Trev Turnbow

In a sterile waiting room for the neuralink microchip, Soren and Ivan contemplate modernity, gay sex and War & Peace all the while signs from the world and from within cause them to question what is gained and lost when fully ingesting modern technology into their bodies. The hot nurse and local loon come in and out as these two face existential questions about the irreversibility of the future and whether we have any agency against its oncoming tide. Loosely an adaptation of The Death of Ivan Ilyich and HEAVILY inspired by the thinking of Foucault, Butler, and Kierkegaard, this queer comedic romp through existential philosophy will have you thinking, laughing, crying, and maybe even questioning if it's a good thing we push forward with unchecked liberty on the frontiers of technology with little to no consideration of how the beauty of a flower can provide just as much if not more satisfaction to one's life.

WELCOME TO QUEER BIBLE STUDY, first lesson, from the Gospel of Mark - the story of Salome.

Amidst rising rumors of the Messiah and bizarro family dynamics, the birthday dinner of Herod
Tetrarch of Judea goes off the rails as his stepdaughter the Princess Salome sets her sights on
earning the favor of John the Baptist, who is being held captive in the cistern directly beneath the
dinner table. An adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Salome, and incorporating many iterations of the
Princess that has captured artists for centuries- this play is not telling anything resembling the
truth. Not reclaiming any history. Not telling the definitive story. Just having a bit of fun.

This is a story where queer love is as ancient and transcendent as straight love. It is as powerful
and mysterious. It is as awesome and terrifying. It is as horrific and beautiful.

Commissioned so generously by The Lilac Players.

Modern science has only explored 5% of the oceans on Earth and yet we walk around this planet very confident in our command and understanding of its mystery. Joan is a scientist seeking solace in the halls of academia from her personal misunderstandings. Her partner Beth is a poet who loves to party and loves Joan, but is sick of coming second to science.

Joan's current project is on temperature irregularities at the Mid-Ocean Ridge and after going down a rabbit-hole rifling through stacks and stacks of articles- she finds herself at the bottom of ocean at the source of the irregular heats, a Hydrothermal Vent. The Vent looks a lot to the human eye like a gay bar and the community living on it much like drag queens. Joan attempts to unravel the mystery of the Vent, but finds that the science ends up illuminating more about her personal dilemmas than her academics ones.

This play is comedic and also deeply serious and attempts to listen to the teachings of the natural world on how life can exist in a profoundly different way.