Fire & Flood

Two separate disasters. One universal truth.

      This October, on the anniversary of Helene, The Sublime Theater presents the world premiere of Fire & Flood, a double feature of short plays by Travis Lowe, one of Western North Carolina’s most-produced playwrights.

      “Nightlight” stars Erin McCarson, making her Sublime Theater debut, and is directed by Sublime’s Producing Artistic Director Steven Samuels. In the aftermath of a devastating storm, a lone rescue worker is tasked with guarding a body through the night, in a long, strange vigil filled with introspection, humor, and a series of eerie, seemingly supernatural events.

      “55 Mount Lee Drive” stars Glenna Grant, Jon Stockdale, and Olivia Stuller, and is directed by Sublime Artistic Associate Dakota Mann. A rugged cowboy, a spirited falafel vendor, and a whimsical mermaid find themselves entangled in life’s absurdities amidst the burning hills of Mount Lee Drive.

      Travis Lowe, whose most recent world premiere by The Sublime Theater was Some Notes on Dating During Outbreak, spoke to his inspiration in writing “Nightlight”: “This play is a tribute to our rescue workers as more heroic extensions of ourselves as people who went through the experience of this terrible storm both together and alone. Many of us, as a part of dealing with everything going on around us, wanted to help other people, wanted to reach out of this dark isolation, all the while compartmentalizing our own unresolved issues, opening those compartments up, closing them again. And for many of us who did volunteer, the work wasn’t necessarily glamorous. I myself was helping feed first responders in the basement of the civic center. And I got their stories and realized that they were going through the same things as everyone else on top of everything involved in their jobs. But we still laughed a lot as we ate together. I think it was when I smelled the cadaver dogs that I realized I had to get this all out in some sort of darkly humorous way.”

      Producing Artistic Director Samuels says, “Of course The Sublime hoped for a way to address the disaster. Only Travis Lowe could figure out how to do that by balancing our sense of horror and despair with rich human feeling and a wild sense of humor. And then he created an equally absurdly comic companion piece for ‘Nightlife’ in ‘55 Mount Lee Drive,’ which addresses the California fires with equal doses of compassion and comedy. In the hands of these very special actors, this ‘double feature’ makes for an extraordinary evening of theater and communion. Don’t miss it!”

      With only nine performances at the intimate BeBe Theatre, seating for Fire & Flood is extremely limited. Tickets are available now by visiting https://bit.ly/FireandFlood.