Synopsis

Lucy Mitchell wants to die a virgin martyr, but her mission is complicated when she falls in love with the boy who has been hired to dig her grave. A sweet little love story about death.

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Tone

Quirky and endearing.

Imagine if June and Harold and Maude had a Fargo baby.

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Casting Flexibility

Written specifically for college-aged performers, The Bone Orchard features compelling roles that support strong ensemble work. The cast can range from six to twelve actors, allowing programs to adjust based on enrollment, casting needs, or production goals. Roles are flexible and can be adapted to suit a wide variety of performers, making the play accessible, inclusive, and well suited for educational settings.

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Design Opportunities

The play’s design is intentionally flexible. The set can be abstract or realistic, though simplicity often best supports the storytelling. This approach allows designers and directors to make bold conceptual choices without heavy technical demands. The production can comfortably fit on a mainstage or in a studio space, offering meaningful opportunities for collaboration, experimentation, and student-led design work.

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Co-Curricular Opportunities

The themes of The Bone Orchard naturally lend themselves to collaboration beyond the theatre department. Productions can partner with:

• Psychology to explore grief, memory, identity, and interpersonal relationships

• Philosophy to examine questions of meaning, legacy, and ethical responsibility

• Environmental Science to engage with ideas of sustainability, conservation, and environmental stewardship.

 

These intersections support talkbacks, panel discussions, shared assignments, or campus-wide programming, transforming the production into a broader academic and artistic conversation.

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Commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre

Workshopped at the Perry Mansfield New Works Festival and the Great Plains Theatre Festival