Boxes is the culmination of four months of work between playwright Allen (director of education for Seattle Rep) and 50 high school students attending The Center School. The production is part of the 7th annual Drama Intensive from Seattle Rep.
Allen has incorporated responses and feedback from the students involved in the program's rehearsal and performance classes into the play's script. Other participants in the program's design and production class will help create the physical production for the play.
Boxes, according to press notes, is a "modern retelling of the Greek myths of Pandora and Persephone. Allen explores mother-daughter conflict and the themes of loss, regret, and hope through the stories of two modern teenage girls who are finding their way in the midst of the pressure to be perfect, popular, and true to themselves. Once they have released the good, the bad, and the ugly from the box, they are left to pick up the pieces and find the one remaining quality left in the box: hope."
The production will boast an all-student cast. Students in the program will also perform original music penned by Chris Dewar.
Boxes will be presented May 21 and 22 in Seattle Rep's Leo K. Theatre. Tickets, priced $5, are available by calling (206) 443-2222, toll free at (877) 900-9285 or online at seattlerep.org.