What do you do when the world around you suddenly shifts? How do you keep going when normal is no more and each day feels like stumbling forward in the dark?

As a global community, we’ve been through a period of uncertainty followed by rebuilding and renewing. These one act plays were drafted during the first part of this experience. We started throwing ideas around in early 2020, using story to make sense of the news and our own experiences in relationships and in the workplace. Stories are important vehicles of exploration and healing. As we crafted the first drafts of these shows, we played around with ideas and emotions and in so doing, found our way to greater peace in a time of fear.

So we approached the unknown with laptops open and creativity unleashed, and imagined our way forward. The result was a drama and a comedy, two sides of the same coin. We enjoyed the creative process and were pleased with the scripts we had at the end. We were delighted when we were informed that our scripts were selected by the Yorkshire Playhouse as winners of the 2021 playwriting competition. 

The opportunity to bring these shows to life with actors and costumes and props has been so much fun! We are so thankful to the Yorkshire Playhouse for giving us this opportunity and investing in the creative life of our community. 

“Schismogenesis” literally means “creation of division.” We came across the term in the work of interpersonal communication researcher Deborah Tannen, who explores the idea of mutual schismogenesis. This is the situation that arises when a difference in communication styles causes a conflict. The classic example is a loud talker and a quiet talker in conversation. The loud person may talk louder to encourage the quieter person to speak up. The quieter person, however, might feel attacked by this behavior and become even quieter. In the one act Schismogenesis, a married couple is navigating a stressful situation and the more they talk, the less they actually communicate. Each is arguing for their own needs and unintentionally pushing each other away in the process. It takes a dramatic turn of events to break the cycle of miscommunication and conflict and allow James and Mindy to hear each other.

Cafepocalpse takes a lighthearted look at the workplace when the world might just be ending. If there are zombies in your driveway, do you still show up for work? If you’ve been bitten and your demise is imminent, do you tell your loved ones you’ll miss them, or go to your favorite coffee shop for a caffeine-filled writing marathon to finish your terrible novel?

Each of these shows explores different facets of the human experience under extreme circumstances. We hope that they make audience members laugh and think, feel and imagine, and in the process, heal. 

~Chrystal and Dan, writers and directors of Cafepocalypse and Schismogenesis

Tickets for an evening of One Acts are now available at yorkshireplayhouse.com. Performances of this limited run event will be Thursday and Friday, March 24 and 25, at 7;30 p.m.