Rumors of Polar Bears
a play by Jonathan Dorf
a play by Jonathan Dorf
Rumors of Polar Bears follows a group of teens living in a world that's been radically altered by a chain reaction of climate change-related events. Survival mixes with little moments of joy in a less than forgiving, not so distant future.
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PRACTICAL DETAILS
Running time: 30-35 minutes (one-act version) or 90-100 minutes (full-length version). Cast Breakdown: 8+ females, 3-4 males (one-act) or 8+ females, 4+ males and a cast of 14-40+ performers possible (full-length). Technical Requirements: While it can be done as simply as your needs require, as you can see from the photos, Rumors of Polar Bears has the potential to be a designer's playground. Whether it's creating a wasteland or a recycled paradise, costuming performers in "found" attire, inventing an imaginative soundscape or placing the Aurora Borealis on stage, design opportunities abound. And don't forget the kiddie pool! Best suited for middle school and older. 
Read an Excerpt, or Order a Reading Copy or Performance Rights!
The one-act version is available from Playscripts. Click here to read a large excerpt from the play or place an order! The full-length version is available from YouthPLAYS. Click here to read a large excerpt from the play or place an order! Note: the one-act version is the first act of the full-length, which is a three-act cycle. 
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SYNOPSIS
In the near future, a ragtag band of teens struggles for survival in the face of a climate-induced catastrophe. Despite dire circumstances that leave them scavenging for food and water, they find fun where they can, frolicking in the "party pool" and forgetting themselves just long enough to be teenagers. But that all changes when they're forced to flee their makeshift home. On the road, they'll encounter everything from unfinished coloring books and failing paradises to a frozen-in-time former pre-kindergarten drama class, deadly bikers determined to turn the chaos into their own new world order...and a mysterious people that even the bikers won't cross. Will the teen refugees follow Deme, their leader, and chase after the rumored polar bears that she believes are the key to their long-term survival, or will the little patchwork family fall apart? 
Check out the battle scene from the Cambridge-Isanti High School (Cambridge, MN) one-act world premiere production!
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Photo credits (clockwise from banner): Eclectic Productions (Newcastle, NSW, Australia; photo by WAYEGOOD Photography); Eclectic Productions; Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, CA; photo by Ojas Devanathan); LaVilla School of the Arts (Jacksonville, FL; photo by Abbie Malkewitz); Eclectic Productions.