This week, Greg interviews James Ferrero, the Production Designer behind the 2026 Hollywood Fringe hit sci-fi drama, Strange Beings, written and directed by Nicole Knudsen.
Get Tickets to Strange Beings – https://events.thestagecrafts.com/projects/15070
Connect with Day for Knight Productions on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/dayforknightproductions/
About Strange Beings
WINNER:
Fringe First for World Premiere
The StageCrafts Seasonal MiniFest Award: MythicFest
NOMINATED:
Top of the Fringe
Fringe Award for Dramatic Theatre
The Sacred Fools’ Award for Unique Theatricality
SoHo Playhouse’s International Fringe Encore Series 2026 “Hollywood Prize”
SYNOPSIS:
It was supposed to be an easy job with a good paycheck. Deep-space courier contracts are always lucrative. And it was easy…
…until an unidentified alien vessel intercepts The Valkyrie on the return leg of its journey. And as luck would have it, the courier ship’s translator doesn’t seem to be functioning.
Good thing The Valkyrie’s two pilots, Mina Hansen and Caleb Cooper, work so well together. Good thing there’s no bad blood between them…
…Right?
It’s complicated.
Contending with both their dire circumstances and tempestuous personal history, Mina and Caleb must do everything they can to make it home safely. And in unearthing their past, they just might find hope for the future.
Past Lives meets Star Trek, Strange Beings examines the fragile balance between pain, grace, and choosing to forgive. With aliens!
CONTENT WARNINGS INCLUDE: Isolation; dizziness & nausea; temporary physical incapacitation; strong language; brief allusion to sexual assault; flashing lights; loud, sudden sounds.
Poster art by Nicole Knudsen & James Ferrero
Production photos by Jill Petracek
PRAISE FOR STRANGE BEINGS:
“The play has a surprising emotional intelligence, exploring themes of avoidance, vulnerability, and the ways people protect themselves from pain. As the layers of the characters’ history are peeled back, the audience is invited to reflect on their own relationships and capacity for grace.” – Alon Dina, Stage Takes
“Great science fiction has to be about something other than the science fiction. Strange Beings is about human connection, contending with the past and finding a way to move forward while taking responsibility for previous actions. The show was moving and considered with some truly witty moments.” – Scott Leggett, Sacred Fools Co-Artistic Director
”Strange Beings is…tight, focused, emotionally moving, with a clear why, brilliant performances, excellent writing and directing.” – Adriana Martínez Barrón, Head of TV & Film – Sage Works Productions
“Guided by the incredible writing and direction of Nicole Knudsen, Joshua Verges and Victoria Gluchoski deliver masterful performances as Caleb and Mina that capture the unique ache of loving someone you can no longer reach. Thoughtful, intimate, and deeply relatable, Strange Beings is a moving exploration of forgiveness, regret, and the lives we imagine we could have lived. It asks the quiet question of who we might have been in another life, and whether it’s ever too late to choose differently in this one.” – Mariah Morgenstern, Certified Fringe Review
“The type of show that grabs you immediately and doesn’t let you go.” – Will McFadden, Certified Fringe Review
“Brilliant blend of science fiction and character drama. A fantastic theatre experience.” – Chet Kazalski, Certified Fringe Review
“A poignant exploration of all the ways we humans hurt one another and how repairing those hurts might just be our saving grace. One of the best shows I’ve seen onstage at Fringe.” – Joshua Chamberlain, Certified Fringe Review
“Nicole Knudsen does a masterful job as writer/director as she asks us to explore what it means to be human.” – Jennifer Ashe, Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative
About On This Stage
A podcast about theatre and those who make it, by those who facilitate it. Hosted by the StageCrafts.
About The StageCrafts
We make producing theater in LA easier. The StageCrafts offers intimate, fully-equipped Hollywood black box venues for rent, affordable production and design services, and low-barrier opportunities to mount your work through a growing slate of festivals and ongoing events.
Theme Song – “Fun Kids Club” by Michael Gordon Shapiro, used with permission.
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