It’s hard to top playwright Siena Marilyn Ledger’s insight into their craft: “I like to think that art can give light to what’s ultimately inside the soul.”
Ledger’s “Man and Moon,” which opens tonight at Moxie Theatre, shines its light on two characters sharing a waiting room at an oncology unit. Aaron (MG Green), a transitioning man, is a breast cancer patient. And 12-year-old Luna (played by the singularly named Tirzah), a lover of astronomy, is the daughter of a woman who is receiving cancer treatments.
The play has gone through several iterations since Ledger began writing it in 2015. “It wasn’t always a two-hander,” said Ledger, who uses they/them pronouns. “It became one because I realized that there was something that each of these characters could teach the other.”
“Man and Moon,” to be directed by Moxie executive artistic director Desireé Clarke Miller, is fresh off a 2022 National New Play Network Rolling Premiere, during which it was staged at Oregon Contemporary Theatre in Eugene, at Good Company Theatre in Ogden, Utah, and at the 16th Street Theater NFP in the Chicagoland area.
“After the rolling world premiere, (Moxie) asked for the most updated version of the script,” Ledger recalled. “Right when Desireé took over as artistic director I sent it over and got to know the folks there.”
Ledger was born and raised in San Diego, and attended Torrey Pines High School. It was during their senior year at Cal State Fullerton that they met directing major Kat Devoe-Peterson.
“They were familiar with my work and we just clicked right away in terms of artistic vibes,” Ledger said. “They said, ‘I want to do something to honor my mom, who has gone through several bouts of breast cancer treatment and has beaten it every time.’”
MG Green, left, and Tirzah, rear, co-star in Moxie Theatre’s “Man and Moon.”
(Courtesy of Moxie Theatre)
The two began going to breast cancer support groups together. “We just listened and we learned a lot about all the other things that you don’t necessarily think about cancer affecting.”
At the same time, said Ledger, “When we were at those support groups I saw that it was a very woman-centric disease. I wanted to explore someone who maybe didn’t fit into that specific narrative.”
Thus the character of Aaron, who finds out he has breast cancer while “somewhere in the middle of his journey in terms of his expression and transition.”
As for young Luna, she’s “kind of the embodiment of myself and probably Kat, too,” Ledger said. “A little bit of us both. She’s dealing with a lot of real-life things that don’t have complete answers, so she does her best to relate to them in a way that she can.”
That’s through the heavens.
“I’ve always been fascinated with space personally,” said Ledger, “and found it to be a very comforting thing to look to when there aren’t necessarily answers.”
“Man and Moon” is a play that Ledger believes “sheds light on voices that don’t typically get heard. Aaron is a part of the trans community, and this is an opportunity to give a piece of history back to that community. And even though Luna is a kid, she still has a voice and has something powerful to say.”
Collaborator Devoe-Peterson passed away in 2021.
Ledger said “it’s been challenging not having that sounding board to share this story with. It’s hard not being able to talk to the person who helped me conceive (‘Man and Moon’).” But, Ledger added, “I think that Kat would be happy with where the story is today.”
‘Man and Moon’
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Through Dec. 3.
Where: Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Blvd., Ste. N, Rolando
Tickets: $25-$50
Phone: (858) 598-7620
Online: moxietheatre.com
Coddon is a freelance writer.
