There can be, at best, a veneer of suspense when the story is written down, immutable in black and white, and played out a thousand times with the ending always the same. The decisions made at the writing desk are made once and for all time the outcome on stage is predetermined. What apprehension can there truly be in the face of a known quantity?

But what if it weren’t predestined? In Precipice, Theater of Menace explores the actor’s journey through a character’s moment of crisis--culminating in a moment of irreversible decision--where the uncertainty is real in the face of an unwritten ending.

The audience can expect three short, dark two-actor plays where one of the actors is going to be able to make a decision, in the moment, determining how the play concludes. We wrestle with topics including family estrangement, faith and justice, and loyalty to one’s people. There are no right answers, no good or evil people, only one person’s choice determining the fate of both.

Do we perceive a character’s choices differently if the actor is not bound to a script? Is the tension greater when an actor’s every breath is a hint or a clue to their decision-making process? Can we learn anything about the psychology behind real-life decision-making by studying our actors’ journey towards a choice that is irreversible?