SOCIAL DISTANCE | ACTING EDITION

Book excerpt: Social Distance is a play that follows the paths of four people: Hannah, Paolo, Ya and Amare. All four are friends and colleagues at a Pacific Northwest technology company and are forced into self-quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. This play examines all the waves the four, and indeed the world, face during this period of global pandemic: Fear, strength, resolve, financial strain, emotional and physical fatigue, faith and community, all through the lens of social distance. As the waves of national, state and local measures intensify to combat COVID-19, the four try to stay healthy and stay connected, growing a deeper bond in the face of isolation and potential significant illness. The play concludes with a world that truly has changed for generations: The real-world costs, and finality, in many respects, caused COVID-19.