innocent, childlike and formal. Rebecca, played by the same actress, is sardonic and stoical. Andrew is informal and blunt, but half-mad from isolation, clinging to connection like a shipwrecked sailor grabs at flotsam. All are challenged to rediscover trust and navigate their fraught relationships.
The production, with Zoom as its stage, is interactive and specifically built for online performances. Infused with humor and high stakes challenges, it tackles themes including loneliness, identity, memory, and connection. Through semi-improvisational interactions with the audience, "AI" develops a distinct identity and backstory that are unique to every show. As active participants, audience members contribute real, emotionally genuine experiences and connect with each other as well as the cast. The play culminates in a mortal threat to "AI," leaving the audience a final choice: do you choose between a tragic reality, or a beautiful creation?
"The Golden Record" has been developed by the production team of: Micah Kosstrin-Greenberg (Producer/Playwright), James Ellerby (Director), Brittany Crowell (Producing Consultant), Kenneth Oum (Technical/Web Designer), Jennifer Healy (Actor: AI & Rebbecca), Joe DiNozzi (Actor: Andrew), Joshua Shuey (Tech Supervisor) and Cat Ross (Makeup Supervisor).
Micah Kosstrin-Greenberg was inspired to write "The Golden Record" after realizing that streaming technology offers an opportunity to make theater more participatory, rather than less. His aim was to write a piece that was engaging to watch, while drawing on the genuine lives of the audience members, connecting them and creating something new each time. To fulfill it, he assembled a team of artists and techies from New York and Philadelphia. (See biographies below.)
For tickets and more info, go to: https://goldenrecordplay.com/.
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