The University of Southern California’s MFA New Works Festival featured three original plays by graduating MFA playwrights, each receiving a full production for the first time. Performed in an L-shaped black box theatre, the festival showcased stories set in vastly different worlds—a family home in 1980s Mexico, a cross-country road trip, and a present-day house in California. Each production had two weeks in the space to develop and rehearse, allowing for tailored adjustments to the shared scenic environment. All three productions utilized the same base scenic design: a neutral set of walls with two functional doorways and four large scrim panels, which were moved manually via a pulley system operated backstage.

Between Fresno and Hell required transforming the base scenic elements into a fully realized living room and kitchen. Set in 2020, the home needed to feel starkly modern—reflecting a young family mid-move, surrounded by unopened boxes, sparse furniture, and the tension of a life not yet settled. The play follows Mike, a husband and new father struggling to adjust as he relocates with his family to California’s Central Valley during a time of crisis. As wildfires rage and a pandemic isolates communities, Mike faces a crumbling marriage, a sick child, and the unraveling of his identity, all under the watchful gaze of a surreal mural of “Heartthrob Jesus” painted on the wall.