NU Lovers&Madmen is proud to present: Carrying by Pallas Gutierrez

Grant Nobody served in the United States Army in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2009, and was missing in action from 2007-2009. Upon his return home, he is forced to grapple with the death of his mother, Anastasia; his wife, Penny, who has become the sweetheart of the neighborhood; his teenage son, Mason, who he barely knows; and everything else that happened from his deployment until now. Carrying expands on Homer’s Odyssey with the help of other Greek myths to examine further the themes of PTSD, morality, war, and home that are introduced in the original and further complicated by our modern world.

Carrying is one of two new works written for L&M’s 2020 Adaptation Festival in which NU students submit new works based on classic theatre to be produced as staged readings, or in this case, radio plays.

Carrying was Directed by Samara Malik, Assistant Directed by Jared Zavala, Edited and Sound Designed by Kennedy Shirk, and Produced by Bobby Read.

A note from the producer:

Hey there! This is the first show that I have ever produced or been a part of and I am so honored that it was with the Lovers&Madmen Theater Board at Northwestern University. The 2020 Adaption Festival has certainly been required to ADAPT to the world pandemic that has been taking place. The cast members, directors, playwrights, and editors have been hard at work throughout this quarantine period in order to make sure these amazing student-adapted plays are heard and given the audience they deserve.

A major thank you goes out to the Lovers&Madmen Theater Board, and a special thanks to Ilana Abusch and Maya Reter who have helped keep me sane and on track throughout this entire process. Also, without my amazing team, I would be at a loss with how to turn this on-stage production into a radio series. So thank you to the two playwrights: Pallas Gutierrez and Olivia Worley; the two directors: Samara Malik and Emma Yarger; the two stage managers: Jared Zavala and Meher Yeda; and the FABULOUS and TALENTED casts of each plays. Our amazing editors, Kennedy Shirk and Maya Reter have been working hard to make sure these shows go up on time so a HUGE thank you to those two! A final thank you to the person who gave me a gentle nudge into the theater world and threw my name in the hat to produce this show last year: Brandon Acosta. I would be lost without your help and friendship throughout this entire process.

Both of these plays are amazing adaptations of classical works and I sincerely hope you enjoy listening in to the hard work that has taken place over the last couple of months. Even a worldwide pandemic can’t get in our way. As the saying goes, the show MUST go on.

With Love and Madness,

Bobby Read

Lovers & Madmen