by Vincent Sessa

directed by Al D'Andrea

production stage manager Victoria Machado

November 2014

Portland Stage Studio Theater

A New England premiere production

Theatrical plays have been stamped out altogether by conservative censors in a not-so-distant future, and a group gathers for a Commitment Talk to celebrate the death of theater and demonstrate its evils by reading excerpts from the contraband play 'Wyoming.'  The young readers find themselves swept away by the power of the theatrical experience, reawakening emotions and igniting imaginations long repressed by a society intent on attacking artistic freedom, and in the end, a battle for the very soul of free expression is waged.

Samuel Carlson

Andre T Demers

Laura Graham

Bob Pettee

Mark Rubin

Jaimie P Schwartz

Ellen Elizabeth White

"[A] compelling premise...This show takes as conceit a near future in which theater as we know it has been banned; the action takes place during the censors' cautionary reading of the bad-old-days show 'Wyoming.'"  |  Portland Phoenix

"Sessa's noble-minded, often funny social satire...is most effective when its methods are surprising...It succeeds best in its absurdities and leaps...Crazy social atavism isn't going away anytime soon.  Lessons offers a warning to do more than stay vigilant."  |  Dig Portland

"Funny how life imitates art, isn't it?...'Wyoming' is about censorship, the quashing of free expression and the uplifting nature of the arts...Cariani's play [Almost Maine, banned in North Carolina] provides a real-time example of the drama [in 'Wyoming.']"  |  Portland Press Herald

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