Matthew and I received a commission to write this piece last winter, and we had a draft done by the spring. At the time, the thought of a Trump presidency was still somewhat absurd. But there was something in the air, and both of us felt it.
We had a workshop of the piece in October, right as the video tapes of Trump bragging about grabbing pussy came out. It was no longer absurd to think about him becoming President, it was scary.
I’m not sure how it will feel to revisit this this January, in Washington DC, right before his inauguration. But I think the question it poses is even more relevant now than a year ago. What kind of a country are we going to become?
Lifeboat – January 14, 2017 7pm and 9pm
Music by Matthew Peterson
Libretto by Emily Roller
Three refugees are stranded in an inflatable lifeboat out in the open ocean; they are the sole survivors of a shipwreck. After three days, tensions erupt between the strangers, who each fled the same conflict for different reasons. As their pasts are revealed, cooperation – and survival – seem unlikely. Lifeboat explores and challenges the ideals of courage, social justice, and service; can these ideals overcome major divides between people of different backgrounds and experiences? Can we all live in the same boat? A JFKC Commission.
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