Planet A

Synopsis: Witness, without a fourth wall, the secrets, thoughts and frustrations of past lives and present realities of Alzheimer's patients, their professional caregivers, and family members. At an Alzheimer's facility, an arts facilitator working with patients unlocks the door to this world through an interwoven narrative of monologues and dialog from distinct points of view. Follow Pauline's journey, one patient among many who are tethered to Planet Alzheimer after crossing into the abyss of this incurable disease. (This play is cast age-blind except for the Arts Facilitator.) Pauline arrives hesitantly with suitcase in hand, not knowing that she is entering a place that will become her new and final home. She befriends William, another patient, and they form an odd bond in this limbo-land of Alzheimer's. Pauline's husband and William's wife visit and reveal their love, frustration, anger, confusion, and the burden spouses who must abandon their loved ones, share. We follow Pauline's trajectory, an unexpected curve where anyone could find themselves at death's end. Other patients weave their way through the maze this disease, telling stories from their inner, altered states. Family members and loved ones lives are changed as each divulge what they never would have dreamed of revealing before they became visitors to this strange world. Voices of both pain and joy emerge though the haze of confusion this planet's atmosphere breathes: While the disease unites some, a daughter confronts her father/patient about past infidelities; a son struggles with sibling rivalry, guilt and the responsibility placed upon him; a teenager tries to make sense of his lack of understanding of Alzheimer's, his grandfather's behavior and the circumstances he faces with his parents from the sandwich generation; a child confronts the fear of not being recognized by a grandparent whom she has known since birth. We, the viewers, stand on the threshold of this mysterious terrain with those with early stages of this disease who struggle between lucidity and the inevitable as they step over the border. The attitudes of aides who care for these inhabitants range from compassionate to cruel and even criminal as they deal with those around them: one struggles with a doctor's notion of apathy, another abuses those in her care in more ways than one, a third compares his work to the scaling and preparation of fish for the pan, one murders a patient who only speaks in fragmented language, and another asks us, if you had the gene for this disease, would you want to know?  As the gates close behind us - the visitors to Planet A - we, Pauline, the arts facilitator, and all others, are transformed by the weight and breadth of Alzheimer's disease. This is a cautionary tale that stands as a reminder that we are more like those inhabitants of Planet A than we may first suspect. This disease and its ramifications carry no preferences for race, class, gender, or even age. This film confronts each of our fears that we may one day be confined by this twisted terrain, while it shines a light on the dignity of those afflicted and the battles of those who care for Planet A's inhabitants. The encroaching enemy resides in the core of Planet A and stands in the way of any chance of escape. Pauline, along with every inhabitant and visitor to this landscape, must face the ultimate crisis that binds her and the lives of other inhabitants to the encompassing disintegration of their brains. Planet A sets forth an eerie landscape with no exit, yet sheds light on the dignity of prisoners entrapped in this dark world.

Notes: Actors, cast age and race-blind, play multiple roles, and change costume and character in full sight during of the play. This work without a forth wall can be staged in a traditional theatre, in the round, or as an open frame/immersive work. The arts facilitator is the exception to blind-casting; this character appears to be in his or her late 30's/early 40's. Although casting is non age-specific, the characters range from forty to ninety. The characters are not to be played as crazy, or old in a stereo-typical fashion. The use of various ethnic and regional accents is encouraged for some characters, so to emphasize the broad population this disease touches. When casting, diversity is encouraged. Monologue Excerpt, Pauline's Husband, included in Smith & Kraus, "Best Male Monologues, 2019" Development History: NYC International Fringe Festival (under the title, Piece of Mind)