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MISS ATOMIC POWER
In 1951 Charmaine Farino was crowned “Miss Atomic Power” at a pageant celebrating the first atomic bomb dropped in the Nevada desert. Twenty years later, Charmaine and her teenage daughter Bets run a failing roadside attraction. Alongside them live two space aliens named Dave, who were stranded in the desert under mysterious circumstances. Time hasn't been kind to Charmaine or Bets, who are recovering from the loss of Bet’s brother to complications from cancer. As Bets wrangles bursts of anger, Charmaine relies on drugs, and the Daves toil away at their broken spaceship, until the summer of 1971. Unbeknownst to her mother, Bets enters the 20th Anniversary Miss Atomic Power Jr. Competition hoping to win a scholarship to college and leave her life behind. However, plans change when Bets and Charmaine are recruited as star witnesses in a lawsuit against the federal government for knowingly poisoning its inhabitants during nuclear testing. As past and present collide all are forced toward a new understanding of their state, their country, and each other.
Miss Atomic Power was developed in Inkubator Playlab, and presented at Art House's New Play Festival. MAP was featured in a PBS story about Inkubator Playlab.
Miss Atomic Power was directed by and developed with Carsen Joenk. Above is Carsen's design presentation for the show.
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