The Gradient

In this satire set in the not-so-distant future, a new facility promises to take men accused of sexual misconduct and rehabilitate them into responsible citizens. But inside the walls of The Gradient, the culture ruled by profit margins and corporate buzzwords muddles its high ideals. New employee Tess is eager to do her part, but finds herself locked in a subtle psychological battle with her latest client - one...

In this satire set in the not-so-distant future, a new facility promises to take men accused of sexual misconduct and rehabilitate them into responsible citizens. But inside the walls of The Gradient, the culture ruled by profit margins and corporate buzzwords muddles its high ideals. New employee Tess is eager to do her part, but finds herself locked in a subtle psychological battle with her latest client - one who has the perfect answer to her every question. The Gradient asks: can we mass-produce forgiveness?

  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Library

The Gradient

Recommended by

  • Jillian Leff: The Gradient

    This play is reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode (the good ones!). We're thrown right into a world that even though it's removed from our own, it's 100% rooted in our current reality. Tech promises us easy solutions to tough problems, but humans are simply more complicated than any algorithm can predict, and this play nails that sentiment perfectly with messy, relatable characters who are confronted with large ideas and questions during their 9 to 5.

    This play is reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode (the good ones!). We're thrown right into a world that even though it's removed from our own, it's 100% rooted in our current reality. Tech promises us easy solutions to tough problems, but humans are simply more complicated than any algorithm can predict, and this play nails that sentiment perfectly with messy, relatable characters who are confronted with large ideas and questions during their 9 to 5.

  • Shana Laski: The Gradient

    An absolutely kinetic piece that examines accountability and privilege in those who seek reform not for change, but for public image reconciliation. Her characters’ conversations and textures of speech are agile and live and engage your whole body without effort. She plays with the form of her work from piece to piece, never settling into one “style” but perpetually experimenting with the way theatrical plot and legibility can function. This play investigates the intersection of empathy and technology, and the ways that one can twist the other into dysfunction. Beautiful, poignant, powerful...

    An absolutely kinetic piece that examines accountability and privilege in those who seek reform not for change, but for public image reconciliation. Her characters’ conversations and textures of speech are agile and live and engage your whole body without effort. She plays with the form of her work from piece to piece, never settling into one “style” but perpetually experimenting with the way theatrical plot and legibility can function. This play investigates the intersection of empathy and technology, and the ways that one can twist the other into dysfunction. Beautiful, poignant, powerful work.

  • Ramona Rose King: The Gradient

    This play very quickly sets up a believable near-future world—new, surprising, and yet eerily-familiar—populated by complex characters. I genuinely didn't know which way the play was going to go at each turn. I appreciate it as an addition to the "#metoo" discourse that brings up interesting questions about rehabilitation, forgiveness, and sincerity: Can abusers be rehabilitated? Should we want them to be? Where is the space for women's rage?

    This play very quickly sets up a believable near-future world—new, surprising, and yet eerily-familiar—populated by complex characters. I genuinely didn't know which way the play was going to go at each turn. I appreciate it as an addition to the "#metoo" discourse that brings up interesting questions about rehabilitation, forgiveness, and sincerity: Can abusers be rehabilitated? Should we want them to be? Where is the space for women's rage?

View all 6 recommendations
Tess – New to the job.
Natalia – Old hat at the job.
Jackson – A client.
Louis – An ally. Or something.
Clients 1-9 – A montage of men.
A Very Soothing Voice / Robot Voice – Voiced by the actor playing Natalia.

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Victory Gardens Ignition Festival , Year 2019
  • Type Reading, Organization Studio Theatre, Year 2019

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Year 2021
  • Type Workshop, Organization UC-San Diego, Year 2019

Awards

  • Leah Ryan Fund for Emerging Women Playwrights
    Finalist
    2020
  • Writing Fellowship
    Playwrights Realm
    Finalist
    2019