William & Mary Theatre Presents: A New and Well-Ordered City
April 25, 2025 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
How are cities made? Block by block, brick by brick.
This devised performance project stages the imagination of a city planner, exploring the aspirations we invest in urban spaces, the labor of designing them, and the cycles of action that bring them to life. Cities may be centrally planned, but they are made by the people who reside in them, their history crafted through daily habits—the repetition of work, commute, and neighborhood social life. Inspired by Williamsburg’s history as one of the first planned cities in colonial America, we explore the tension between cities as imagined utopias filled with aspiration and longing, and the drudgery and tedium required to schematically bring them into being. Using a collaborative mode of making, we explore the tension between the well-ordered rules, regulations, and routines that make city life go, and the unpredictable chaos of urban development.
As the performance unfolds, a snowball effect emerges—what starts as a series of simple actions and routines rapidly evolves into a complex, living organism that integrates students’ talents as storytellers, writers, dancers, artists, and musicians. This crescendo mirrors the progression of urban environments, leaving the audience with a visceral understanding of the dynamic and overwhelming nature of cities.
TICKETS: $22 Adult, $16 Child/Student, FREE for W&M Students (w/ID). Purchase tickets
