 "Photo: Photo courtesty of Jen Garza")
 "Photo: Photo courtesty of Jen Garza")
A comedy about Armageddon is hard to picture, but a new world will be painted across the stage of Wismer Theatre in the upcoming play "Natural Selection."
"The play examines and illuminates the struggles that we as individuals in a society experience when re-encountering demons in our culture," said Cynthia Lammel, the play's director.
In the future, plague and natural disaster force society to condense into sanitized cities and rely on technology for most human contact. Henry Carson, the main character, is manager of the Native American Pavilion exhibit at Wonder World, a theme park where people come to peek into the past.
When one of his stocks dies, Carson is forced to venture into the wild to find an authentic American Indian to complete his exhibit. The play examines race in an unconventional way and forces people to ask, what is authentic?
Carson's authentic American Indian turns out to have a dark family connection to him dating back generations.
"It's been a hard play to describe because it covers so much," Lammel said. "There are just so many different themes, and they're all dear to me."
The play pokes fun at American culture's obsession with e-mail, cell phones, computers and all other communication technologies. While people think they are becoming more connected, they are actually losing human contact, Lammel said.
"We have become dissociated from one another," she said. "We spend so much time in front of computer screens that the one-on-one thing seems to be somewhat lost."
In the play, virtual experiences have replaced real ones. The main character's son even takes swimming lessons in the comfort of his bedroom, something the cast and crew find very funny, Lammel said.
"You can learn how to do the strokes and how to move your arms and feet, but without the experience of being in the water, is it really swimming?" Lammel said.
The play also alludes to global warming as the clean and neutral society is threatened by more natural disaster, Lammel said. And Zhao, the American Indian, must help the characters leave their ways behind as the world disintegrates around them.
The set and costumes are contemporary and help convey the reality people could face in the future, said Annaliese Baker, the costume designer.
"How this transpires is ridiculous, but it is plausible," Baker said. "I think it affects everyone to some degree, and I like that it's so new and timely."
It's only been a year and a half since the play's first production, which gives it a fresh feel and makes it relevant, Lammel said.
Eric Coble wrote the play, and it was featured in the 2006 Humana Festival in Louisville, Ky. That's where Dan Schindler, a theater professor, first saw the production and thought it would be a good cautionary tale for Chico.
"(Coble) takes it so far beyond where we are that you laugh at it," Lammel said. "But it's who we could become if we don't pay attention."
The story comments on issues in society with a little tongue in cheek, but for those who don't like social and political commentary, they can still enjoy the play's sheer comedy, Lammel said.
"It's hilarious from beginning to end," said senior Davis Carlson, a cast member.
Carlson, 21, plays Ernie, who he describes as a walking catastrophe who acts like a manly man. Ernie screws up at every turn, Carlson said. But he doesn't minimize the overall message of human connections.
"Don't get me wrong, this show is a comedy, but it does deal with some serious stuff," Carlson said. "It's going to be a great show with spectacle, drama and humor. It's going to speak to everyone's inner voice."
He thinks Lammel really captured the spirit of the play.
"She single-handedly created a cohesive bond in the cast and crew that really pushed the journey of the play forward," Carlson said.
The play opens tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Wismer Theatre. Lammel encourages everyone to check out the show, although parents should be warned there is cursing, she said. She hopes people will leave the theater thinking about their future.
"I hope they contemplate where we are headed as a society," Lammel said. "It's a vision of how we can hold hands with our enemies and evolve into the next species of man."
Laura Hauser can be reached at lhauser@theorion.com
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