The Robots

The Robots by Caroline Chen
World Premiere Chamber Opera
Scenic design
Project [BLANK] https://www.projectblanksd.org/
Bread & Salt Gallery

COMPOSER/Librettist | Carolyn Chen
STAGE DIRECTOR | Rosie Glen-Lambert
MUSIC DIRECTOR | Kyle Adam Blair
SCENIC DESIGN | Victoria Petrovich
LIGHTING DESIGN | Russell Chow
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR | Joe Cantrell
Costume Design I Leslie Leytham

Cast
HELENA GLORY | Mariana Flores-Bucio, soprano
MR. DOMIN | Leslie Ann Leytham, mezzo-soprano
SULLA | Danielle Perrault, contralto
MR. ALQUIST | Jonathan Nussman, baritone
DR. GALL | Miguel Zazueta-Cervera, tenor
MR. FABRY | Paul Young, Jr., baritone
RADIUS | Shelby Condray, bass
ROBOT ARMY | Abi Hood, Claire McNerney, Gabi Chen, Gwyn Torrio, Eliana Birnbaun-Nahl, Emma Lias, Tommy Huebner, and the audience

Instrumental Ensemble
Keyboards - Ashley Zhang
Violin - Batya Macadam-Somer
Viola - Beth Holub
Drums - Leah Bowden
Cello - Robert Bui
Bass - Tommy Babin

https://www.projectblanksd.org/the-robots

SYNOPSIS
On a secluded island, a mega-corporation — Rossum’s Universal Robots — uses a top-secret mixture of mechanical engineering and biological alchemy to create and sell a vast workforce of artificial humanoid laborers. Led by the ruthless General Manager Domin, his small team of assistant managers, and a legion of robot factory workers and secretaries, RUR's products flood the global market.

The island's routine is disrupted when Helena Glory arrives with a clandestine mission to unionize and liberate the robots, who she fears are being heartlessly exploited. She quickly discovers that it is difficult to tell the difference between the human managers and the robots they produce. She is convinced to join the company staff in order to make changes from within.

Years pass, marked by unsettling reports of malfunctioning robots worldwide. Meanwhile, Radius, an exceptionally intelligent and perceptive robot who works in the factory, begins to show signs of an enigmatic “sickness”. As control slips from human grasp, cataclysmic consequences loom over the fate of humanity.