Synopsis
Six people are going west in the dome car of the California Zephyr the day after 9-11. Remarks on the passing landscape, reflections on the events of the previous day, and struggles with their own skeletons force each of them to make some crucial decisions. Where is this train really taking them? Visual possibilities: stars above the dome car, reflections of the passing landscape in the windows, 9/11 news footage. Six characters: M 23, 40, 50. F 31, 42, 60. Time 2001. One set. 8 scenes. 100 minutes.
Excerpt
Zephyr – 5-Page Dialogue Sample [PDF]
Monologues
Origin
My Mom was from Denver and my dad was from Chicago. We took the California Zephyr back and forth between the two cities many times in my childhood. I would race up to the dome car with my transistor radio and stay there almost the whole night, listening to the stations fade in and out. In that womb-like space I felt secure. Free. I wanted to repeat that feeling of freedom in the play as well, permit that dome car to be a place where people can share the stories of their lives with absolute strangers. And then I added in 9/11 to both deepen the characters and raise the stakes.
