Merkur and Venera
Haunted space.
Five astronauts are trapped inside a spaceship en route to terraform a distant planet, unable to let go of the memories they're leaving behind. When a technical misstep results in death in one of their own, the remaining astronauts start to reconsider the nature of the mission and what it means to exist in the throws of loss.
Read this play on New Play Exchange.
Original postcard design from the 2016 Minnesota Fringe production. Graphics design by Jordan McCormack.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Merkur and Venera received its first reading at Augsburg University in November 2015 under the facilitation of Christina Ham. The cast was as follows:
Eve Taft as A
Leah Otto as M
Jayce Hanson as Q
Mitch Ross as X
Amy Van Blaricum as Z
Stage Directions by Aaron Boger
Production. Minnesota Fringe Festival, 2016.
Merkur and Venera received a workshop production at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in August 2016. The production was stage managed by Shanna Frasier and directed by Emily Wrolson. The cast was as follows:
Brighid Burkhalter as A
Christine Walth as M
Nick Saxton as Q
Steven Kreager as X
Megan Guidry as Z
Merkur and Venera received a subsequent reading at Augsburg University in April 2018, under advisement of Sarah Myers in partial fulfillment of departmental honours in Playwriting for Evan Peterson. The reading was directed by Ash Kaun; the cast was as follows:
Ava Fojtik as A
Del Logeais as M
John DeWitt as Q
Mitch Ross as X
Lauren Syme as Z
Voice-Overs by Emma Gustafson
Stage Directions by Gabriel Benson