March 2020. As California entered a “stay at home” order due to the coronavirus pandemic, UC Santa Barbara’s LAUNCH PAD commissioned 24 distinguished playwrights to pen monologues and short plays inspired by the prompt “Alone, Together” and written to be performed live on Zoom. The immediate goal was to create vibrant opportunities for theatre students during the challenging moment when in-person productions at all schools and theatres across the country were canceled and everyone quickly pivoted to remote teaching. The plays accomplished that—and so much more. These 39 extraordinary pieces reflect the moment of lockdown and capture our longing for connection. From Cheryl L. West’s and, following a desperate woman’s theft of a chicken and its dark aftermath to James Still’s poignant reflection on a life well-lived in, captures life during the pandemic and beyond.

Our production takes these pieces and marries them to musical performances to create a one-of-a-kind show, that gets the heart of our pandemic experience.

It's a story of the arts. It's a story about Enumclaw Arts. It's a story about being told you can't, and still finding a way. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the arts persist, and we use our life experience once again to grieve, move through, and move forward into this new world.