Orange
by Aditi Brennan Kapil
directed by Jack Reuler
Originally produced at Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
November 11 to December 4, 2016
About the Premiere Production:
Synopsis: This adventure through Orange County charts a journey as hilarious, surprising, and terrifying, as the unique young woman whose story it is. Orange is a deeply soulful exploration of youth, fearlessness, family, and difference, on the cusp of childhood and adulthood.
Told from the point of view of a young woman on the Autism Spectrum who joins her cousin and her cousin’s boyfriend on a joyride the night before a family wedding, Orange chronicles the adventures of 3 teens over the course of one ill planned night full of detours, mythic encounters, 9 year old villains, thrilling heights, lurking dangers, and the search for a perfect orange. All three discover that a lot can happen over the course of one night without a safety net.
Flanked by projected illustrations, Orange is Mixed Blood Playwright in Residence Aditi Brennan Kapil’s seventh world premiere produced by Mixed Blood.
Artistic Statement: As an organization mission-driven to support new work, work showcasing underrepresented artists and marginalized voices; Orange feels completely mission aligned.
The challenge of this particular work is to arrive, as an audience, at the epiphanies of near adulthood as Leela arrives at them; Through her, at times, atypical angles of entry into the emotional lives of those around her, we as an audience experience small events, these micro moments, that affect Leela’s growth as vast shifts. Ultimately, Orange is a story about a mother and daughter in crisis; about a daughter trying to provide for her mother a moment of solace. How the story gets from this fairly traditional starting point to this equally traditional ending point is atypical, as is Leela, but ultimately it is the universality of this mother/daughter connection that is the heart of the piece. Leela goes on a very wild ride of discovery, for the purpose of achieving an incremental moment of growth in her relationship with her mother.
Grant Statement: The extra rehearsal period allows for Mixed Blood to best serve this World Premiere play working in partnership with South Coast Rep and their dramaturg and playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil to bring to fruition this first production. The intricate design work of projections meeting set will have extra attention, the cast and creative team will be able to spend all but 3 days of rehearsal time on the physical set and the exploration of story and characters will be what is needed for this World Premiere to have a life beyond Mixed Blood and South Coast Rep.
Cast: Annelyse Ahmad, Owais Ahmed, and Lipica Shah.
Set Designer: Joseph Stanley
Lighting Designer: Wu-Chen Khoo
Costume Designer: Janet O'Neill
Sound Designer: Victor Zupanc
Props Designer: Abbee Warmboe
Video Design: Megan Reilly