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Axoloris: The Musical

  • Sean Mendelson
  • Full Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy, The Future
  • 15M or F
  • ISBN: 9780573711077

In this fun and uplifting musical for a flexible cast, five friends in the not-too-distant future receive a shared vision of Earth’s spiritual messenger Axoloris, who inspires them to protect the planet and make changes for the better.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Dramatic Comedy
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: The Future
  • Target Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: No Special Cautions

  • Performance Group:
  • High School/Secondary, Community Theatre, Elementary School / Primary, Youth/Camp Programs
Axoloris is set in an imaginary future in which humans rely heavily on virtual reality and robots. Five young friends are preparing for Earth Day, which is now also a celebration of Axoloris – a spiritual messenger said to visit people in their dreams and inspire them to protect the planet. The night before Earth Day, all five have a shared vision of Axoloris, which leads them on an environmental adventure; while simultaneously, the youths come to terms with how they relate to one another and to the world at large, and make changes for the better.

Premiere Production: Axoloris premiered at Playful People Productions in San Jose, California on July 1, 2022.

Characters

  • Casting: 15M or F
  • Casting Attributes: Flexible casting, Roles for Teens, Roles for Children

  • JULIANA – The lead is a moral compass of the show. She isn’t comfortable standing up for what’s right because she is afraid of compromising her strong friendship with her 4 friends, Lilly, Brett, Kate and Riley. Deep down, she is a loving and intelligent soul. As the story progresses, she starts expressing herself more freely and comes to love who she is.

  • OLD MAN THUNDER – Starts out the show as a cranky 65-year-old man who stays alone and has very little patience for most things, but in particular the kids and the robots who pester him. He also has little regard for the planet as he pollutes consistently. As the story unfolds we learn that he used to be a trailblazing environmentalist. We discover that an environmental catastrophe earlier in his life caused him to turn his back on the planet. His adventure with the kids leads him to make real connections with other people and he rediscovers himself when he finds his purpose in saving the community.

  • BRETT – A know-it-all who likes being mischievous. He thinks he is pretty great. He is funny but also makes poor choices sometimes. He likes Juliana but may not fully know it. He has a younger sister named Lilly, who he is comfortable hanging out with. He enjoys confronting authority and isn’t a fan of tradition. As time goes by, he starts to realize that he should care more for the people in his life and be less self-centered.

  • KATE – Is a popular girl in the virtual reality community, which is pervasive throughout the community. She likes Brett and resents Juliana because she can tell she likes Brett. She is always trying to impress Brett but not much impresses her. She learns to be less callous and more helpful as the story progresses.

  • RILEY – He is more reserved and even-tempered than his friends. He is pretty smart too. During the first half of the show he is a robot version of himself as he stays at home most of the time. He relies on his Robot self and virtual reality and thus is a hermit. As his purpose to help his friends becomes more clearer, the real Riley takes the place of his robot self in the adventure in the second act. He realizes that exploring the world around him has a lot more to offer than he initially thought. The robot version of Riley should be played by a smaller actor in juxtaposition to the real Riley in the second act who should be played by a larger actor.

  • ROBOT RILEY – Same characteristics as above but in robot form. Has a variation on a VR headset.

  • LILLY – Brett’s little sister. She is adorable and often overlooked. She likes being part of her older brother’s friend group. She is quite empathetic and surprisingly breaks through Old Man Thunder’s crusty exterior. She also has tremendous patience and she secretly has been working on a project with Lady La Bot for most of her life.

  • AXOLORIS – (pronounced Ax-uh-LOR-is) The Earth Day Being is an amalgamation of awesome unique animals: based on Axolotl, an amphibian “Mexican salamander” that looks like a Pokemon and slow Loomis from South Asia (which has doll-like eyes.). Adorable and foreboding all at once.

  • RE CYCLE and T RASHER – Narrators who propel the plot, break the fourth wall with the audience, and specifically tell the story of Earth Day as local actors in the community.

  • LADY LA BOT – A glorified robot servant for Juliana’s family. She is feisty and opinionated. She is mercurial and blunt. She feels taken for granted by the family but she has a fun sarcastic wit. She also is protective of other bots. She oddly has a crush on T-Port [the transportation bot]. She is constantly cleaning, especially after the house chicken, Chicky. She also secretly has been working on something that becomes vital at the end of the story.

  • VR BOT – A robot that has been programmed to police the community when they don’t follow laws. Mostly, he pesters folks about littering or other minor offenses. He gives punishment by restricting virtual reality time usage, which is coveted by most community members.

  • T-PORT – A level-headed robot that transports the characters from one location to another. He does have a short fuse when you least expect it and he sometimes give subtle or passive-aggressive opinions of what’s going on.

  • JULIANA'S MOM – Loves her daughter. She is an environmentalist. The subtext is that she is overprotective of her daughter who is trying to find her way. As a result, although she means well, she is suspicious of her daughter’s choices.

  • JULIANA'S DAD – More passive and reserved that his wife. He also loves his daughter dearly. He tries to bring a different perspective in difficult situations. Sometimes he plays the devil’s advocate.

  • MS. MORRIS – Teacher. Helps encourage the children to be more invested in Earth Day. He/she is optimistic and supportive of the students.

  • CHICKY – A pragmatic chicken who lives with Juliana’s family. He/she is always in the way but also provides eggs for the family. Lady La Bot is always following him/her around. Chicky proves vital at the end of the story.

  • TRASH MONSTER – Comes to Juliana in a dream. He is full of dread and dark humor. He threatens Juliana with the help of a team of minions.

  • RIGHT PINION MINION – Trash Monster’s right-hand monster.

  • ENSEMBLE – Trash monster minions, students (Chris, Alex, Drew, Taylor, Cory) and villagers (a combination of robots, kids and adults). Students experience the Earth Day presentation in various ways. Minions help playfully terrorize Juliana. Villagers discuss how to save their community from an energy crisis near the end.

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