NEW PLAY: Cavepaint

I recently uploaded the post-initial production draft of CAVEPAINT to the New Play Exchange.

Poster by student L.B.

As I described in a previous post, this play emerged from a process that started with design and theatre tech, and became about challenging the performers. Unlike a number of my comedies for middle schoolers, it isn’t campy, though humor marbles the seriousness.

Q/A

Q. “What’s it about?”

A. “In a cave that folds time, a cavepainter documents the stories of those who get lost throughout history. He is trapped by his desire to create something perfect. Some are lost because of grief, some from shame and embarrassment, some from guilt, some from the careerist drive to accomplish a life’s work. The cave means many things. The painter only watches, never helps. And then, something happens, and the stories start to connect.”

Q. “How many actors is it for?”

A. “It’s for twelve actors, with some doubling. It would also work with up to 15 actors.

Q. “Is it ONLY for middle school actors?”

A. “It was made to challenge a group of them, who were all game for a serious, artsy piece. So it’s not for every middle school. I hope adults and high schools would also find it fitting, though they may wish to change lines like “I’ll never eat another potato” to “I’ll never eat another goddamn potato.” That’s probably the sharpest difference between this play and one tailored for older actors given the challenging material.”

Q. “Are the technical designs complex?”

A. “Yes and no. Design is important to the story, but these can also be simple. It’s set in a cave with paintings – that’s important. The paintings light up and emit tones that bring in people from different time periods – that can be as elaborate or as simple as necessary. I can imagine low tech ways of telling a story about people entering from different eras.”

Q. “Is it appropriate for, like, elementary kids?”

A. “Well, there’s an accidental death in a mining accident. Other than that there’s nothing inappropriate, unless you think gay people shouldn’t exist. But it’s a play about a bunch of people who get lost in a cave that represents their Big Feelings. And the goal was for it to be artsy and evocative, but coherent. So it’s really for older audiences.”

Q. “What do you love about it as a playwright?”

A. “I love that this play seems like a collection of stories about lonely people disconnected from each other. Their stories don’t so much intertwine, but rather they are witnessed by the others, and this impacts them, makes ’em less alone. I love that it’s also low-key about connections between generations. There’s a scene where a gay woman who is around my age and from 2024 tries to comfort a young queer person from 1955, and I love the idea of the future generation having something to offer a young person from another era. There’s another storyline about someone who meets their mother as a young child. I love that there’s a canonically nonbinary character in the play. I love that there’s a great deal of heartbreak in the play, and there’s joy – and there’s this really obnoxious brother in a band who ties everything together.”