Considering Johannes Kepler's Three Laws of Planetary Motion, the Sun is only the center of gravity to a planet at one focus. To compensate, the self-generated gravity a planet creates by simply spinning around its own axis attracts the other planets to orbit. When applied to human interaction, the individual lives we live ultimately have a gravitational affect on others and fate (the Sun) is only equal to that force. To orbit suggests the continuation of rotation, but a planet is not always moving in a consistent spinning motion. As much as we continue a routine of simple daily activities, we are not without detour. A planet experiences retrograde as it appears to be moving backward before coming to a stop. The point of "direct station" resets its forward movement. At this pivotal halt, the planet in retrograde condenses its gravitational focus and has the strongest affect on the rest of the Universe. What I would like to demonstrate in this project is the constant movement of daily life reaching this stopping halt and the gravitational force of retrograde having its affects on a Universal scale.

For this project, each member of the ensemble will represent a planet and a zodiac sign. By having two characters run into one another in a given environment, characters will be introduced as two planets colliding due to the strength of their gravitational pull on one another. As a whole, the ensemble will create spaces of constant movement, so when two characters/planets unexpectedly run in to one another, retrograde is obvious, because they are forced to stop in response to one another's standing point of focus. When the two characters meet, they are faced with the obstacles that Mercury in retrograde causes and these affects on the individual will be pre-determined by the specific affects retrograde has on each zodiac sign.

Retrograde affects each zodiac and planet differently. The affects are believed to be the catalyst to inevitable events that occur. Mainly, it is believed to be the source of frustrating obstacles, such as glitches with phones, computers, and means of transportation. Problems that occur are due to miscommunication or delayed communication when a crucial piece of information or component is missing. These are the types of obstacles the characters/planets will face when they meet one another at the point of retrograde. Determined by how their zodiac sign responds to Mercury in retrograde, will give lead to how they are ultimately affected as individuals, when in the big scheme of things it is the interaction with one another that causes the affects.

What I find to be most interesting is that when people find one another in these run-in situations, their conversation can seem so pointless, due to common courtesy for each other or it could be a very exciting experience that leads to instant change. As a bi-stander or audience, background information could hold no substance at all or be of great importance. What I would like to unfold in further scenes is the ultimate affect that the run-in leads to. Although their meeting may just appear to be abrupt or conversation may just remain at a surface level, their interaction has a great determining force on the other. These two characters may never meet again, but the affect of their meeting will be the determining point for both characters in their separate lives.



1. Each actor will be assigned a planet:

The planet selected for each actor will be decided by actors' schedules, because the actors playing planets next to one another will write and act together, this does not include run-in scenes.

Individual actors are responsible for gathering research about their planet to help establish their own character. These traits will pertain to their unique planet's temperature, orbital speed, and qualities such as gaseous or stormy, etc.

2. Actors will draw a zodiac sign from a hat:

The qualities of the selected zodiac sign will develop each character's personality, in addition to their planet's characteristics. This is most important when exploring compatibility between scene partners' signs. Some signs compliment one another, some share qualities, and some repel one another.

Each zodiac sign responds to Mercury in retrograde in different ways. By applying these specific affects, both the characters responses and the plot will be guided.

3. Actors will compile research and make copies for their scene partners:

A. Planet
B. Zodiac personality qualities
C. Specific zodiac's response to Mercury in retrograde
D. Compatibility with their neighboring planet's zodiac sign
E. Compatibility with their run-in character's zodiac sign
F. Tracking their zodiac's horoscopes: which they could either agree to follow or disregard

4. Each actor will write a scene with the planets to their left and right:

Neighboring planets will have the most developed relationships with one another that will need to be explained in depth to create the character's backstory. In order to reveal the relationship between the planets, all character research will need to be applied to their interaction. It is necessary for the planet's character to be well defined as an individual's, but their interaction with different characters will be determined by zodiac sign compatibility.

5. Characters/planets will be assigned a partner to experience a run-in scene with:

Through improvisational excrcises, the ensemble will create active environments for two characters to meet. What happens between the actors will only be improvised to determine speech pattern of this unpredicted run-in, but characters will already be developed in backstory and relationship to dictate the cause and affect of their collision.