Time to go back to those remote fiction forums we all loved
Human bodies are self-generation cell machines that can produce an entirely new collection of cells every seven years. Some cells age and die in a few months, and others take a few years, but as that happens, new cells are being generated to keep the body functioning. This is what Nils desperately clings to because, when cells die, trauma should die with them, right? Too bad his ex-girlfriend just passed, and he’s forced back into a rich online scene that is far from healthy.
Written by Aliza Goldstein and directed by Alison Kozar, All New Cells takes place in the online world, specifically in a fiction roleplaying forum focused on vampire stories. At the center of it, as its leader and creator, is Lux, Nils’s ex-girlfriend, now deceased. A fantastic storyteller and role-player who has amassed both her audience’s and her co-writers’ love.
As Lux, Zenaida Rose Smith made me want to hear every single vampire fanfiction in that forum if only to hear them narrated in her voice. Smith’s voice is truly how I imagine a live storyteller’s voice should be. From the start, she pulls the audience into the story, both in her roleplay voice and her normal one. Her eloquence shines as she shows complex and often problematic emotions that only make you want to know more about the character.
Aeon, played by Jasmine Lomax, is Lux’s best friend, who takes over the forum after Lux’s passing. Aeon is responsible and caring and is probably the only character to mourn the way they’re expected to. Lomax is accurate in their portrayal of grief, as they seem sad and disturbed and desperate to solve Lux’s passing.
On the other hand, Moody laughs as she asks “I know we’re all grieving but can you tag me?” As far as inappropriate people go, Moody takes the cake. Kay Taylor Yelinek deserves their own applause for playing such a self-contradicting character, who’s just trying her best but also becoming problematically unhinged in the process. Moody is the toxic online account that will troll you for fun in their free time and who seems to care for nobody but themselves. Still, even Moody is not immune to Lux’s charm, as she ends up obsessed with the forum leader nonetheless.
The only one who seems to dislike Lux is Nils but he’s so closed off it’s hard to decipher why. Having once been so close to Lux, people expect him to have all the answers but the last thing he wants is to be involved in their community once again. In every interaction, Kasper Cergol shows an annoyed Nils who is reluctantly engaging with his past online friends. The thing is, we hardly get to see any other emotion from Nils that isn’t laced with this permanent reluctance. It’s hard to imagine why Nils even humored Moody and Aeon instead of blocking them or ghosting them immediately.
Even though Nils is supposed to be one of the main characters his character development isn’t very clear. He pretty much acts the same throughout the entire play, with a few exceptions, until the very end, when his view on his trauma finally changes. It would’ve been nice to see more of who he is as a person, instead of solely showing his trauma. At present, it’s hard to see what motivates him as a character, which makes it harder to feel for him. Unfortunately, we seem to get more of an inside view into Aeon and Moody than we do Nils.
The stage is laid out in different sections to showcase all of the character’s online setups as they engage through the forum. Their desks light up whenever they’re online and go to red when they aren’t. It seemed like a clever use of space and a good way to show an otherwise virtual world. The audio engineering also helped create a more immersive experience. Still, it’s not very easy to imagine the interface unless you’re very familiar with this kind of scene. Arguably, you can still enjoy the story without fully understanding the virtual forums but maybe not as much.
Overall, it’s a very eloquent and dynamic story that explores trauma and healing in an otherwise unseen world and that carries a plethora of strong and unique characters to tell each of their stories. Goldstein and Kozar both show love and tenderness for this world and refer to it as their “hometown” and the place they grew up in. I only wish I could’ve seen a more positive side of it, considering All New Cells focuses on a pretty toxic section of it.
All New Cells by the Shattered Glass Project |Theatre Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave S., Seattle WA 98109 | June 2-18, Thu-Sat at 7:30 p.m., Sun at 2:00 p.m.
Trigger Warnings: description of suicide, references to sexual assault, self-harm, online bullying, and transphobia. Check their website for more information and resources: Support Resources and Spoilers – All New Cells — The Shattered Glass Project
Tickets: All New Cells – June 2-June 18 — The Shattered Glass Project