Content: Themes of violence, sexual content, and coarse language

In Mr. Burns: a Post-electric Play, playwright Anne Washburn sets out to explore what pop culture might live on in the event of an apocalypse. It’s a fun premise, but given the events of the past 5 years, Mr. Burns doesn’t feel as far-fetched a future possibility as it may have when it was written in 2012.

When I first encountered this play, I found it significant that Washburn never reveals what caused the catastrophe that sets off a nuclear disaster across America, but instead looks beyond what has happened and asks us to reckon with bigger questions: How do we define ourselves as a society in the face of unthinkable tragedy? How does one rebuild a community when everything is gone? What becomes sacred to those who survive?

Her answer: Storytelling.

In Mr. Burns, the characters are forced to make sense of the unknowable, and they do so by sharing stories. The content of the main story these characters tell, the “Cape Feare” episode of The Simpsons, is less important than the act of recalling and performing it together. We travel through time with this community from shortly after the disaster in Act 1, to seven years later in Act 2 and then jump 75 years into the future in Act 3. This story becomes the thread connecting the great Before and After for this community of survivors.

It is not necessary to know the details of that Simpsons episode, because at the heart of this play is the knowledge that storytelling, any storytelling, is as legitimate a means of survival as knowing how to light a fire or bandage a wound. Mr. Burns reminds us that stories told around a campfire can endure into the future, becoming mythic and sacred to those who experience them. Nothing is truly permanent, but the things we value from the past will always echo into the future. There is power and joy in connecting through art, theatre and storytelling.

Like so many of my favourite plays, Mr. Burns asks more questions than it answers. There is so much more to say about this play, but that is not the task we have been given. We are simply here to share in this story together. I hope you will re-tell it to others, as you reckon with what it all means for you. Enjoy!

Larisse Campbell
Director

Sam, Lisa, Bart Ava Albaisa
Colleen, Itchy, Shades of Springfield Cassandra Billy
1st Agent, Marge, Scratchy, Shades of Springfield Riya Chahal
Gibson, Sideshow Bob, Mr. Burns Kyle Deslippe
Matt, Homer Matthew Jin
Jenny, Marge Japnaam Kaur
Maria, 2nd Agent, Edna, Shades of Springfield Isabel Salazar
Quincy, Bart, Lisa Fiona Silvis

Director Larisse Campbell
Musical Director Mishelle Cuttler
Assistant Director Rose Ranger
Scenic Design Stella Chen
Asst. Scenic Design Stephanie Zheng, Hana Yoneyama, Catrina Albee
Costume Design Lauren Rankin
Asst. Costume Design Emma McDonald, Willow Tiessen
Lighting Design Maddie Steppler
Asst. Lighting Design Sylena Wong
Sound Design Jonah Marshall
Asst. Sound Design & Operation Stacey Kok, Emma Hamilton
Stage Manager Sydney Klose
Asst. Stage Managers Emily L Nash, Naina Sharma
ASM Lav Tech Camila Newton
ASM Swing Jenna (Hajung) Lee

Head Scenic Artist Eunsong Huh
Asst. Scenic Artist Nia Chauhan
Production Assistant Elizabeth Cho
Head Electrician Catrina Albee
LX Board Operators Galen Leftwich

Scenic Build Crew
Nia Chauhan, Stella Chen, Heyjun Choy, Camila Newton, Olivia Niese, Marília Saito, Summer Xu, Hana Yoneyama

Costume Build Crew
Diego Camacho, Leah Liu, Emma McDonald, Summer Xu, Cara Zhang

Run Crew
Krista Ellis, Leaf Jiang, Taryn Jiang, Kaia Love, Coco Qian, Serena Wang, Ella Xu

Paint Crew
Leah Liu, Marília Saito, Sylena Wong, Stephanie Zheng Feng

Props Build Crew
Diego Camacho, Nia Chuhan, Eunseong Huh, Leaf Jiang, Emma McDonald, Japer Oberst, Marília Saito, Willow Tiessen, Summer Xu

Lighting Crew
Catrina Albee, Stacey Kok, Galen Leftwich, Logan Soong

Department Head Kirsty Johnson
Direction Tom Scholte
Scenic Design Emily Dotson, Patrick Rizzotti
Run Crew Madeleine Molgat Laurin
Scenic Paint Lorraine West
Lighting Design Jeff Harrison
Sound Design Patrick Parra Pennefather
Costume Design Jacqueline Firkins
Stage Management Susan Miyagashima
Acting Jonathan Seinen
Movement Leora Morris
Voice Alana Hawley Purvis
Fight Choreography Mike Kovac, Sylvie La Riviere
Intimacy Natasha Martina

Academic Advisor Mia Booth
Production Manager Borja Brown
Film Program Administrator Sarah Crauder
Administrator Cam Cronin
Assistant to the Head Kirsten Dougans
Head of Wardrobe Jodi Jacyk
Audience Services Manager Tony Koelwyn
Head of Properties Amy Harris
Asst. Wardrobe Treena Hollands
Film Collections Coordinator Dmitri Lennikov
Film Program Technician Stuart MacFarlane
Grad Student Support Hilary McKee
Stage & Lighting Specialist (Sound) Ryan Murcar
Communications Specialist Linda Pitt
Department Secretary Karen Tong
Technical Director (Set) Jeremy Vreeken

Costume Assistants Lauren Rankin, Willow Thiesen
Properties Assistant Marília Saito, Willow Thiesen
Communications Assistant Carlett Decker

Graphic Designer Jonathan Wood
Photographer Javier R. Sotres
Pawduction Assistants Gracie, Lolo, Maccabee, Oz, Seamus, Teddy, Vegemite

The Arts Club Theatre Company, The Cultch, Mark Carter & VanStage, Sarah Adams, Vegas Donuts