Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater & Music Theater
How to Live at the End of the World
by Orion Lopez-Ramirez ’26
Run Time
70 minutes, no intermission.
Program Notes
Review a reading list of material used in the writing and development of the performance.
Project Support
This project is supported in part by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ partnership with the IV Fund, which supports student independent work that explores mental well-being and mental health and gives campus audiences a chance to grapple with these matters in generative and generous ways.
Content Advisory
This play discusses heavy political and social concepts. Profanity is also used. The production includes flashing lights and loud noises.
Special Notes
Please silence all electronic devices including cellular phones and watches, and refrain from text messaging for the duration of the performance.
Talkback Event
A talkback discussion with award-winning playwright and 2022-23 Princeton Hodder Fellow Virginia Grise, who was an advisor on the project, and Orion Lopez-Ramirez will follow the September 26 performance, moderated by Senior Lecturer in Theater Elena Araoz.
Accessibility
The Drapkin Studio is an accessible venue with an assistive listening system. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information about our various locations.
Cast
Orion Lopez-Ramirez: Played by himself
Death, Police Detective #1: Luis Miranda ’29*
War, Police Detective #2: Sierra Krichiver ’29
Conquest, Fired: B Ireland ’29*
Famine, Chess: Tatiana Gonzalez ’29
Lighting: Rowan Johnson ’27*
Announcer/Voice Actor: Joseph Nartker ’26
Production Team
Project Leader: Orion Lopez-Ramirez ’26*
Lighting Designer: Didi Vekri ’27*
Sound Designer: Orion Lopez-Ramirez ’26*
Stage Manager: Lucy Shea ’27*
Assistant Stage Manager: James-Allen Leyba ’28
Run Crew: Rowan Johnson ’27*
Intimacy Director: Jacqueline Holloway
Special Consultant: Virginia Grise
*denotes a student minoring in the Program in Theater & Music Theater
Faculty Advisors
Elena Araoz, Faculty Project Mentor
Tess James, Faculty Advisor
A Note from the Project Proposer
How to Live at the End of the World is a piece originating from a question of the responsibility we all owe to the world. I entered the senior year show proposals process with nothing but a nagging feeling that there is a responsibility to presenting a show to students at the number one university in the nation. Here, the audience is filled with future decision makers. People who will hold not insignificant power over others. What do I put on stage when given one of the most important audiences possible?
Elena Araoz, who believed in me from the moment I stepped into her introductory acting class, invited me to Boston to watch her work with Virginia Grise, who was developing her performance lecture. The experience was nothing short of incredible. After those two days and a meaningful conversation, I was convinced that I could communicate something that mattered, and that I hoped would ultimately stick with my audience.
In talking to my peers, both at home and at Princeton, the idea that we are near or at the end of the world is pervasive. Our dreams and aspirations for the future are oftentimes limited by this knowledge. The future, while always uncertain, feels even more uncertain every day that passes. The world we expected to grow up into has radically changed, and it continues to change faster than any of us thought possible. And until the direction of change changes for the better, we must all ask ourselves how to live at the end of the world.
The ideas in this piece are the result of conversations with my team, friends, and family. My work developed hand in hand with the ideas others had in response to it. Whether it was a conversation, or an idea of dialogue, or a new direction, or a blocking choice, this piece is a reflection of the truths shared and trusted to me by people whose minds and hearts I hold in the highest regard.
I dedicate this piece to my mother, who taught me what it truly means to be a good person in the world through her actions, and my brother, for whom this piece is a love letter and a map. To my partner forever, my Alex, there is no one I would rather live with at the end of the world.
I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my team. This piece is nothing without you all. Luis, B, Tatiana, and Sierra, thank you for trusting me with your first of undoubtedly many shows at Princeton. Your talent and creativity amaze me, and you have left your own mark on this piece. It is exceptionally clear that you belong here, and I am so proud to pass the torch to you.
Didi, thank you for agreeing to return to lighting design for my show. You truly can do it all in the theater world, and the joy you bring to all those who work with you is a blessing. And, thank you for your voice acting.
James-Allen, thank you for your patience and commitment to this project. Your belief and honesty was invaluable in the process, and I will treasure our friendship.
Lucy, it was a privilege to get to have you in my corner throughout this process. You kept me realistic and never lied to me. You are truly an artist in everything you do, and stage management is no exception. Your bravery and conviction with which you make art inspires me. The theater world here at Princeton and beyond is incredibly lucky to have you.
Rowan, thank you for agreeing to step in and lend your time and talent to this project. I am truly blessed to call you a collaborator and even more blessed to call you my friend.
Joey, thank you for lending your voice to this piece. I could not imagine anyone else in your place, and your talent is more than evident.
Thank you to Vicky and Elena for you unwavering belief in me as a theatermaker, student, and thinker.
Thank you to the Lewis Center staff: Carmelita, Chloe, Milan, Jaclyn, Steve, Tracy, Jonathan, Matt, Jesse, Miriam, Tess, Kay, Keating, and Torrey. Your work does not go unnoticed, and I thank you for making this project possible.
Thank you to the theatermakers and creatives before me who have taught me everything I know: Wasif, Lana, Kat, SJ, Andrew, Raquel, John, Kaelani, Le’Naya, Mel, and Elliot. It is an honor to call you all my friends and my teachers.
Thank you to Mr. Bhai and Ms. Lucas, who taught me what the world was, is, and could be. Thank you to Ms. Alcantar, who let me ditch in the theater classroom. Thank you to Princeton WBB for showing me what it means to dedicate yourself to the craft. Thank you to Daniel Rattner and Princeton Summer Theater, who gave me the opportunity to discover a confidence in myself I did not know I could have.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for spending a brief moment with me at the end of the world.
—Orion Lopez-Ramirez
Land Acknowledgement
An estimated 10 million Native Americans lived in North America before the arrival of European colonizers. Many thousands lived in Lenapehoking, the vast homeland of the Lenni-Lenape, who were the first inhabitants of what is now called eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
Princeton stands on part of the ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Lenape people. In 1756, the College of New Jersey erected Nassau Hall with no recorded consultation with the Lenni-Lenape peoples.
Treaties and forced relocation dispersed Lenape-Delaware to Ohio, Kansas, and Oklahoma. We acknowledge the violence of settler colonialism and pay respect to Lenape peoples past, present, and future and their continuing presence in the homeland and throughout the Lenape diaspora.
For more information about ways you can engage with and support the Indigenous community on campus please visit the website of Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAI) at Princeton University, Natives at Princeton and Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition.
Lewis Center for the Arts
Acting Chair: Stacy Wolf
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young
Director of Program in Theater and Music Theater: Jane Cox
View a list of Program in Theater & Music Theater faculty & guest artists
For a look at all the people working behind the scenes to bring you this event, view a list of LCA staff members.
The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of many alumni and other donors. View a list of LCA Supporters
