Mary Moody Northen Theatre (MMNT) is preparing to take off to the moon with its upcoming production of “Walden (remix)” as the grand finale of the season. Playwright KJ Sanchez will direct her creation on the theater-in-the-round stage as a regional premiere.

Opening April 3, “Walden (remix)” follows H, an 18-year-old astronaut who is the first person to live alone on the moon. She is tasked with harvesting Helium-3 as a potential solution to Earth’s energy crisis.

“We are on a trajectory with our government systems and climate change that feels so out of our control sometimes, and I think that’s where H’s motivations come from,” senior Marie Ritchie said. “She can’t stand to be in a situation where she doesn’t feel she has any control, so that’s why she went on this mission.”

Sanchez was commissioned by the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, to make a play specifically for people between the ages of 16 and 25 as part of their Classic Remix Project. She wanted to adapt a book that was on every high school student’s reading list, and that’s how she picked “Walden and Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau.

​​”Walden (remix)” is an adaptation of this book, set slightly in our future. For her play, she explored how young people feel about inheriting this world with all its associated challenges. She interviewed people in that age range, asking them what social and climate justice meant to them – “How do you stay connected with humanity when we, your elders, have just been kind of crappy?”

“I think ‘Walden (remix)’ is about restoring a broken world,” senior Erick Aguilar said. “I think that’s what the overall arching theme of the play is. Whether it’s race, environment or even family bonds – it’s about fixing previous mistakes past generations made.”

The collaborative process extended to the rehearsal room, with St. Edward’s performing arts students providing feedback and even suggesting some line changes. Sanchez explains that the challenge of a new work is to discover what it is while rehearsing it.

“I don’t look at other people’s work before a performance, but it gives me a little bit of solace knowing the piece and the character better just because it has been done before,” senior Indigo Lane said. “And with Lucy, I am creating her. So every choice that I make will kind of live as the first choice that Lucy has ever made – which is terrifying, but also really cool.”

Ritchie and Lane both noted that their roles in “Walden (remix)” break from the stereotypical characters they usually play, particularly in terms of age and realism.

The University of Texas at Austin sophomore and guest artist Chandler Collins plays H’s best friend, Marshall. Collins explains that Marshall not only does support H, but he also makes sure she is aware of the reality of life on Earth. 

“Marshall represents the viewpoint of the less-fortunate people in our community, the people who are a little money conscious because they have to be,” Collins said. “Which plays a part in helping H be grounded in the reality of ‘there’s a whole world of people down here who are having their own struggles and also going through life and trying to make sure there is food on the table, while also trying to go for our dream but in a way that we can’t do that the same way that she can.’” 

Collins refers to Marshall as a dreamer without the resources that H has, and hopes that through the show and his character, people see the importance and the power that art has to change the world. 

“You have H, who is literally doing rocket science and research trying to figure out solutions in climate change,” Collins said. “You have Emily who is this super passionate protestor, always out at rallies and marches, fighting for policy makers to make changes on our planet. Then Marshall, who is not in either of those worlds but really wants to use arts as a way to inspire change in our community.”

H maintains contact with her friends on Earth via video calls until her ties with humanity gradually fade throughout the play. Her only constant companion is an artificial intelligence (AI) system she calls Larry Bird. 

Sanchez didn’t think she was writing a play that included AI until it naturally happened during her research into NASA and the Artemis program, with its role of keeping astronauts stimulated.

“So I created an AI to keep H company and stimulate her mind but as they are up there, as she is moving away from humanity, the AI system is learning – because that’s what they do, constantly learn, if A then B – and sort of growing around her just like nature was growing around Thoreau so many hundreds of years ago,” Sanchez said. “So part of the plot is: what happens when it grows so much that it starts acting human.” 

Aguilar, who plays Larry Bird, faces unique challenges in bringing his character to life and evolving it throughout the play.   

“One of the big themes that you have to think about is nature versus nurture because it really follows, learns and watches H from the beginning up to a certain point where it becomes affirmative,” Aguilar said. “And that’s the scary part to me, once Larry Bird begins taking its own action.”

Aguilar first approached Larry Bird in a very monotone way, like Siri or Alexa would answer, to make it sound artificial and without any emotion behind it. But throughout rehearsals, Aguilar began to think about what intentions the AI could have, as it is installed to watch over and take care of her, even if H doesn’t want that. 

“I think this play does a really good job at highlighting how we think about AI being this evil thing, but when in reality, humans are doing things that are much worse,” Aguilar said. “What’s scarier – something created by humans like AI taking over and becoming stronger, or how much can AI be used to aid and correct the horrible things that humans are doing to the earth?”

The evolving character of Larry Bird was one of the main challenges for junior costume designer Avalon McPhail.

“As a new work, things are shifting a lot, and there aren’t any previous ideas to draw inspiration from or any kind of established way of doing certain characters like Larry Bird, who is not a real person, but appears physically on stage,” McPhail said. “Figuring out how we’re going to represent him, and the narrator as well, was a really big challenge. Everyone else is pretty much a real person, but those characters in particular, they had to be both what I designed and what the director envisioned, and what they became as the rehearsal process started.” 

This is the first show McPhail designed on her own. She explains that beyond the scary, nerve-wracking process and the amount of responsibility she had, she learned a lot from this experience. 

“Walden (remix)” opens this Thursday and will run through April 13. The evening performances are from Thursdays to Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and matinee performances on Sundays at 2 p.m. 

“It has a lot to say about our current political climate and our current climate in general,” junior Tori Petrosino, who is the narrator, said. “And I think that this show will impact young audiences because they are the kids of our future. They’re going to be changing the world and taking on the role of cleaning up our planet and fixing the mistakes that a lot of our older generations might have caused. I think that by seeing this show, we could influence them in their decisions looking forward in their lives.”

Tickets can be bought on the MMNT website or with Topper Tender directly at the box office. 

“After this regional premiere, it’ll go on to a world premiere and hopefully, it’ll go on to many productions and from here on out,” Sanchez said. “Wherever the play goes, these students here at St. Ed’s will forever be part of this script.”