The primordial era.

In my play The Pentaeon, nine MIT astrophysicists find themselves stranded in a retreat house during a hurricane. To pass the time, two perky undergraduates act out the lifespan of the universe. The snapshot above is of Jeanae (Kelly Sloan) and Nadine (Ariana Dziedzic) performing “Act I: The Primordial Era.” In the entire mini-development process at Fox Valley Rep, I was so impressed with the actors’ inventiveness, insight, and willingness to be completely ridiculous. Including turning the primordial era into a Black Power salute.

Left to right: Prianka (Anupama Bhatt), Michaela (Annie Prichard), Dominic (Aram Monisoff), Wendy (Lauren Pizzi), Jeanae (Kelly Sloan), Nadine (Ariana Dziedzic), and Phineas (Aaron Rustebakke). 

And my director was Reshmi Hazra. I don’t know what auspicious alignment of the stars matched us up, but we got along like old friends from the get-go. The whole experience made me so much more excited about a script I’d found so difficult to write—their confidence gave me confidence, and I’m very grateful.

So here’s to the next step for The Pentaeon! The thing’s got legs now.