The Civilians Receive $700,000 for Steve Cosso and Michael Friedman’s The Great Immensity

The Civilians have received a $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to be used toward Steve Cosson and Michael Friedman’s The Great Immensity. The NSF grant will be used for the development, production, and touring of the piece, as well as educational and public programming to accompany it.

The show tells the story of Polly, a photojournalist who disappears while working in the rainforests of Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal, and her twin sister, who embarks on an international search for her sister that spans the North American continent, from the tropics of Central America to arctic Canada.

The play weaves actual interviews with top scientists and locals from the regions into the sisters’ fictional tale as they struggle to survive polar bears, tundra buggies, snakes, and other menaces, even as they grapple with the realities of climate change.

The Civilians have been producing shows for 10 years. The group will next be represented on stage by In the Footprint: The Battle Over the Atlantic Yards, to run November 12-December 11 at the Irondale Center in Brooklyn.