This year’s fall play, The Sisterhood or Sorority of Scientific Sisterly Science, written by Omer Abbas Salem, is unlike any other play Westridge has staged before. Directed by Director of Theatre Mr. Brandon Kruhm, the show marks the school’s first time bringing a completely new, never-before-produced play to the PAC stage.

The play takes place in a futuristic world where feelings and beliefs are banned in favor of science and logic. Society is thrown into turmoil when two mysterious green beings, who speak in an unknown language, appear out of nowhere. As the community decides whether to help or reject them, the story raises questions about empathy, fear, and humanity.

“It deals with really timely things like immigration, but in a way that’s allegorical, metaphorical, and playful,” Mr. Kruhm explained. “It’s fun and silly even when addressing serious topics.”

Mr. Kruhm discovered the play on The New Play Exchange, a digital library of scripts where playwrights and screenwriters upload works in hopes of having them produced. After reading the play last spring, Mr. Kruhm was immediately drawn to its balance of humor and depth. Rehearsals have reflected that same balance of seriousness and creativity. Mr. Kruhm describes the process as “really joyful” and “a lot of fun,” noting that the cast has taken full advantage of the creative freedom that comes with staging a premiere.

Lead actress Micaela R. ’26, who plays the character Sister Supreme, echoed Mr. Kruhms’ words about how the cast has worked together to honor the production’s artistic freedom. “It’s been a collaborative experience,” she said. The rehearsal room itself has become a tight-knit community. “It’s just these funny moments that remind me this cast aren’t just classmates—it’s sort of like a little family we’ve created,” she said.

Producing a play for the first time brings some unique opportunities. The production can’t be compared to any previous stagings, which gives students more creative liberty to design costumes and sets. However, with no past productions, there is little reference material.

Micaela shared, “There are a few moments where I have no clue what I am saying or where I’m just struggling, thinking, ‘what’s the point of this line?’” Mr. Kruhm sympathizes with this struggle, saying, “It gets a little difficult trying to be creative when no one has ever done it before.”

The set design is one area where crew members have exercised the most creative freedom through projection design, a process where digital artwork is projected onto the set instead of building or painting large physical backdrops. The students use various digital art platforms, such as Clip Studio, to create scenes and images that Mr. Kruhm edits in Photoshop to fit the stage perfectly.

Behind the scenes of The Sisterhood or Sorority of Scientific Sisterly Science, the tech crew has been hard at work transforming the stage into a futuristic world. Rachel K. ’27, a member of the tech crew, shared what goes into making that happen. “Mostly, it’s work on the set on the floor,” she said, “which is mainly just painting whatever the carpenter and Ms. Cindy [have] designed and made.” Once the big set pieces are completed, the tech crew switches to creating props. Rachel added that she and the others are currently ripping up ribbons of fabric for feather-like pieces.

As the tech crew brings the play to life, the directors and cast are just as focused on bringing its message to the audience.

Both Mr. Kruhm and the cast hope that The Sisterhood or Sorority of Scientific Sisterly Science will leave audiences thinking deeply about empathy, belonging, and human connection. “It’s clever, creative, and timely,” Mr. Kruhm said.

Micaela added, “We’ve put so much hard work into this play. I just want people to see the love and passion we have and to understand how much deeper this story is than they might expect.”

The show runs November 7-9. Click here to buy tickets to the show.