This Could Be Paradise at OutCast Productions

OutCast Productions Presents Staged Reading of This Could Be Paradise

Langley, WA – This Could Be Paradise, a staged reading of an original play by anthropologist and playwright Sara Jo Breslow, will be presented at OutCast Productions at the Black Box Theater in Langley at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 28 and 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 29.

This thought-provoking work explores the ongoing salmon rights conflict in Washington’s Skagit River Valley, bringing to life the voices of Native American fishers from the coastal and mountain Salish Tribes alongside the farmers of the upper Skagit River and Delta. The characters and dialogue are derived from real-life interviews conducted between 2001 and 2022 by anthropologists Breslow, Ed Liebow, Dori Bixler, and dramatist Todd Jefferson Moore.

In an artistic interpretation of anthropological research, Breslow’s play dramatizes an unresolved environmental dispute and seeks to foster dialogue between historically divided communities.

“I often wished I could invite farmers to listen to interviews with Native Americans or restoration advocates to listen to interviews with farmers,” Breslow explain wrote in the liner notes.

“Through theater, I could bring this imagined dialogue to life—a play, unlike a PhD dissertation, requires its audience to come together in the same room, perhaps for the first time, and witness a conversation that until now has only taken place inside my head.”

This staged reading of a play, which sounds at times like a poem, promises a compelling exploration of environmental justice, community perspectives and shared histories.

Tickets for This Could Be Paradise can be purchased online at www.outcastproductions.net or by emailing ocp@whidbey.com.