Directed by Scott Morris, written by C.T. Rye, “Unintended Consequences” takes the stage Jan. 19 – 21, 2024.
Willis Wilson [38] is a mechanical engineer who lives in the smallish midwestern town of Tappan, Illinois. He makes his living restoring antique machinery, cars, and doing odd jobs for the local farmers. His shop is a restored barn on the farm where he grew-up.
One spring day while he is working on a mysterious machine, the purpose for which he knows nothing. He is visited by a younger woman, Jules Charney, who had been one of a group of high school kids who hung out at Will’s shop one summer a decade prior. Jules [28], the daughter of the local minister, a “reformed” punk rocker, having finally graduated from college after eight years has arrived back home to spend the summer with her estranged mother before moving on to Denver in the fall.
As the two talk and reminisce, it becomes apparent to Will that Jules has a certain gift for mechanics and he asks her if she’d be interested in working for him over the summer while he tries to discover the purpose of the mysterious device. To their mutual satisfaction she agrees.
Several weeks later while Jules is working alone in the shop, an eccentric woman who goes only by the name of “Whit” [40-ish] comes by looking for Will. When Jules informs her that Will is out on a repair job, Whit reveals that she too was once a shop assistant in this very same place. Whit seems in no hurry to depart and as the two talk – it becomes apparent that the older woman knows a great deal about Will, Jules, and the town. After an odd oration on the differences between men and women, and the eccentricities of small towns, Whit abruptly leaves, exacting a promise from Jules not to mention her visit to Will leaving Jules somewhat perplexed.
As the hot, drought ridden summer progresses, Will and Jules bond over their attempts to solve the mystery of the machine they are attempting to rebuild, and their growing attraction to each other.
What follows is the resolution of the mystery which leads to a cascade of increasingly complex secrets and white lies that culminate in three separate resolutions of the “unintended consequences” for which the “Contraption” is the catalyst.
Auditions will take place at the Stage Coach Players Theatre at 126 S. Fifth Street in DeKalb. Audition times are
~Saturday, October 21, 2023: 1-5 p.m.
~Sunday, October 22, 2023: 6-8 p.m.
Rehearsals will take place December 1-21, 2023 and January 3-19, 2024. (Exact dates and times TBD.) Performance dates are January 19-21, 2024 at the Stage Coach Players Theatre.
**This show contains Adult Language & Sexual Situations**
