GROUNDLINGS

by Wren Aubrey Latham

FULL-LENGTH DRAFT—To prepare for a global apocalypse, climate scientists created an underground failsafe known as The Ark. Now that the end of the world has come and gone, The Ark's last living resident finds herself entangled with an intruder from the surface.

FULL-LENGTH DRAFT—To prepare for a global apocalypse, climate scientists created an underground failsafe known as The Ark. Now that the end of the world has come and gone, The Ark's last living resident finds herself entangled with an intruder from the surface.

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GROUNDLINGS

Recommended by

  • Indiana University Dept of Theatre & Dance: GROUNDLINGS by Wren Aubrey Latham
    “

    A fascinating, labyrinthine journey through our future, populated by rich and clever characters (human and non-) and peppered with wry humor, exciting revelations, and above all, HOPE. Wren manages this while deftly juggling scientific jargon, an invented language, and beautifully blended cinematic + theatrical iconography. Wholly unique and imaginative, rewarding and thought-provoking.

    A fascinating, labyrinthine journey through our future, populated by rich and clever characters (human and non-) and peppered with wry humor, exciting revelations, and above all, HOPE. Wren manages this while deftly juggling scientific jargon, an invented language, and beautifully blended cinematic + theatrical iconography. Wholly unique and imaginative, rewarding and thought-provoking.

    ”

Character Information

  • Naima Shaw
    Tasked with keeping The Ark from failing. Brilliant. Lonely. Determined to maintain her joy. Stuck in a state of arrested development. Parentified for the last seventeen years. Think Tia Landry from Sister, Sister.
    20s
    African American/Black
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Teens,
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Non-binary,
      Woman
  • Ember
    One of the Rhaz:ka’s broodmares. Cunning. Protective. Hiding the fact that she is unable to conceive. Stumbles into The Ark due to its failing security system. Formerly nameless. Think Leeloo from The Fifth Element.
    20s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Non-binary,
      Woman
  • VOX
    The Archive's supercomputer; an acronym for Virtual Occipitotemporal Xenosystem
    Acquiescence: 73%
    Curiosity:
    Humor: 89%
    Nurture: 92%
    Perception: 97%
    Self-preservation: 65%
    Wonder: 72%
    Think Spider-byte from Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Teens,
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Non-binary,
      Woman
  • Pierce Kaminski
    Burnout. Notorious job-hopper. Self-described jackass. Unwilling revolutionary. Spotted across time; gains a darkly edge as the years go by. Think Eddie Munson from Stranger Things.
    20s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Teens,
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American,
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man,
      Non-binary
  • The Foremother
    An elder of the Rhaz:ka. Stoic. Territorial. A cross between an oracle and a lieutenant. Believes her deity destroyed the world by consuming all plant life. Think Ventress from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Non-binary,
      Woman