About the show
Life on the Moon is a socio-political family drama about Spencer, a young infantryman in the U.S. army, returning home for Christmas to visit his parents and Piper, his eighteen-year-old sister with autism. As Spencer and his parents struggle to celebrate the holiday, it’s Piper who notices what everyone else misses, but is unable to communicate her observations or frustrations.
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​Life on the Moon received its professional debut at the Detroit Repertory Theatre and has also been produced by two universities. This script won the 2017 Inkslinger Playwriting Competition and the Triad Shakes Theatre's New Play Contest.
About the author
Anna Tatelman (she/her) is honored to have Baker Theater Workshop produce the PNW premiere of Life on the Moon! She previously collaborated with Baker on her play Attention Must Be Paid after being awarded the Seattle One-Act Play commission in partnership with Hugo House and ACT Theatre. You may have also seen her plays at theatres like Drunken Owl, As If, Aspire Rep, and Infinity Box.
Recent accolades include receiving a semi-finalist award in Union Arts Center’s New Works Northwest festival, being invited to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and getting a commission from Annex Theatre for her upcoming staged reading of We Forget To Remember.
Meet the cast
Sean Vale
Sean Vale is honored to be part of the amazing cast of Life on the Moon for its Pacific Northwest premiere.
He has previously appeared in productions with Marxiano Productions at Seattle Public Theater, Reboot Theatre, Studio East at Kirkland Performance Center, Tacoma Little Theatre, Valley Center Stage, Renton Civic Theatre, and Missoula Community Theatre.
After a rewarding career in journalism in both the US and Asia, he’s excited to be returning to his lifelong calling to theatre.
Adam Nyhoff
Adam Nyhoff has been seen on several stages throughout the greater Seattle area, most recently playing Clifford in Deathtrap at Woodinville Repertory Theatre, and Rodolpho in A View from the Bridge at Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts. He would like to thank his family, and echo his brother’s words; “You can be whatever you want, but always remember to be kind.”
Elizabeth Dilley
Elizabeth Dilley: actor, dancer, business owner, and mom. Before family, her life was dedicated to performance in NYC. She’s excited to dive back into the PNW industry. Represented by Big Fish NW.
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RadiantPilatesNW.com
BFA; Cornish College of the Arts. Diploma in Theater Arts; American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Certificate in Performance; Laban Centre, London.
Genevieve Gay
Genevieve is an autistic actress who has been participating in youth theater programs in the Seattle area since 2017. She is very excited to be making her Baker Theatre Workshop debut! She is especially grateful to be playing an autistic character like herself. Genevieve's special interest is the Disney musical Frozen. Thank you to this wonderful team for giving me the space to show up as my authentic and unmasked self! Thank you Anna, Jeremy, and Trista for this opportunity!
Director's note
Jeremy Radick
Family. There’s a reason why so many of the great works in theatre are about families; we are all born into a collection of people that shape our lives and define so much of us, and we are all deeply flawed beings raised by deeply flawed beings. And so our lives are shaped by these fraught, precious relationships for good and for ill. When Anna asked me to direct this piece, and I read her tender, sharply drawn work, I was struck by her approach to this family and how they talk to each other.
The Rawleys have become a solar system that orbits around Piper’s autism, a state of being that Piper herself never asked for. Though much of Piper’s condition is defined by how she communicates with the outside world, the play emotionally demonstrates that it is in fact her neurotypical family that has the most difficult time communicating with each other.
So many “family plays” explore dysfunction through a chaotic catalyst character that upends the so-called “normal order” of the family unit. What I think sets Anna’s remarkable play apart is that Piper sees things in a far more perceptive, if idiosyncratic, way than most people assume of neurodivergent people. Rather than being the element that has ruined the family, she might just be the one to save it.
I am so proud to have had a hand in presenting this beautiful show to Seattle audiences, and through the deeply felt and committed work of this incredible company of actors, I hope that you will find the story as affecting as I do.
Raised in Canada, Jeremy has spent over 30 years as an actor appearing in various stage, film, and television projects. He has directed various productions in Canada and the US, including Lear 1x3 for Baker Theatre Workshop. As an actor, Jeremy trained at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre School, and has appeared on stage in New York, Vancouver, and Toronto. He’s appeared on Seattle stages most recently in Glengarry Glen Ross (Second Story Rep). He’s thrilled to direct the Pacific Northwest premiere of this beautiful play and would like to thank the production team, the brilliant playwright, and this amazing company of actors for all their hard work.