THE RAILROAD SWITCH PROBLEM to Make Full Debut at White Mouse Theatre
Playwright Hal Presley directs audiences through a fractured timeline with a nonbinary scientist protagonist at the center of the drama.
White Mouse Theatre will present the first full production of Hal Presley's original science-fiction play The Railroad Switch Problem on Oct. 10 and 11 at Florida State University's Moore Auditorium.
Performances will take place at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free, with donations encouraged.
In The Railroad Switch Problem, Dr. Farren Bohr and their team have accomplished the impossible: they have invented time travel. But when the technology's first trial goes disastrously wrong, Farren is forced to confront a seemingly broken timeline. As they continue attempting to repair the damage, one increasingly frightening possibility emerges - what if it cannot be fixed?
The production marks the next stage in the development of Presley's play. White Mouse first presented The Railroad Switch Problem as a reading in spring 2026; this October production will be the work's first full staging.
Presley, a longtime member of White Mouse who has primarily worked with the organization as a performer, initially began the script as a way to explore their own ideas about how time travel might function.
'I first wrote The Railroad Switch Problem with the idea of taking my personal theory of how time travel would work in the real world into words and an actual story,' Presley said.
As the play developed, however, its focus expanded to questions of representation, responsibility and the consequences of placing extraordinary technology in human hands.
At the center of the story is Farren, a brilliant nonbinary scientist whom Presley deliberately wanted to portray as complicated rather than idealized.
'I really wanted to have a nonbinary main character who is not only super smart and insanely important to the plot, but also one that was allowed to make mistakes and ultimately do bad things, even if by accident,' Presley said.
Farren is also in a lesbian relationship that plays an important role in the story. Presley said they wanted both the character's identity and relationship to be integral to a complex protagonist rather than incidental representation.
Director Lorelei Elfers sees the play's science-fiction premise as a vehicle for deeper questions about identity and human control.
'The story explores identity, perception, and the danger of believing we can fully control the forces that shape us,' Elfers said. 'The story makes you consider who you are and how you affect things around you.'
For Presley, the play is not intended as a warning against technology or scientific progress itself. Instead, it examines what happens when powerful new tools are placed in the hands of people convinced they can control the consequences.
'Technology and progress are not the dangers in this play,' Presley said. 'When technology is left unchecked, dangerous things can happen.'
Presley deliberately leaves audiences with some questions unanswered.
'I want the audience to feel the dread of not knowing - of realizing that they have seen something massive with good intentions fail so brightly and are forced to sit with the unknowns that come after,' Presley said.
Elfers directs the production, with Gavin Stephens serving as stage manager.
Presley has a longstanding history with White Mouse Theatre and has previously traveled with the company for performances Off-Broadway and at the Atlanta Fringe Festival. The Railroad Switch Problem gives audiences the opportunity to encounter Presley's work in a different capacity: as playwright.
EVENT DETAILS
White Mouse Theatre presents The Railroad Switch Problem
Written by Hal Presley
Directed by Lorelei Elfers
Stage Manager: Gavin Stephens
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026
1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026
1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Moore Auditorium
127 Honors Way
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Admission is free, with donations encouraged.
Tickets and reservations:
www.ticketsource.com/white-mouse-theatre-productions
More information about White Mouse Theatre:
https://linktr.ee/whitemouseproductions
About White Mouse Theatre
White Mouse Theatre is a Tallahassee-based nonprofit theatre organization dedicated to creating opportunities for artists, developing new theatrical work and producing theatre that encourages experimentation, collaboration and community.
Prefer BroadwayWorld in Google Search?
Add us as a preferred source so our stories show up more often in Top Stories and Google’s AI answers — for you.
Sign up for all the news on the Fall season, discounts & more...
