Synopsis

The Eureka Day private school is a Berkeley, California elementary school that values social justice, diversity, and pure consensus. Don, Eli, Suzanne, and Meiko are all members of the school’s executive committee, and at the start of the play, they are welcoming a new member, Carina. During this first meeting, the executive committee discusses the issue of racial identification options for students on the school’s website. This is a difficult conversation for the committee, but they eventually reach an agreement.

The next executive committee meeting is an emergency meeting called by Don. A student has contracted mumps, which means the school will be closed and in quarantine until the infection subsides. A letter from the California Department of Health arrives at the school, and it recommends vaccination for all students. The committee must decide on what is to be done about the letter from the Department of Health and what are the next steps for the school. The rest of the play is an exploration of when facts, opinions, and beliefs are suppressed or amplified in the name of consensus or for the good of the community.

Interesting Fact:

An interesting thing to note about this play, it was commissioned by Aurora Theater in 2016, which was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there are many interesting parallels between the play and our current climate, it was written several years before.