The brook behind Jade’s home cuts through a wasteland of abandoned factories – testaments to a crushing industrial decline befalling what was once the nation’s hub of plastic goods manufacturing. In the orange hours of the dawn, Jade and her imaginary friend explore the banks of the river, collecting whispers from the area’s golden years. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jade relies upon this world of memory and history to help her understand a present that is, in far too many ... view more »
The brook behind Jade’s home cuts through a wasteland of abandoned factories – testaments to a crushing industrial decline befalling what was once the nation’s hub of plastic goods manufacturing. In the orange hours of the dawn, Jade and her imaginary friend explore the banks of the river, collecting whispers from the area’s golden years. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jade relies upon this world of memory and history to help her understand a present that is, in far too many ways, senseless. Following the closing of her company’s plastic plant, Jade’s mother Cordelia becomes drawn into her daughter’s world, eager to understand the root of her diagnosis. An insatiable hunger for answers ultimately leads her to an unsettling theory – that Jade’s condition resulted from exposure to plastic chemicals leached into the community’s air and rivers from the area’s once mighty factories. Cordelia’s sleuthing provokes harsh responses from a town eager to revitalize its manufacturing sector, and from a husband eager to forget the past. Loosely inspired by events which befell Leominster, MA in the 1990s, The Plastic City reveals the sacrifices we ask future generations to make in our unceasing quest for greatness and glory.
The Plastic City has been nominated as finalist for the College of Charleston’s Todd McNerney Playwriting Award and semi-finalist for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s Award for Excellence in Playwriting.
Join us for a staged reading of Matthew Kelly’s The Plastic City, followed by a panel-led community conversation around the play’s central questions.
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