The Known Universe (Part Three of The Second World Trilogy)

by Scott Sickles

[FULL LENGTH SCIENCE FICTION DRAMA]
The third piece in a science fiction trilogy that follows a love story between two guys from when they're 11-year-old pen pals until the end of the world nearly 50 years later. This is the final installment, so...

2067. The Earth is entering a new ice age and nothing on the surface will survive. Astronaut Anzor "Andy" Khasanov-Manners is in a space station, in orbit...

[FULL LENGTH SCIENCE FICTION DRAMA]
The third piece in a science fiction trilogy that follows a love story between two guys from when they're 11-year-old pen pals until the end of the world nearly 50 years later. This is the final installment, so...

2067. The Earth is entering a new ice age and nothing on the surface will survive. Astronaut Anzor "Andy" Khasanov-Manners is in a space station, in orbit, assisting with evacuation efforts... which have just been abandoned. His husband, Teddy; their boys, Mason and Julius; the boys' mother, Drisana, and stepmother, Sophie, were supposed to be on the next flight up. As the temperature plummets and the planet becomes uninhabitable, Anzor and his family bid each other a long farewell. Told in real time and flashbacks, THE KNOWN UNIVERSE is a story of family and everything they and we have to lose.

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The Known Universe (Part Three of The Second World Trilogy)

Recommended by

  • Greg Mandryk: The Known Universe (Part Three of The Second World Trilogy) by Scott Sickles
    “

    First of all, Kudos to Scott Sickles for carrying out such an ambitious undertaking. I can safely say that writing a trilogy is in the same category as climbing Mount Everest in things I will never attempt. Though it could be read as a standalone play, I can't imagine it would have the same impact without reading the first two plays in the trilogy. So, take the plunge and read The Marianas Trench and Pangea first. The final scene is as well-earned as it is heart-wrenching. Bravo!

    First of all, Kudos to Scott Sickles for carrying out such an ambitious undertaking. I can safely say that writing a trilogy is in the same category as climbing Mount Everest in things I will never attempt. Though it could be read as a standalone play, I can't imagine it would have the same impact without reading the first two plays in the trilogy. So, take the plunge and read The Marianas Trench and Pangea first. The final scene is as well-earned as it is heart-wrenching. Bravo!

    ”
  • Duncan Pflaster: The Known Universe (Part Three of The Second World Trilogy) by Scott Sickles
    “

    This heart-rending conclusion of the Second World Trilogy is beautiful and elegiac, but doesn't shy away from moments of humor and vividly drawn characters. Unlike the first two plays, this is in one long act, and deservedly so, as it careens toward an uncertain ending of the world as we know it.

    This heart-rending conclusion of the Second World Trilogy is beautiful and elegiac, but doesn't shy away from moments of humor and vividly drawn characters. Unlike the first two plays, this is in one long act, and deservedly so, as it careens toward an uncertain ending of the world as we know it.

    ”
  • Janet Bentley: The Known Universe (Part Three of The Second World Trilogy) by Scott Sickles
    “

    Only Scott can take this huge idea of careening towards environmental oblivion and hold it gently in the experiences of vividly complex characters. It asks a hard question that many are asking now: should we have children if the world could end? But in the end, there are no regrets. The Known Universe will hurt you in a way that great art should hurt. Its agony is an epic, rich, loving agony that makes you appreciate the specific quirkiness of these beloved characters. This play goes beyond representation. It is a sanctification of the queer, atypical family.

    Only Scott can take this huge idea of careening towards environmental oblivion and hold it gently in the experiences of vividly complex characters. It asks a hard question that many are asking now: should we have children if the world could end? But in the end, there are no regrets. The Known Universe will hurt you in a way that great art should hurt. Its agony is an epic, rich, loving agony that makes you appreciate the specific quirkiness of these beloved characters. This play goes beyond representation. It is a sanctification of the queer, atypical family.

    ”
View all 28 recommendations

Character Information

Regarding Race:
MASON is the biological child off Anzor (Chechen and therefore probably white) and DRISANA (European, can mean anything).
JULIUS is 1/4 Korean: the biological child of DRISANA and TEDDY (half-Korean; the other half of you’re doing the entire trilogy is the same as Sophie. Otherwise...)

Do your best. As long as TEDDY and LINCOLN are believably half-Korean and the same person at different ages, you can build from there.

  • TEDDY
    Teddy Passanante-Khasanov. Half-Korean male in his late 50s, average to stocky build. A former marine biologist and full-time dad.
    59
    Half-Asian (Korean)
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • ANZOR
    Anzor "Andy" Khasanov-Manners. Non-Asian male in his late 50s. (Same race as ANDY and JULIUS) Trim to average build. An astronaut.
    59
    Chechen
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • DRISANA
    Drisana Christiansen. Non-Asian female in her mid-to-late 50s. Mother of MASON and JULIUS.
    50s
    Any
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • SOPHIE
    Sophie Vandenberg. Non-Asian female in her 30s. Also plays DRISANA-FB in flashbacks. (A younger version of DRISANA, with matching "European" accent.
    30s
    Any
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • MASON
    12-year-old Non-Asian boy. (Same race as actors playing ANZOR and ANDY.) Biological son of DRISANA and ANZOR, and also son of TEDDY. [It's fine and perhaps recommended to cast an older actor and play down.]
    12
    Any
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Child,
      Teens
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • JULIUS
    10-year-old quarter-Korean boy. Biological son of DRISANA and TEDDY, and also son of ANZOR. [It's okay to cast an older actor and play down.]
    10
    Quarter Asian (Korean)
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Child
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • LINCOLN
    Half-Korean male in his late 30s, average to stocky build. He is the younger version of TEDDY appearing in flashbacks.
    30s-40s
    Half Asian (Korean)
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • ANDY
    Non-Asian male in his late 30s, average to athletic build. He is the younger version of (and therefore same race as) ANZOR, when he went by “Andy Manners,” appearing in flashbacks. Also provides the Lunar Station VOICE.
    30s-40s
    Chechen
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male

Development History

  • Reading, Roly Poly Productions, 2021