Genre:
Romantic-comedy drama
Runtime:
90 - 90 mins
Cast:
7 male(s), 3 female(s), gender-flexible
Synopsis:
"Occupied" is the story of eight California college students in 1970 who, swept up in the political unrest of the time, take over the college president's office to protest everything from Vietnam to dorm curfews.
Although essentially an ensemble piece, the main storyline features Ted and Edith, who meet at a protest planning session. Their initial attraction results in a romantic encounter following a demonstration (a circumstance which I can attest was not unusual) and is heightened when, after Ted's caught leaving Edith's room after hours and she's charged with violating the curfew, Edith's disciplinary meeting explodes in a near-riot and illegal sit-in. (A major interest of the subject matter to me was the idea of two people falling in love in the middle of an occupation.)
Most of the rest of the play takes place in the president's office and includes tense negotiations, a pot party, a famous political agitator, flying pizza, armed state police, a "Dance-In", an unexpected betrayal, and a love affair as unsettled as the times. While the play follows shifting emotions, both personal and political, among the students, its core is the Sixties turning into the Seventies - the politics, sex, music and culture of the times - and its young protagonists' first experience with a world beyond their under-standing.
After six days, the occupiers get a message that they need to leave, fast; when they do, they run into a violent protest. The kids realize that changing the world takes more than occupying an office, while Ted and Edith realize they can be each other's support.
Notes:
World premiere currently scheduled for Alliance Repertory Company, Los Angeles, Spring 2011.
Contact: