Kid-Simple: a radio play in the flesh

by Jordan Harrison

Moll, a girl who invents things, wins the science fair with a machine for hearing sounds that can't be heard. But when a shapeshifting Mercenary steals the invention (and her heart), she must embark on a quest to save noise as we know it. Accompanied by the last boy-virgin in the eleventh grade, Moll crosses chasms and rafts rivers into a world where sound is always more than what meets the ear. A quirky fable of innocence and experience, featuring live sound effects, mutinous onomatopoeia, and a host of woodsy temptations.

Genres: Plays, Drama

play

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

From seventh to ninth grade, I participated in Destination Imagination, or DINI, a program in which kids write, produce, and perform short plays with all sorts of requirements: budgets, crazy characters, machines, set specifications. One year, the theme had something to do with a radio show, and a lot of the sound effects had to be produced live. That's probably the main reason I loved Kid-Simple - it calls for sound effects constantly, but such beautiful ones: the sound of toenails growing on a field mouse, the sound of a shipwreck far away. The play presents incredible opportunites for directors and sound designers to do something really unusual and wonderful.

Beyond that, though, I loved this play because of its childlike wonder and magic; though not necessarily intended for children, it retains the sense of mystery and adventure that all the best children's stories have. And it manages to do this without being trite, or simple.

I really would love to produce this show, because I think it would be complicated and messy and incredible. I think that's how I can tell it's a great play - the fact that I'd be willing to put up with its challenges and do it anyway, because it's just that good. It is different and smart and completely not-pretentious; it's simply an exploration of a girl and sound and loss and creation.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildly imaginative play, that probably plays better with all the foley sound effects required.

[Ren · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the heck even happened in this play? I saw this at thescon 2k19 and it feels like a fever dream. I can barely piece together the plot and the only reason why I somewhat enjoyed the experience was because of all of the inside jokes that my friends made. Also what the heck was that virgin plot thing? Why did the virgin want to bang a goat? And a tree? How horny does someone need to be? I can barely remember the whole thing, that could be because I am trying to block it out of my memory or because this was a hot mess. The cast and crew did amazing for the material that they were given. Props to them. The sounds were on point and the actors did amazing. Also, what was the whole waterboarding thing? What was that about? Is that in the play itself or did the director take some liberties? Only god knows.

[Laura Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful play that reads like a modern-day fairy tale. I'm hype to audition for this show!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play whose ending delights and stymies me. See Kid Simple in production if you can, because Harrison's employment of sound effects to tell a story about an inventor and her quest to write wrongs is nothing short of magical.