COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND Will Open New Hazlett Theater's 14th Season

This November 19-20, the New Hazlett Theater will launch its 14th season of Community Supported Art with Cosmic Microwave Background, Julia Fraser's full-length play that explores the complexities of silence, sound, and stability in a seemingly tranquil desert setting.

For Fraser, the production is a chance to spark intrigue in people looking to discover more about themselves.

'I think curious theatergoers will like my play,' Fraser says. 'This is someone who goes to the theater to experience something new-to feel and question what's in front of them, laugh, tense, and gasp.'

She also hopes the piece will prompt deeper personal reflection: "I want people to interrogate their relationship with technology and nature - how it shapes their routine actions, their relationships and how they move through the world.'

By exploring the quiet anxieties of the digital age, the production invites audiences to do exactly that. Rita, an Italian poetry translator, and her husband leave New York to find new beginnings in the desert. After their arrival, however, only Rita hears a snaking sound that envelops the landscape and disrupts her fresh start. When her tech-optimist neighbor asks what she hears, they set out to uncover the noise before it compromises her sanity. The sound propels Rita on a quest to find its elusive source and regain her stability. 

After debuting as a staged reading in last season's inaugural CSA: Off the Page series, Cosmic Microwave Background has become a fully produced mainstage premiere for the New Hazlett Theater's 14th Community Supported Art season.

This progression from the reading series-designed to showcase bold scripts from runner-up CSA artists-gives Pittsburgh reporter and playwright Julia Fraser the chance to fully realize her vision, expand the play's core ideas, and bring its sonic landscape to life with a full creative team.

Renowned Pittsburgh actor and director Daina Griffith will direct the production. Beyond her extensive acting résumé and coaching studio, Griffith has directed numerous productions at the New Hazlett Theater, including the inaugural Off the Page presentation of Gloria, Jean and the Sexy Ghost Show.

"The thing that excites me about this play is how timely it is,' says Griffith. 'You can relate to the characters. You might have seen them in your daily lives. You might be them.'

She notes that the production relies on the audience's own interpretation: 'I think Julia's written a play that's really smart and challenges the audience in a way that is invigorating and confusing at times, and ultimately you get to make the final decision on what you think is happening.'

The talented cast includes Emma Brown Baker (Rita), Richard McBride (Guy), Lila English (Angel), and Danny Mayhak (O).

The Cosmic Microwave Background creative team features Daina Griffith (Director), Max Pavel (Assistant Director), Andy Ostrowski (Lighting Designer), Kristi Good (Dramaturg), and Jess Levine (Stage Manager). Former CSA lead artist Ramin Akhavijou returns to NHT, bringing his extensive work in music perception and silence, a key fit for the Sound Designer role.

Cosmic Microwave Background has three showings: Thursday, November 19 at 7:30 PM, and Friday, November 20 at 10 AM & 7:30 PM. Individuals can purchase tickets on the New Hazlett website. Tickets are $37 for General Admission and $27 for Students and Artists, with the Friday matinee being pay-what-you-can.