When We Grow Up was crafted with the audience in mind. For every single choice we made, we had to stop and think about how that choice would affect the comfort of the audience. Would the audience feel too uncomfortable at how scary and mean this character is? Is the audience too comfortable and content to just sit and complacently watch the events of the show? When We Grow Up fosters an atmosphere where the audience is driven not merely to watch, but also to act.
This atmosphere is absolutely required for this show, because When We Grow Up cannot function without audience agency. The audience is presented with an alternate world where children are forced to choose their careers at a young age. Our nerdy protagonist Terrance accidently sends the audience into this parallel dimension, where the audience comes face to face with three prisoners who have broken the law and tried to change their careers and a menacing, Kafkaesque judge. The audience must then take part in an absurd game to try and escape.
The audience is asked to reflect on their own lives as they must try to decide the least valuable job in the room. As the judge says, “You must fight for the right to leave with your newfound sense of value.” And fight they do, whether they are fighting the other audience members, the actors in the prison, or the Orwellian system that makes the rules in the first place.
We give the audience complete agency over how the show will play out. And while there are no stakes (the characters never try to give the illusion that this is not just a show), there are very real beliefs on the line. The audience fights over the jobs in the room in a kooky, science fiction frame, but they must not lose sight of how they as individuals value other people. Do we value someone for who they are on the inside or just what they can produce for society? Do we value education, intellect, or perseverance and dedication? We don’t have any answers for you, but maybe we can come closer to understanding our valuation of others together.
So come play with us. Come discover this kooky, absurd world that we’ve worked so hard to create and put on the stage for you. All you have to bring is yourselves and your willingness to jump into this world with us. You might not like it, but you’ll never know until you roll the dice.
PERFORMANCES AT:
W.S. Jenks & Son
910 Bladensburg Road NE, in Washington, DC 20002
Saturday 7/11 at 9:30 PM
Thursday 7/16 at 8:15 PM
Saturday 7/18 at 9:45 PM
Sunday 7/19 at 4:45 PM
Friday 7/24 at 6:00 PM
Sunday 7/26 at 6:30 PM
FOR TICKETS, CALL (866) 811-4111, OR PURCHASE THEM ONLINE.
