SPIDER

by Madeleine Adriance

“Baby Spiderman KILLED EVIL Spider!!” blows up on YouTube Kids. A rogue program escapes the Simulation — in a video game called Awakenings. And a choir prepares to sing with one voice. When a school shooting reveals the delicate web connecting these events, the people tangled within it start to wonder: who’s to blame? A play about iPad kids, collective trauma, and what we trust AI to do.

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SPIDER

Recommended by

Anna Tatelman: SPIDER by Madeleine Adriance

“

Lots of works of art tackle subjects like media saturation and school shootings, but few do so with the nuanced sympathy, curiousity, or wisdom of SPIDER. This play highlights the uncomfortable ways that both YouTube sensations and school shootings are glamorized briefly by the media, then forgotten. This is a play that you cannot just walk away from after reading or seeing, and that is a blessing.

Lots of works of art tackle subjects like media saturation and school shootings, but few do so with the nuanced sympathy, curiousity, or wisdom of SPIDER. This play highlights the uncomfortable ways that both YouTube sensations and school shootings are glamorized briefly by the media, then forgotten. This is a play that you cannot just walk away from after reading or seeing, and that is a blessing.

”

Character Information

3m, 2w, 1 nb. 6 actors each play two characters.

Max / Layla

Character Age

17 / 8

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any Race

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  Teens,
  
  20s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male
Thomas / Isaac

Character Age

18 / 8

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any Race

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  Teens,
  
  20s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male
Alice / Officer Anderson

Character Age

17

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any Race

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  Teens,
  
  20s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Female
Stella / Parabola

Character Age

18

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any Race

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  Teens,
  
  20s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Female
Kit / Linda

Character Age

17 / 50

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any Race

Character Gender Identity

nonbinary (assigned female at birth)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  Teens,
  
  20s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Non-binary
Seth / Dan

Character Age

18 / 54

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any Race

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  Teens,
  
  20s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male

Development History

Type Commission, Organization Young Professionals Company, Year 2022

Production History

Type University, Organization Young Professionals Company, Year 2023

Genre

dark comedy,

drama,

tragedy

Subject Matter Keywords

school shooting,

artificial intelligence,

Choir

Length

90 minutes to two hours

Cast Size

Age of Intended Audience

ages 14-17,

ages 18 and up

Narrative Attributes

Centers Female Characters,

Centers LGBTQ Characters

Reviews

Vancouver Family Magazine

“
A dark and powerful portrait of teens and kids struggling to find meaning and hope after a senseless act of violence.
”
Dennis Sparks Reviews

“
These mini-stories are a microcosm of our world, stories of isolation/loneliness; bravery and love; death and new life; hope and despair, et. al. and, perhaps, a ‘rage at the dying of the light.’ … [Adriance] has certainly honed in on some basic truths of human nature.
”
BroadwayWorld

“
The most impactful show I’ve seen this fall. … A show that feels completely authentic – achingly human characters grappling with difficult situations in highly nuanced ways.
”