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Parliament Square

University Coalition of Young Artists

January 2019

Creative
Team

Direction -

Stage Management -

Scenic Design -

Costume Design -

Lighting & Projection Design -

Sound Design -

Trish Price

Nicole McLaughlin

Adam Jehle

Abagail Jones

Seth Brown

Levi Manners

Project Overview

Told in three acts, this story follows Kat and her decision to protest the state of the world by self-immolating in front of Parliament in London. "Fifteen seconds," she repeats to herself on the way to Parliament Square throughout the first act, is all she has to endure to make her statement. However, a brave passerby rescues her before those fifteen seconds are over.

The following two acts - Fifteen Steps and Fifteen Years - follow her recovery and life, respectively, as she and the people around her reckon with her decision. Who has the right to protest, and when? Who has the right to stop it? How can we effectively change the world?

Obviously, the show asks the audience to reflect on some very serious topics. One thing that stood out after reading the play was the incremental nature of the piece. We start with 15 seconds, we move to 15 steps, we end with 15 years. What starts off small ends up growing and growing until we are numb to the noise and it fades into the background. The injustice Kat is witnessing has brought her to a breaking point, but - as the show relentlessly reminds us in the third act - the world gets worse. There comes a point where we have to choose - act or ignore.

Listen to Top of Show and End of Show to hear this in the design. At the beginning of the story, Kat is overwhelmed by the current state of affairs. Over the course of 15 years, we as the audience see how these things can start feeling far away and like they no longer affect us. But, 15 seconds is all it takes to make a statement.

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Top of Show
00:00 / 00:53
Top of Act 2
00:00 / 00:25
End of Show
00:00 / 00:23
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