GMO
(3w / 3m)
Drama - 60 min
Characters
RAY 11-year-old kid with an auto-immune disorder He has been isolated from physical contact his entire life.
CAT Feline. Ears and a tail. Genetically engineered to be hypoallergenic and carry RAY’s DNA.
AUSTIN 34. Privileged. RAY's father.
MAGGIE 32. RAY's mother. Well-educated, married above her class.
SHELLY 36. Owner of a neighborhood bar. What RACHEL might have been if she was more independent.
SAM 40. Blue collar. A divorced, depressed LOWELL might become this man. AUSTIN's brother.
RACHEL 31. MAGGIE's college roommate. Talented but insecure.
LOWELL 31. RACHEL's husband. Dropped out of college to work. Envious of success.
HENRY 25. Younger, hipster version of AUSTIN.
LENINA 25. Tech-savvy, ecologically righteous; a younger MAGGIE.
Doubling: AUSTIN/HENRY, MAGGIE/LENINA, LOWELL/SAM, RACHEL/SHELLY
Synopsis
GMO tells three interlocking stories centered around Ray, a child whose immune deficiencies keep him confined to a sterile environment. When Ray’s DNA is used to engineer a kitten that won’t produce a negative reaction, they become fast friends. Ray’s uncle Sam feuds with a group of biohackers who will only eat cloned meat, and Ray’s parents have installed an expensive high-tech biological airlock that disrupts their friendship with another couple.
Performance History
University of New Orleans, December 2015 (Staged reading)
