Review of Broken Nose Theatre's The Opportunities of Extinction

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called The Opportunities of Extinction. It was written by Sam Chanse, and it was directed by Jen Poulin. It was about a couple, Mel (Echaka Agba) and Arjun (Richard Costes), who have decided to go camping in the desert to cut the tension in their relationship. Also Arjun, a professor, has said something on Twitter that makes a large portion of the community turn against him, and the school is investigating. Mel is trying to write a book about these passengers on a plane that is about to crash and all their last moments and stories. And also she has just recently found out some news that she needs to tell Arjun. When they get to Joshua Tree National Park, they meet Georgia (Aria Szalai-Raymond), who works at the park and who is very devoted to the Joshua trees who are about to go extinct because climate change makes it hard for more baby trees to grow. The play is about love, death, and the beauty of evolution. I think that this play is intriguing, heartbreaking, and has unique characters.

Georgia had these really great monologues throughout the show. They were very often disconnected from the scene; she would step out of the scene or just walk out and just start talking to the audience about nature. I feel like you learn lot about Georgia in these monologues even though she isn't specifically talking about herself. She seems to compare her family situation to the extinction of the trees. It makes her comforted because she realizes that that is just the way nature works. It is like if you watched a documentary and the narrator was talking about anteaters but secretly comparing them to her own life. The thing that makes it so heartbreaking is that Georgia is not explicit about the connection between her family and the trees. But when you hear her actual story you realize how like the situation of the trees her own situation is.

The couple in this show seems to have a lot of problems for a lot of reasons. I thought it was really interesting how they talked about relationship problems that aren't usually talked about in plays because people in relationships try not to think it's a big deal. Like how Arjun is always on his phone all the time, and Mel keeps telling him not to, and to pay more attention to her, but he seems like he can't stop doing it. People think that it is minor because everyone does it, but it could actually completely disconnect you from the people that you love. There are even bigger problems like Arjun losing his job and Mel disappearing for two days, but the minor issues were also major because they reveal major problems. Arjun says he doesn't like Mel's book and that is fine because it is always better to be honest when you think something won't do well. You don't want someone to waste their time. But it seems like Arjun doesn't like the book because it hits too close to home and he relates too much to a lot of the characters, and that is not ok to say that something is poorly written just because it makes you feel guilty.

I think this play is about how natural evolution is so similar to human life and how we should embrace the beauty and accept that we are all kind of a mess. It is weird to think of how similar we are to all these plants and animals and how superior we think we are. Everyone thinks it is really sad to think about death, and that makes total sense. But I think there is a lot of beauty in the world starting over. I think it is a beautiful idea to think that someone's work can be done and they just get to rest. Extinction is not always sad because it can make room for more beautiful things. The end of a relationship can make room for better opportunities and happier people. Even though I am not for the extinction of Joshua trees, and I feel like we should try to prevent it, it is the way evolution works. Evolution is really painful, but this show does a really good job of showing how extinction doesn't just have to be depressing.

People who would like this show are people who like thought-provoking monologues, major minor relationship issues, and baby trees. I think this is a really interesting show that brings up a lot of issues I am still thinking about. I liked it.

Photos: Austin D. Oie