Placebo Effect
Angus L.
-
Our intention for The Placebo Virus was to comment on society's shockingly loose grasp of the truth in the form of a comedic play. The obscurity of truth in the media and in politics is baffling to us. The existence of the "Placebo virus" and some media's coverage of it was intended to be a commentary on the public's reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic specifically, but also generally speaking to the blurring of truth and fiction we see around us right now. The Placebo virus loosely plays with the idea of the Placebo effect, a beneficial effect that occurs largely based upon a patient believing that a certain intervention or drug might cure them. In addition, our play intends to use this psychosomatic virus to suggest the power of belief and anxiety, regardless of where those beliefs originated. Finally, we deliberately chose to set our play in a fictional medieval monarchy. It was not specifically pointing to one political side or another in American politics so that everyone could appreciate the lunacy. We feel that one of the best mediums for expressing effective commentary about serious or nuanced sociopolitical issues is comedy; moreover, we believe that everyone likes to laugh and we wish to bring people together through humor.
-
Testing the boundaries of creativity makes us happy and allows us to process our respective lives. It also allows us to share fun times with our friends and siblings, as we have a lot of fun acting out the crazy plays and movies we have written and practiced together.