Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play

When four campers and their loved ones visit the Rio Chama in Northern New Mexico, they soon discover there is more to the great outdoors than peace and quiet. One by one, the campers go missing, leaving the others afraid and in need of answers. What they discover is more wild and unpredictable than they could have ever imagined. 

A blend of sci-fi, thriller, adventure, and dance party, Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play follows four queer and trans youths on their journey to safety and shows the path to LGBTQIA+ paradise is closer than we think.

Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play is part of SQUINCH 4 Families, a multimedia, arts-centered curriculum developed by Health Equity Alliance of LGBTQ+ New Mexicans (HEAL Plus NM) to equip parents, family members, and caregivers with the skills and tools to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the LGBTQ+ youth they love.

Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play runs approx. 75 minutes (with no intermission) and is “rated’ PG13 for F-bombs, suggestive flirting, and mild references to abuse.

Spring Tour 2025


Saturday, April 5 at 3PM
Farmington, NM

Friday May 2 at 7PM
Saturday May 3 at 2PM
Albuquerque, NM

Cast + Crew

Director: Lynn Johnson

Assistant Director: Tatiana Isabel Gil

Original Sound + Music: Jessie Lane

Scenic Design: sherri crider + Haley Greenfeather

Costume Design: Allison Saint

Stage Manager: Lasha Kirker

Producers: Alex Ross-Reed + Lyisa Jimenez

Written by Allison Kenny + Danielle Simone

Featuring:

  • Allison Kenny

  • Bryan Avila-Fuentes

  • Dalilah Naranjo

  • Danielle Simone

  • Jessie Lane

  • Johnny Olesen

  • Lynn Johnson

  • Noe Field-Perkins

About the Play

Health Equity Alliance for LGBTQ+ New Mexicans (HEAL Plus NM), in partnership with High Desert Playback (HDP), has developed SQUINCH4Families, a multimedia, arts-centered curriculum designed to equip parents, family members, and caregivers with the skills and tools to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the LGBTQ+ youth they love. At the heart of this project is an original play called Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play, written from the real-life stories of LGBTQ+ youth from across New Mexico. 

SQUINCH stands for “Sharing Queer Understanding, Inclusion, Nonviolent Communication, and Health.”

In the Spring of 2024, High Desert Playback traveled to rural and urban areas of New Mexico, hosting interactive story circles for LGBTQ+ youth ages 16-24. These story circles used playback theatre and other art forms to:

  • Create belonging and facilitate trust and empathy 

  • Cultivate authentic connections between youth participants

  • Celebrate and honor all the ways that queer joy manifests in our lives

From there, High Desert Playback artists conducted 15 in-depth interviews with a diverse range of youth where they asked them questions like:

  • What has your gender and sexuality journey been like?

  • Can you tell us about a time someone (a friend or adult ally) really showed up for you?

  • What do you wish your parents and caregivers knew?

  • What resources do they need to better understand your identity and make more safe spaces for you? 

The artists then compiled all of the stories and responses and synthesized the overall themes according to the young people:

  1. Queer + Trans humans have a right to a peaceful existence and joy beyond imagination

  2. It is 100% normal to be queer + trans. We are not aliens.

  3. We are design thinkers. LGBTQ+ youth are building a world where ALL humans can thrive safely in all our intersectional identities. 

What resulted is an original 75-minute play that blends sci-fi, thriller, adventure, and dance party. Set on the banks of the Rio Chama in Northern New Mexico, the play follows four queer and trans youths on their journey to safety and shows the path to paradise is closer than we think.

What Folks Are Saying

  • "High Desert Playback is an oasis in the desert! As I travel through the immoral aftermath of colonialism, in a political landscape thirsty for more, HDP brings the community together to inspire and empower. May their message be uplifted and supported for all!"

  • "I had never experienced Playback Theatre before. The High Desert Playback actors had an amazing ability to capture the essence of each person’s story with empathy, humor, compassion, sensitivity and care. In the space of an evening, they created a sense of belonging, safety, community care, and support. I would recommend this experience to any group hoping to build a sense of shared compassion and understanding. The message of together we are stronger and can build the world we want and need was clear. Thank you!"

  • “Thank you!!! I would love to attend any future events of this nature! It left me feeling uplifted and hopeful, which we need desperately at this time in our world.”

  • "An expressive use of empathy as a tool for story-retelling and trauma first aid; I would recommend this workshop to everyone regardless of background."

  • "This is such a fun, intimate, collaborative, & inclusive workshop. It was my first time doing playback and I’m hooked!"

  • "The entire evening was powerful and nourishing. High Desert Playback created a magical space that helped people share without judgement and helped everyone in the room build a deeper understanding of the way racism and oppressive structures impact lives-- and they helped create space to share ways we can push back against those same structures."

  • "Learning Playback has reawakened something in me that has brought so much joy to my life. It’s much greater than just the workshops themselves- it’s reminded me how to play, while being vulnerable. So so grateful!"

  • "High Desert Playback is a needed glimpse into the future we need - where everyone is proudly and unapologetically themselves, and enthusiastic supporters of all the very different varieties of humans around them. Their performances quickly and lovingly embrace and draw in their diverse audiences, and serve to heal our many experiences of trauma as well as remind us of our own and each others' beauty and strength. I went to my first performance simply curious about what this could be, and have become a permanent fan."

  • "Lynn and Allison are kind, supportive and masterful facilitators who hold you sweetly through the process of learning something new. Playback Theatre is infused with joy, humor, and deep heart care."

  • "Engaging in creative play with my peers, just for pleasure's sake, feels deeply nourishing. Especially after three years of limited human to human connection. Allison and Lynn and all the attendees created such a safe place to let loose and have fun!"

  • "These amazing artists will make you believe in possibilities you had lost hope of seeing in your lifetime."