No Future, a one-hour play written by Sophie Brown, captivated audiences every evening from February 14th through 17th in Common Fields, a collection of food trucks and restaurants located about a mile from the Oregon State University’s Corvallis campus. Although the open-air seating was ill-suited for Corvallis’ dreary February weather, the play was worth the chilly (and slightly damp) experience.

No Future, directed by Miranda Lenore, centers around a decision thrust upon the recently deceased punk-rock star Tate Luna (Austin Crowell): re-live the life of a punk-rock star with his old friend and band-mate, Glenn Ravager (Will Gaston), or live a normal life. Through several flashbacks which make up the bulk of the story, the play explores Tate and Glenn’s turbulent friendship and Glenn’s untimely death after overdosing. Ramon Banks (Yuri Sokolov) initially serves the role of the afterlife’s hostess, but her own morally gray backstory is unraveled as the story continues.

The play explores themes of friendship, substance abuse, and child abuse. It also begs the question: what does it mean for a movement (in this case, punk) to glamorize living dangerously? By displaying the anguish of poverty, substance use and abuse, and losing loved ones in a blunt and honest manner, Brown forces the audience to confront the reality of the “live fast, die young, and leave a sexy corpse” lifestyle – all while not ignoring the thrill of a life on the edge. We in the audience are forced to ponder, alongside Tate, whether a thrilling life of tremendous highs and lows is better than a quiet, tamer life. 

No Future was entirely directed and acted by OSU students, and was a product of OSU Theatre. To stay up-to-date on OSU student performances, visit https://events.oregonstate.edu/calendar?event_types%5B%5D=98098