It's a Small World (or The Robot Play)

by Amber Palmer

Anne (an engineer in recovery) and Cyrus (a former coffee maker, now robot poet) take the long trip from Disney World to Canandaigua to get Cyrus back home to Anne’s childhood best friend, Adam. Along the way, the duo meet other people and small kitchen appliances that are just as lost as they are while they try to discover what home truly is.

Anne (an engineer in recovery) and Cyrus (a former coffee maker, now robot poet) take the long trip from Disney World to Canandaigua to get Cyrus back home to Anne’s childhood best friend, Adam. Along the way, the duo meet other people and small kitchen appliances that are just as lost as they are while they try to discover what home truly is.

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It's a Small World (or The Robot Play)

Recommended by

  • Ky Weeks: It's a Small World (or The Robot Play)

    The real beauty in this play is how Palmer presents the familiar through a decidedly robot lens. And what a lens it is! This robot is compelling in the way he interacts with the world, in the questions he asks, and the human problems he attempts to comfort... and finds himself understanding in his own way. Raises fascinating questions about creation, inspiration, and what we owe to that which we bring into the world. I especially loved the AI poetry, the often strange attempts of a mechanical mind to understand the information it's given.

    The real beauty in this play is how Palmer presents the familiar through a decidedly robot lens. And what a lens it is! This robot is compelling in the way he interacts with the world, in the questions he asks, and the human problems he attempts to comfort... and finds himself understanding in his own way. Raises fascinating questions about creation, inspiration, and what we owe to that which we bring into the world. I especially loved the AI poetry, the often strange attempts of a mechanical mind to understand the information it's given.

  • Daniel Repp: It's a Small World (or The Robot Play)

    Sometimes in life, you have to decide between plays about A.I., the grief of losing a child, drug addiction, lesbian life, computer-generated poetry, and aquatic animatronics. But you deserve to have it all, and Palmer delivers with this profound and quirky road trip play. You've come to the right place for clever quips and for a story about our attempts to fix other people, be there for others, and fill the void left by departed loved ones.

    Sometimes in life, you have to decide between plays about A.I., the grief of losing a child, drug addiction, lesbian life, computer-generated poetry, and aquatic animatronics. But you deserve to have it all, and Palmer delivers with this profound and quirky road trip play. You've come to the right place for clever quips and for a story about our attempts to fix other people, be there for others, and fill the void left by departed loved ones.

Character Information

Casting notes: MAJORIE and RUBY, ERIKA and the CURATOR, and BILLY and JOHN are to be double casted. Directors should cast with diversity in mind.
  • Adam
    Computer engineer.
    Character Age
    Early 30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Billy/John
    Character Age
    40-50s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Erika/The Curator
    Erika: Anne's mother.
    The Curator: Museum of Lost Things Curator.
    Character Age
    40s-60s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Majorie/Ruby
    Majorie: Target employee.
    Ruby: Ageless. Toaster oven.
    Character Age
    20s-30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Anne
    Former mechanical engineer.
    Character Age
    Early 30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Cyrus
    A robot on his way to sentience. An amateur poet. He used to be a coffeemaker. He could be a puppet.
    Character Age
    Teenager
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male or Nonbinary

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Flint Repertory Theatre, Year 2019
  • Type Reading, Organization Bristol Valley Theater, Year 2019
  • Type Workshop, Organization Pegasus Playlab, Year 2019
  • Type Workshop, Organization Activate Midwest Theater Festival, Year 2018

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Bristol Valley Theater, Year 2022

Awards

  • Princess Grace
    Finalist
    2021
  • The Kilroys List 2020
    The Kilroys
    2020