The Chisera

A play about water, loss, drought. THE CHISERA is set in both 1903 and the present, in and around a small town in the Eastern Sierra. It weaves together the story of Alice, a modern-day geologist who faces loss and upheaval, with the struggles of the real-life early-20th-century nature writer Mary Hunter Austin.

In the past: Mary Austin wages a campaign to save the water of the Owens Valley...
A play about water, loss, drought. THE CHISERA is set in both 1903 and the present, in and around a small town in the Eastern Sierra. It weaves together the story of Alice, a modern-day geologist who faces loss and upheaval, with the struggles of the real-life early-20th-century nature writer Mary Hunter Austin.

In the past: Mary Austin wages a campaign to save the water of the Owens Valley from being stolen by Mulholland and cronies to create the modern City of Angels. In the present: Alice, struggles with the ethics of a crucial assignment from a powerful client for a project that may threaten the already tenuous ecosystem. In the past: Mary battles not only with the business forces against her but also with her mother who is stuck raising Mary’s disabled child. In the present: Alice comes up against her estranged teenaged daughter and the lawyer for the local Paiute/Shoshone tribe, whose land may be endangered by her work. Crucial decisions—and questions of who owns the land, who benefits, and how does one earn respect--put characters to the test.

The play is written to be performed by 6 actors (4 w; 2 m), although additional ensemble members may be added.

Reading at Mach 33 Theatre Festival of Science-Driven Plays and Cosumnes River College; second prize Wilshire Ebell Playwriting Award.
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The Chisera

Recommended by

  • Bruce Linser:
    4 Jun. 2023
    The Chisera was one of five finalists that received readings during our annual New Year/New Plays Festival in January of 2022. Set in the high desert of California in two very different time periods, and beautifully filtered through the interpersonal relationships of love and family in both, it is a sweeping, stirring, and urgent play about land and water use, personal autonomy, and the responsibility we have to ourselves, each other, and the planet we share.
  • Donna Hoke:
    6 Feb. 2022
    I was deeply struck by the sacrifices we make for both passion and progress, but this was one of just many themes skillfully woven throughout this poetic piece. Lovely work.
  • Cheryl Bear:
    25 Mar. 2021
    A powerful story about the land and the indigenous people who live on it. How do we exist in harmony and respect for all? Well done.

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Mach 33 - The Festival of Science-Driven Plays
    ,
    2016
  • Workshop
    ,
    Cosumnes River College Black Box Theatre, Sacramento, California
    ,
    2015