THE SALOON

FIRST PRODUCED: SPRING 2025

A two-act stage play set in an interdimensional meeting space known only as "The Saloon". The proprietor of this space, the Barkeep, assists their patrons as they face life-changing events. The Barkeep helps facilitate this journey by pulling the Tarot card assigned to each patron by the space. Those who enter the Saloon are forever changed by their time there, even the Barkeep, who must come to terms with their role as a cosmic companion with no identity of their own.

The first production of this original show was made possible thanks to collaboration with Page to Stage Productions, UConn.

QUEERNESS

This show is an encapsulation of the queer identity. Many characters in the show struggle with their place in the world, and characters like the Hierophant and the Lovers struggle to deal with their gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Barkeep themself is a character that helped Drew come to terms with their own queerness. The character is nothing but a vessel created to serve the people who enter the Saloon, and they must come to terms with their changing body and personality, while discovering what it means to be "somebody". Between acts, the actors for the Barkeep swap places, showing this slow transformation towards person-hood and self-love.

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

This show incorporated original Tarot Card designs by a number of talented artists. These cards incorporated the stories of each character, as well as photography of each actor done by Emma Schreiber. The cards incorporated a mixture of digital and hand drawn art, as well as water coloring and photography.

Additionally, the show has two original guitar pieces that were beautifully composed by Julian Au. These pieces help facilitate the journies of The Magician and The World, and were performed by Sean Yamanaka during the initial performance run.