Everybody: A Twist on Mortality and Death

Middlesex’s Fall and Studio plays are centered on ideas of mortality and death, where characters battle loss and the idea of what it truly means to live.

Illustration by Serena Park

This year’s Fall Play and Studio Play present twisting takes on mortality, examining what it means to live and eventually die in a way that Middlesex has never done before. The Studio Play centers on concepts of death and what it means to live without someone you love. It follows a photographer who captures the lives of the people she encounters as she embarks on her journey to move on from her husband. According to Technical Director Ryan Dubray, it’s a “slice of life” where you can see people in different stages of life, all connected through this narrator—the photographer. 

The Fall Play, Everybody, is much more abstract, including similarly heavy topics. A modern adaptation of a 15th-century morality play, Everybody begins with ushers—played by the cast—welcoming everybody to the show. Soon after, the Gods speak through the ushers and summon Death (played by Josh Richards ‘26), demanding that Death find somebody to meet before the Gods to present every good and bad action, and memory in their life. Death finds the character Everybody (played by Cate Glass ‘26), who is representative of everyone in the world, and goes on a mission to find the different ‘characters’ of her life to bring before the Gods. She meets Friendship, Love, and other overarching themes of life that ultimately decides the central message of the show: what do you take with you when you die? 

The show is meant to make the audience question how they live their lives, and every action and feeling they will bring with them when they inevitably die. The set of Everybody is supposed to feel like a white wall that represents, according to Ryan Dubray, “a billboard on the road of life [the characters] are passing through.” The lighting will be very fun throughout the show, and the music during the preshow will feature many songs containing the word ‘everybody.’ Tenny Sprong ‘28, who plays Girl/Time, comments that, even for actors with a relatively smaller role, “you’re still engaged in rehearsal and are part of the bigger theater community.” She also notes that rehearsals are “a lot of fun,” starting with a warm-up activity, then running scenes while going back to reinforce any blocking or memorization. 

Although the play tackles serious topics of death, Tenny assures the audience that several funny scenes make the play more “lighthearted,” tackling serious themes with “humor mixed into it.” As Ryan Dubray said, the show in early November will be “a lot of fun and everyone should come see it!”

Emma McMullin ‘28