The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail
By Bekah Brunstetter
Directed by Ariel Craft

One of the most popular and beloved computer games of all time reveals what it takes to make it through the hardest times in our lives.

Rising playwright Bekah Brunstetter makes her Bay Area debut with this powerful, heartwarming play about covered wagons, computer keyboards, and coping with life’s difficulties. The year is 1997, and 13-year-old Jane Goodrich is a bona fide expert at The Oregon Trail. The undisputed master of her characters’ destinies, she knows just when they should embark on their journeys, she knows the best professions to select for her characters, and she knows every trick in the book so her characters avoid dying of dysentery. She’s beaten the game over 100 times.

Her own life, though? Unfortunately, she can’t just control-alt-delete herself whenever she wants to start over. If only life were as seemingly simple as The Oregon Trail.

Ten years later, Jane finds herself crashing on her sister’s couch, simultaneously looking for a job while binge-watching reality TV shows. The sadness she has felt since her pubescent years has only deepened over time. Rediscovering the game and booting it up in an attempt to reclaim a realm where she can succeed, the play splits into past (Missouri 1848) and present (Oregon 2007). As her characters make the arduous journey west, Jane confronts the harsh realities of both eras. The Oregon Trail is an honest reflection of depression as well as a moving testament to the power human beings have to rise to the challenges we all face.

The cast features Maria Giere Marquis, Cassie Rosenbrock, Jon Nagel, Ariel Irula, and Ben Calabrese

The Oregon Trail was developed during a residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference in 2013

Preston Whiteway, Executive Director
Wendy C. Goldberg, Artistic Director

Developed at The Lark Play Development Center, New York City

This is a fully staged workshop production. Flying V Theatre has been granted world premiere rights.