Original Stage Play
Fall 2020
The Monotonist: A Live Reading of a Work in Progress
Performed Live over Zoom Nov. 20th & Nov. 22nd, 2020. A recorded version was made and edited separately from these performances in order to streamline transitions. There are no interior edits within the scenes themselves.
THE MONOTONIST: A LIVE READING OF A WORK IN PROGRESS
Written and Directed by Theo Billups
Stage Managed by Elliot Allen
Video Editing/Sound Mixing by Theo Billups
STARRING:
Peter Dannug
Thomas Wagner
Char Nakashima-Conway
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The Monotonist is a dystopian, existential, absurd play that asks the question; “can one voice make a difference in a society built on misinformation and complacency?” The play is set in a megacity modeled after the brutalist and retro-futurist architecture of the 20th century but grapples with the plight of the average worker of the 21st century. We are forced into monotonous routines by our economic needs and similarly stuck in social contracts we never agreed to, because changing the norm and asking why is too difficult. What happens when one person breaks the monotony of this modern, hyper-regulated society that values the comfort of normality above all else? Is there a point to it all? Is that all there is?
DIRECTOR’S NOTE:
I’m currently a senior at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. I’ve directed some stuff before, I’ve attempted to write some stuff before, but this project is different. This semester, I wanted to write and share something that was wholly unique and mine. The Monotonist is that something. I’ve taken architecture and styles that inspire me, themes and questions that drive me, and all the absurdity I see in the world of today and made something new. This is a work-in-progress. It’s not nearly finished yet, but it is a cohesive representation of what the final version of what this play will be. I hope that it makes you think about and question your normal routines, all while making you laugh and feel something as well.
— Theo Billups, Fall 2020.
