Community and Cautions: The Vertical City

          This past Friday, May 3, students performed the dystopian play The Vertical City by Diana Burbano at the annual Spring Play Reading Series. The cast of the play reading included II Formers Isabelle Lee, Isaac Moon, and Nicolas Romero-Durand; III Formers Mihajlo Gajic, Jane Shindnes, and Martina Yanovich; and IV Former Gavin Yoon. The production was directed by Sonia Lackey ’25 while Brooke Bartlett ’26 assisted with sound.

          A play reading is a play in which the cast members play their characters solely using voice, not action. There are no props, and sound is the only guide to the story. The audience can see these cast members read aloud in real time and watch members in the same scene interact. Furthermore, there is a narrator who reads stage directions. 

          Accordingly, the audience can visualize the actions characters would take on stage. The Vertical City is well-suited for this, as it was originally written as a radio play.
The Vertical City is based on a dystopian future of the Earth, where all emotions have been cut off from the population. Negative emotions such as pain and depression have been deemed dangerous by the future society of this time period, which unintentionally caused the eradication of positive emotions, such as happiness and fun. 

          The play follows the story of seven characters, all of different “levels” of society within the Vertical City. The play begins when a character named Orville gives an illegal item that simulates emotion, called a Neuro, to his friend Dylan, a dying musician in the lower levels of society. Dylan decides to sell the Neuro to Soleil, who buys it and uses it on herself with the help of an upper-level coder named T’Ka. T’Ka then takes the Neuro to assist a Moon civilization refugee named Avory. Avory reconnects with a police officer she used to know, Officer 726. The Officer then tries to use the Neuro on himself to feel emotion again. However, this backfires and he travels across the levels of the Vertical City to find Greta, a doctor and the manager of the Vertical City. Finally, it is revealed that Orville planted the Neuro for the amusement of a civilization on Mars, who pays him for a game show named the “Sun Show”.

          The play reading, is a cautionary tale about a world becoming dangerously reliant on technology. Lee, one of the actors, appreciated this message, stating that she was “glad it brought more attention to the topic.” Lee believes this experience will motivate her to partake in future activities with Periwig. She explained that one of the key parts of her Play Reading experience was, “bonding with other people interested in theater and being a part of a new experience that was eye-opening.”

          Despite the play’s serious message, the GCAD was full of laughter and joy during the performance. A table behind the steps was covered with platters of pastries and drinks for the audience to enjoy. Ethan Lee ’27 described the food as one of the best parts of the performance. Being in the Play Reading in the fall, Ethan Lee ’27 reviewed the Spring Play Reading, expressing that “the dystopian theme was fresh and new, and it was very enjoyable to watch and listen”. 

          Play readings are unique in that they encourage the audience to play with their imagination, compared to a full-scale production where the story is visually shown. These showcases are also performed in a more intimate setting compared to an on-stage drama. The termly Play Readings are a distinctive Lawrenceville experience that warrant a visit.