Dust

Wrestling with the reality that everyone he's ever known was just killed in a shooting at his school, Boy spends his last minutes spinning a story that looks not unlike J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. These young women, these mermaids, compete to be heard as their story unfolds. They are the swim team – powerful and sometimes monstrous. And then there’s Wendy. His Wendy. Boy is convinced that she’s the only...
Wrestling with the reality that everyone he's ever known was just killed in a shooting at his school, Boy spends his last minutes spinning a story that looks not unlike J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. These young women, these mermaids, compete to be heard as their story unfolds. They are the swim team – powerful and sometimes monstrous. And then there’s Wendy. His Wendy. Boy is convinced that she’s the only person who understands him. Until she doesn’t. Part dance, part theatre, Dust plays like a music score that’s been infiltrated by poetry, giving voice to the unspeakable.
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Dust

Recommended by

  • Daniel Prillaman:
    19 Jan. 2024
    A deep dive into rage, righteous and petty. The story of Boy and Wendy is all too common in today's society, yet it's one that repeats itself again and again. Mohlman condenses this fury into an immensely theatrical script, providing opportunities for unforgettable imagery and staged movement. The whole production team has a playground here, or perhaps more appropriate to say, a pool. I can only imagine what it would be like to hear the Mermaids in real time. A commanding wall of sound, deftly paced like a poem. This is expertly crafted.
  • Daniel Repp:
    20 Mar. 2022
    A play that uses its ensemble as a powerful hurricane. The women in the chorus (as few as 6 and as many as 49!) gather speed for overwhelming moments that bring the calmer sections into sharp focus. This play lives confidently in the "anger" stage of grief, giving voice to the victims of gun violence and letting them take their revenge on toxic masculinity.
  • Noel VanDenBosch:
    28 Nov. 2020
    As the play unfolds, the Boy's story he tell himself starts to crumble. Toxic masculinity and gun violence are confronted head-on in this powerful script as Wendy and the other women take their story back.

Character Information

  • Boy
    18,
    White
    ,
    Male
  • Wendy
    18,
    Female
  • Lily
    17,
    Female
  • Isabel
    17,
    Female
  • The Mermaids
    14 to 18,
    Female, Female or Non-binary
    six to forty-six young women

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Cygnet Theatre
    ,
    2018
  • Workshop
    ,
    Sewanee Writers' Conference
    ,
    2016
  • Reading
    ,
    The Inkwell
    ,
    2013
  • Workshop
    ,
    Artists' Bloc
    ,
    2013
  • Reading
    ,
    Artists' Bloc
    ,
    2012

Production History

  • University
    ,
    University of Florida
    ,
    2023
  • University
    ,
    Pacific Lutheran University
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    Sam Houston State University
    ,
    2019
  • Workshop
    ,
    Youth Theatre Northwest
    ,
    2018

Awards

Winner
,
Finish Line Commission
,
Cygnet Theatre
,
2018