An immersive sci-fi fiction production (that’s also a dance party) dreams of creating a cooperative society

At work, the word meeting often evokes dread.

But it won’t be that way during the PlaNet annual council “meeting” that forms the basis of Other Orbits, an immersive science fiction production from Applied Mechanics at Standby Stages, a film studio in Kensington, through July 22.

First, consider the attendees: a walrus made of mushrooms, a sentient microphone, a land whale, a rock — and to some extent, the audience.

Secondly, the meeting requires a dance party. (Isn’t that the norm at your office?) PlaNet’s rules of order mandate “both verbal and nonverbal communication for each agenda item,” director Rebecca Wright said.

Whatever the agenda items are and however the characters look, their goal is to create a cooperative society in a failed human colony. Can they do better than their human ancestors at resolving their issues?

“The different characters have different points of view,” Wright said. “They are all struggling with the same questions. They are struggling with them in different ways and they come to different conclusions.”

In development for five years, Other Orbits focuses on the concept of the middle — an early working title was Middle Management. It particularly examines generational turnover — a sandwich time of caring for babies and elderly parents, while also “ascending into power,” even as those younger increase their influence, Wright explained.

“The big pressing social issues and environmental crises of our time call that generational turnover into focus,” Wright said. Science fiction fans “talk about how science fiction opens more ways to examine your own present,” she said.

All of Other Orbits plays out “in a story where there are no human characters.” It takes place on a different planet, “where the planet is also a character,” Wright explained.

Even before the pandemic, Applied Mechanics was thinking about different and more accessible ways of presenting theater. Other Orbits was the result.

Created as a serial performance piece, Other Orbits has seven components that play out in different mediums, each of which is able to stand on its own in terms of plot. These components have been explored through a radio play, a digital time capsule, a board game, an activity packet, a music album, a short reality-TV-themed film, and finally, this live performance at Standby Stages.

Applied Mechanics developed Other Orbits collaboratively because collaboration is a founding principle for the group, a worker cooperative since its start in 2009. Each of the seven members, including Wright, is paid equally and has an equal say in the group’s administration.(And no, the members aren’t dancing at meetings, although Applied Mechanics builds hangout time into agendas.)

A roster of Philly theater names makes up the company, each with an impressive local resume. Working freelance, Wright has directed plays throughout the region including Red Riding Hood at Arden Theatre Co. and Head Over Heels at Theatre Horizon.

Applied Mechanics also considers itself an activist organization and supports the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities.

“We have an interest in alternative systems and radical futures,” Wright said. “That ethos forms the plays that we make and the way we work.”

Applied Mechanics’ “Other Orbits” runs through July 22 at Standby Stages, 2033 Silver St., Phila., appliedmechanics.us. Check with the theater for COVID-19 protocols. For information on other local events, visit inquirer.com/things-to-do-philly.