UC Santa Cruz

An experiment in linear playwriting, "The Last Croissant", a new play, explores the possibilities of crafting non gender, age, sexuality, or race specific roles while following a traditional story arc with developed characters. A farcical framing with a single setting, heightened language, circumstances, and meta-theatrical casting is employed to achieve this effect. The result is a clown tragedy camping trip with a minimalist aesthetic, stylized word play and characters that span the spectrum of absurdism to caricature to naturalism. Magical realism is heavily employed and serves as a bridge between these otherwise disparate elements, stitching together clown-like moments of wonder with more relatable honest interactions. Ultimately this play follows the lives of individuals who, much like everyone I have ever met, are taking a moment to stop and think--sometimes with amazement, sometimes with anger, and sometimes with despair, before continuing to get by