Do I want to go to Mars? Not really, no. I was never one of those kids who looked up at the night sky and pointed to the stars and said “woah.” I haven’t even seen, for instance, Interstellar. Mars, space, the universe—these are infinitely far places that never quite landed deeply enough in my soul. These are explorations for a different type of person. And, I must say, I am grateful that those different types of people were chosen to carry out this mission instead of me.
This was the answer that I had prepared, if I happened to be one of the audience members who was given a microphone and prompted with the question, “do you want to go to Mars” by the host for the evening at Heloise Wilson’s new play Astronauts Wanted, produced by Little y and performed at The Tank in April. Luckily for me, the Q&A session that started the play was just a hypothetical, as three volunteers had already been chosen to embark on this journey to Mars. All I had to do was sit back and watch as their story was chronicled through America’s favorite medium, reality television. Astronauts Wanted is the result of a collision between the beauty and romanticism of the unknown with the harsh reality of capitalistic voyeurism. (Unlike the vast mystery that is outer space, reality TV is much more within my scope of expertise.)
Guided by TV Host Mae (Regan Hicks), we watch the selection process through to the first steps on Mars. Though it’s unclear exactly why this mission is important or what is to be gained from this exploration, we get the sense that the stakes are high. A lot of people applied for this. The final three that made the cut are Sol (Gibran García), the dreamer of the bunch, Tallulah (Marisela Grajeda Gonzalez), the realist, and Sorcha (Heloise Wilson), the most dedicated and the most awkward. While they are all scientists, each has their own reasons for taking this mission on. Sol needs a change from his tumultuous relationship with his ex-wife. Tallulah seeks to fill her life with unforgettable experiences in the wake of her mother’s death from Alzheimer’s. Sorcha hopes that her estranged father might see her on TV, doing the impossible, and maybe be proud of her.
The trio aren’t fast friends—it’s touch and go for a while as they prepare to spend years trapped in a floating ship together. From their first brunch, captured on camera of course, we get the sense that three might be a difficult number to handle, the lurking potential for someone to always be the odd astronaut out. Which of course, then leads into the question of general romantic feelings and sexual desire, which everyone during a pre-screening interview is asked about point-blank. Do they feel susceptible to love? Do they feel susceptible to love with another team member? Do they anticipate needing to include sex into their meticulously scheduled leisure time? I found myself less worried about the life and death of the mission, and more worried about the tenseness that could arise from the astronauts’ interpersonal relationships. But, as we are reminded by commercial breaks, sponsored products, and filmed confessionals, good TV is all about intimate drama rather than scientific discovery. Phew!
And it’s clear this is what Wilson is most interested in, too. The play focuses on the examination of the scientists’ inner wants and dreams rather than the actual science or logistics. This narrower focus felt intentional. The lens through which we’re given to view the play is that of easily consumable ‘content’. It makes sense that the play leaned into the juicy personal details and character backstory that one would expect from our current model of reality shows. While the TV frame did at times feel very much like a playwriting device, I couldn’t be mad at it. Astronauts Wanted was using this approach in earnest, deploying the easily consumable method of storytelling at the core of the play’s commentary.
The play oscillates between poetic self-reflections, video interludes, song and dance, and grounded reality. Had it not been for the deft direction by Saki Kawamura, this approach could have given the audience motion sickness. The movement, reminiscent of zero-gravity, allows the actors to breeze in and out of scenes with a flighty, fluid quality. Nothing ever feels heavy or bogged down, thanks to the scenic design by Lana Boy and her light touch: three white cubes and a plastic curtain are all that’s used to delineate locations besides the spacecraft. Wilson gives a memorable performance as Sorcha, her tone perfect for the blend of poetry and social stiltedness that makes up the character. It may be obvious to say that the playwright has command over performing her own language. However, the text tumbled out of her with such surprise and sincerity that I often forgot she had carefully arranged, planned, and plotted every word. It instead felt like a completely honest embodiment, which is a testament to the writing as much as it is to Wilson’s execution.
I passed a woman on the street today who said to her friend, “No, I’ve given it some thought and I have no desire to go into space.” Space is a hot topic these days. Perhaps the question posed to us at the beginning of the play is less of a hypothetical and more of a preparation for what our inevitable reality will look like. Astronauts Wanted is, in a way, a parable of the future. A precursor to a docuseries that may already be in development. Or maybe there’s actually a reality show idea here. Below Deck In Space?
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