[Waveforms Intro Theme begins to play — bright staccato synth music.] [ADAM] Hello! My name is Adam Grant Warren. I’m a playwright, an actor, and the Co-Artistic Director of Realwheels Theatre. [NATASHA] And I’m Natasha Nadir. I’m a director, a dramaturg, and a playwright. [ADAM] For those of you who are new to Realwheels, we’re a Disability-led company based in Vancouver, Canada. Our work in theatre and performance creation explores the fullness and complexity of disability experience, identity, and community. [NATASHA] It’s been our absolute pleasure to spend the last 10 weeks – from September to December of 2024 – with an incredible group of 10 emerging playwrights who identify with disability. Each week, we dug into ideas of character, story structure, and even creative process to bring excerpts of some really exciting plays-in-progress from the minds of these writers to your ears. [ADAM] Our Playwriting Circles have been around for a while, but this year we thought we’d try something new. For the first time in our history, we’re sharing this work in podcast form, featuring original music and sound design by the award-winning duo, Finka Wood. [NATASHA] With one excerpt per episode, you’ll also hear the playwrights in conversation with us. We’ll talk a little bit about what drew them to write their play and why the work feels important to them. Without further ado, [ADAM] Welcome to Waveforms. [Music ends with a flourish] [NATASHA] This week, I’m talking to Ethan Stark in Winnipeg about his play, Sinking Ship. Sinking Ship is a queer and modern reimagining of Charon, the ferryman featured in Greek mythology. Since the beginning of humankind, they have been tasked with emotionally preparing the newly dead to go to the place you never come back from. Over and over again they get attached, and over and over again they end up alone. One day, it is Charon’s childhood best friend Arlo who ends up on the boat, and Charon can’t bear to be parted from them again. [Water lapping and wood creaking.] [STAGE DIRECTIONS] A rowboat in an ocean at blue houred dawn. Arlo discovers the two large coins from the top of the show. [ARLO] Hey, what’re-? [CHARON] You stopped moving, I win! [ARLO] What’re these? [CHARON] What? Oh! Those are mine! [ARLO] Why do you have [CHARON] Give them back! [ARLO] These, this is exactly how they looked in my dream, how did you… [Dreamy ringing noise builds.] [STAGE DIRECTIONS] Arlo holds them in their palm, one in each hand just like in their dream. In a trance, they slowly raise one coin to each eye. [CHARON] No, don’t! [ARLO] Do you see that? It’s- wow it’s [STAGE DIRECTIONS] Charon rips the coins out of Arlo’s hands. [Ringing stops.] [ARLO] Hey! What’re you, wait, no don’t, don’t! [Coins drop in the water.] [ARLO] Why would you do that? [CHARON] Come on, come and get me! [ARLO] Now they’re never gonna let me pass on! [CHARON] What? [ARLO] What? [CHARON] What do you mean by that? [ARLO] I don’t know, I don’t know why I just said that, it just kinda fell out of me [CHARON] Weird! Say, are you thirsty? [ARLO] It felt right though. It felt, wait, what’re we doing here? Are we trying to get somewhere? [CHARON] Sit down, have a drink [ARLO] We are, aren’t we? Because, wait, how did we get here? [CHARON] Here you go! [ARLO] No, I’m not gonna drink [CHARON] Well you threw it up earlier so maybe it’s not [ARLO] Because there was a before, wasn’t there, where we, gods why can’t I remember, it’s like it’s on the tip of my tongue but there’s something in the way. [CHARON] I really think you should drink more before, I just think you should [ARLO] Before what? [CHARON] Huh? [ARLO] Before what? [CHARON] Did I say before? I think I meant to pour, like you should pour some into your mouth! [Ambiance fades out.] [NATASHA] In terms of this mythological world, are there things that it would be helpful for the audience to know? [ETHAN] In my version of this myth, Arlo somehow has arrived on this ship, which shouldn’t be possible. And they have these two coins, these two giant coins, two drachmas. And Charon responds by starting to take away Arlo’s memory. Charon starts giving Arlo some water from the River Lethe, which in Greek myth would wipe away dead souls’ memories so that they could be reborn. And they’ve been playing little games. Charon’s just trying to keep Arlo happy and occupied so that Arlo will stay on the boat as long as possible. So they have this little play they do, this little puppet show with a screwdriver and a hammer that they do. They play a lot of cards. They play a lot of “Go Fish”. But gradually, Arlo is becoming more and more disillusioned and keeps asking more and more questions. [Water lapping resumes.] [ARLO] What aren’t you telling me? [CHARON] Nothing! [ARLO] I don’t think that’s true [CHARON] Okay, well [ARLO] I’m gonna ask you again, okay, why are we here? [CHARON] Because, there was a, crash, and the, earth flooded, so now we [ARLO] No. [CHARON] But that’s what happened! And now we just have to stay here forever because [ARLO] Stop lying to me [CHARON] I’m not lying! [ARLO] Oh come on, you’ve been a terrible liar since we were kids. [CHARON] … Do you, remember? [ARLO] What? [CHARON] Nothing! [ARLO] Look, if you’re not gonna tell me then I’m just gonna have to go. [CHARON] Go? Go where? [ARLO] I don’t know, but I know there’s something out there, something you’re hiding from me. [CHARON] No you can’t. [ARLO] Watch me. [CHARON] I can’t do this again, especially not with you, please. [ARLO] Why especially not with me? [STAGE DIRECTIONS] Charon looks up. [CHARON] Please! Do something! [ARLO] Who are you talking to? [CHARON] Please! [STAGE DIRECTIONS] Charon dumps out the jar of seashells and starts desperately organizing them just right. [ARLO] I’m not gonna count the shells! Hey! Look at me! Stop! [CHARON] No no no no no no no no. I need to finish, I need to finish, because you, you are gonna stay and I’m never gonna let you go again. [CRACK!] [STAGE DIRECTIONS] The boat gives way and water begins gushing in, Arlo and Charon freeze, taking this in, then both start manically bailing out the water, hammering boards back to place, screwing nails in, duct taping pieces. [The flow of water slows.] [CHARON] Let’s count the shells! [ARLO] No [CHARON] Time to count the shells [ARLO] No [CHARON] Are you sure? [ARLO] Yup. [NATASHA] What was the inspiration for writing this play on this subject? [ETHAN] It just started out of this little 10-minute scene for a showcase with a theatre called One Trunk Theatre here in Winnipeg. And then I wanted to keep developing it. So I was doing this playwriting mentorship with someone named Elio Zarillo, and they had kind of given me the advice that I needed to figure out literally, functionally, what is happening? Because initially it was just a challenge of how many interesting stage pictures could I find by confining two characters in a small space, so a boat. And the boat was kind of a metaphor. You know, “Don’t rock the boat”, “What’s going on underneath the surface”, and what happens in a relationship when you don’t communicate and acknowledge anything ever. So I was thinking about friendship and how when a friendship ends, there’s this weird thing that happens because in a romantic relationship, you have a very clear breakup. Like, okay, now we’re done, usually. But with friendship, it can often fizzle out over a long period of time. And I was also realizing how similar that is to death. Like, people I’ve lost in my life who have died, how that grief also kind of fizzles out over a large period of time. And then I’ve also really been into Greek mythology since I was kind because of Percy Jackson, probably. So I realized, like, what if the incarnate of faring souls to the dead world, Charon, who is also in a boat, was dealing with this grief? What would that look like? [Water lapping resumes.] [CHARON] I’m glad I caught you. Sometimes you catch things and, it needs to be thrown back cause it's just taking up space. Like Cod. But I’m glad you’re here. I never thought I’d see you again. Before you, there were others, and they were all lovely but having you here it’s, and when there aren’t others, I have to play cards by myself. Which is nice cause I always win but then I always still have to go fishing. And it’s hard doing the scene when you have to move them both yourself. The voices get all mixed up, sometimes it makes me lose my voice and then both of the voices are wrong… and I can't listen to the shells as good as you can…But you’re here now! [ARLO] I’m here now. Why don’t we do the scene? [CHARON] But [ARLO] Time for the scene. [CHARON] Okay, time for the scene. [ARLO] Why don’t we go from the arrival of the creature. [CHARON] But that’s so [ARLO] I believe you have the first line. [STAGE DIRECTIONS] Arlo gestures for Charon to begin the puppet show. Charon plays the screwdriver and Arlo plays the hammer. [CHARON, Screwdriver’s voice] Oh no, the creature, it’s approaching. [ARLO, Hammer’s voice] We will fight it. Together we will win the day. [CHARON, Screwdriver’s voice] But how will we ever see it in all this fog? [ARLO, Hammer’s Voice] I will clear a way for us [STAGE DIRECTIONS] The hammer starts swinging at the fog until it dissipates revealing the creature, played by a water logged shoe. It roars a terrible roar. [CHARON, Screwdriver’s voice] I'm frightened [ARLO, Hammer’s Voice] Me too [CHARON, Screwdriver’s Voice] You can turn back at any moment [ARLO, Hammer’s Voice] Thank you for saying that, and actually, on second thought I do think I’d better leave you to your quest. [CHARON] What? [ARLO] I wish you the best of luck. [CHARON] No that’s not, this isn’t how the story goes! [ARLO] Why not? [CHARON] Because… [ARLO] No go on, tell me, why does the hammer have to sacrifice itself? [CHARON] I don’t know, it just does [ARLO] Don’t you think the hammer has quests of its own? Don’t you think it has dreams outside of hanging out with the screwdriver for the rest of its pathetic little life? [CHARON] It’s not, the hammer loves the screwdriver [ARLO] Why? Who are they to each other? [CHARON] It’s just a story [ARLO] Okay. Then who are we to each other? [CHARON] We’re, I dunno [ARLO] How did we get here? [CHARON] We just did. [ARLO] But there was a before, right? [CHARON] …Yes, there was a before. [ARLO] And we were young once, weren’t we? [CHARON] Yes, we were young, and we were together. [ARLO] And then time came to be, and we were all assigned our place in the fabric of the universe [CHARON] That’s right. [ARLO] You were to man the ferry and I never thought I’d see you again because gods don’t die the way mortals do. And I [CHARON] Yes. [ARLO] But somehow I found myself here anyway, which shouldn’t be possible. How did I? Wait I, oh gods I, oh no, I remember. [CHARON] You do? [ARLO] It was broken, it was broken and I couldn’t, so I left, I left and now. [CHARON] How long have you not been drinking this? [ARLO] I just left. [CHARON] You can’t just stop drinking it like that! It’s gonna, you’re not supposed to just stop, you gotta go slow and steady or it’ll all come flowing back [ARLO] Oh gods.. Oh gods… [STAGE DIRECTIONS] Arlo collapses to the ground, shaking, overwhelmed. [CHARON] -At once. [NATASHA] So you touched on some of the themes that you’re exploring in the play. Is there anything else you wanted to add to that? [ETHAN] Yeah so I’d say loss of friendship, grief, and death is definitely one of the bigger ones. Another one that I didn’t really realize I was exploring until people in our weekly meetings would bring it up… I’m exploring kind of a loss of faith. In the show, Arlo kind of realizes that they’ve been a part of this system that’s not really working, that the people in charge have kind of just abandoned it and the people who are left are trying to hold it together, even though it’s to their detriment. And so I was thinking about that, how I feel like me as a young person in, you know, late stage capitalism, I’m kind of experiencing the same thing where, you know, our planet is dying and the people in charge aren’t really fixing it and all this stuff. And what do I do about that? Do I abandon the system? Do I keep fighting for it? And so both of the characters are kind of going to come to terms with that and kind of figure out where they sit and what they should do about it or if they can do anything about it. [Waveforms Outro music fades in — bright staccato synth music.] [ADAM] Thanks for listening to Waveforms. For a full list of our cast and crew, check out the episode description. [NATASHA] Waveforms was produced by Realwheels Theatre with the co-operation of the Union of B.C. Performers. A special thank you to our funders: the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Vancouver, and the Hamber Foundation. [ADAM] If you like what you heard, please drop us a rating and a review on the podcast platform of your choice. It really helps new listeners to find us. [NATASHA] See you next week. [Outro music fades out.]