VERTICAL CONSTELLATION WITH BOMB by Gwydion Suilebhan

New York during World War II. A nun, eagerly collecting scrap metal for the war effort, and Alexander Calder, desperate for raw material for a new sculpture, plead with a grieving mother, clutching a crushed tin airplane tightly to her chest. Will she let go? And for what?
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VERTICAL CONSTELLATION WITH BOMB

Recommended by

  • Doug DeVita:
    29 Dec. 2019
    “ There is such beauty in simplicity, and the beautiful simplicity of this play comes from the complex depth of its soul. Life, love, and loss are so delicately handled here, and the result is a work that both haunts and elevates. Absolutely lovely. ”
  • Rachael Carnes:
    26 Dec. 2019
    “ A beautiful, poignant piece that dances between poetry and vernacular — inviting questions about life, loss, our fragile bodies and the infinite heavens. I rarely come across a play that plays with the dynamics between head and heart, between ideas and earth-bound viscera, quite as well as this one does. It's stunning. ”
  • William Triplett:
    8 Nov. 2018
    “ A somber, reflective piece that lures you in with a seemingly simple, almost innocent atmosphere, and then hits you square in the chest -- about where your heart is. A palpable presence of history hints at a sense of futility, which then yields to loss and grief, and finally a possibility of human connection and compassion through art. Hard to imagine all that in less than 10 pages, but there it is -- and movingly rendered. ”
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Character Information

  • Vernell
    40s,
    African American
    ,
    Female
    A mother, bereft
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Alexander Calder
    45,
    White
    ,
    Male
    The sculptor
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Nun
    50s or 60s,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    City Theatre
    ,
    2014

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    New Theatre
    ,
    2014

Awards