Description

No Strings Theatre Company presents "Fallout," a new play by Laura King at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N Main Street in Las Cruces.

Anna has a well equipped fallout shelter built by her father. When the sirens sound one day, she pulls David, her lawn handyman, in with her. As the play unfolds, the audience discovers many hidden truths about both. The play stars Joshua Taulbee as David and Gina De Mondo as Anna.

Joshua Taulbee is doing double duty, starring in the show and designing the set. Light design is by No Strings Resident Designer, Peter Herman. Bekah Taulbee will be running the lights and sound for the show. Playwright Laura King will be coming from Atlanta for the opening weekend of her play. She will do a talkback after the performances on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.

"Fallout" runs from May 3 - May 19. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8, Sunday Matinees at 2:30 p.m. on May 12 and 19, and a Thursday performance on May 16 at 7 p.m.
Call (575) 523-1223 for reservations

Director's Note

Director's Note
New plays are submitted by e-mail to us at the Black Box Theatre in summary form. We receive many submissions, and occasionally, I contact the playwright and ask for a full script of the play. Fallout was one of these. I was so moved by reading it that I immediately called Laura and asked if we could produce it here. I remember way back when everyone was encouraged to have their own fallout shelter, JUST IN CASE, and what a fearful time that was. However, Fallout is not set in the past but rather in the present ."When will they ever learn?" is the chorus in one of my preshow song selections. When indeed?

I thank my amazing cast and production team for their creative input into this process. We are thrilled that Laura will be with us for our opening weekend and participate in a talkback after each performance. Enjoy this thought-provoking play!

Playwrights's Note
Fallout was developed through workshops and readings with the Hollins University Lab Festival of New Works, Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke, VA, CenterPieces Reading Series, Mill Mountain Theatre, the Atlantic Stage Third Annual New Voices Playfest, Myrtle Beach, SC, New Works Development Series, Out of Box, Marietta, GA, and Baltimore Playwright's Festival Reading Series, Fells Point Corner Theatre, Baltimore, MD. Fallout received first place in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, National Playwriting Project, Region IV, One Act Play Competition in 2014 and was the winner of the 2016 Georgia Theatre Conference One-Act Playwriting Competition. Fallout premiered in 2017 at Vagabond Players, Baltimore, MD, as part of the 2017 Baltimore Playwrights Festival and was subsequently produced at Onion Man Productions, Chamblee, GA.

Credits

Director
Set Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Producer
Anna
David
Sound Board Operator
Poster And Tee Shirt Design
House Manager Coordinator

Reviews

'Fallout': what's out there and what's in here
- Mike Cook, Las Cruces Bulletin

I've rarely had the privilege of attending a play with the playwright in the audience as I did on opening night of "Fallout" at Black Box Theatre. I couldn't help but glance at Laura King, who came to Las Cruces from her home in Atlanta for the opening, wondering what she was thinking as the play unfolded.
The talkback after the performance with King, actors Joshua Taulbee and Gina DeMondo and director Ceil Herman, was enlightening. King said she wrote "Fallout" in just a few days as part of a graduate-school assignment. Its pivotal scene was based on an article she read about an American soldier trying to save a child trapped in a well in Afghanistan.
Taulbee brought that scene powerfully to life midway through the 70-minute, one-act play. It gives you insight into the personal struggles of both characters and the talent and vulnerability of both actors. King expressed her gratitude to Taulbee (who also designed the set) and DeMondo for their performances, which I'm sure were gut-wrenching for them and must have been very emotional for her. It's part of the magic and wonder of live theatre that a playwright gets to hear and see how his or her work is interpreted at the same time that cast and crew get to meet the person who created the work to which they are giving their time and talent.
The entire play takes place in an underground fallout shelter, with no scene or costume changes. It's just these two characters in the small space in which they are confined together, and in the even more confining spaces they discover and explore within themselves.
Herman uses a chair at the left of the stage almost like a witness box, where each character in his or her turn is grilled by the other character and exposes dark secrets - he can't stand being in the small, locked, windowless shelter; she doesn't want to leave it, ever.
You won't learn the answers to all the mysteries explored in this play, but you will get some interesting insights about the characters and maybe even about yourself - the dark places we hide in and hide from and the "strangers" with whom we share life's journey.
Note the powerful addition of the red, white and blue afghan that both characters are wrapped in at different times during the play. It was crocheted by the show's light and sound board operator, Bekah Taulbee.
"Fallout" continues for two more weekends at Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Main St.: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 10-11 and 17-18; 2:30 p.m. Sundays, May 12 and 19; and 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16.
Tickets are $15 regular and $12 students and seniors over 65. All seats on May 16 are $10.
Call 575-523-1223 for reservations or visit www.no-strings.org. Mike Cook may be contacted at mike@lascrucesbulletin. com.

Seating