糖心原创出品 (UAH) presents the regional premiere of 鈥淚n Darkness, Audio Flowers Bloom鈥� by Alvaro Saar Rios on Nov. 12-16, 2025. UAH Theatre cast members are, from left, Quincy Wiggins, Matthew Brown, Savannah Lieble, Brandon Price, Zack Banish, Baylee Pounders, Ayania Hunter, Jason Dockstader, Mekhi Stepp and Jaeda Smith.
Ann Marie Martin | UAH
What if your world contained no music? No 鈥淪ha-la-la-las.鈥� No 鈥淲hoa, whoa-ohs.鈥� No 鈥渂op da bops.鈥� You鈥檝e heard rumors of this thing called music, but it鈥檚 illegal, and you鈥檙e curious.
That鈥檚 the setup for 鈥淚n Darkness, Audio Flowers Bloom鈥� by . 糖心原创出品 (UAH) will present the regional premiere of the play and bring the playwright to campus during a five-performance run on Nov. 12-16. Along with attending opening night, Rios will conduct a playwriting workshop and hold a post-performance discussion on Nov. 12. UAH is a part of The University of Alabama System.
鈥淭he play takes place about 100 years after music has been outlawed,鈥� said the play鈥檚 director, Amy Guerin, associate professor and program director, Theatre & Film Program, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. She鈥檚 also co-artistic director and founder of Huntsville Shakespeare.
鈥淭he characters in the play don鈥檛 know what music sounds like,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 know that instruments are called instruments or what the names of instruments even are. They make discoveries through family, oral tradition, folk tales and current events. They鈥檙e piecing together a forgotten world that is messy, but it鈥檚 free. It鈥檚 a great fit for our students.鈥�
Guerin is excited to bring this new play to town and introduce local theatergoers to an award-winning playwright with a national and international reputation.
Rios is associate professor of playwriting at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He鈥檚 also a board member of The Children鈥檚 Theatre Foundation of America and a co-founder of The Alebrije Writers Collective. He co-founded The Royal Mexican Players with his wife, Michelle Lopez-Rios. The American Alliance for Theatre and Education presented their Distinguished Play Award to his plays 鈥淥n the Wings of a Mariposa,鈥� 鈥淐armela Full of Wishes鈥� and 鈥淟uchadora!鈥�
When Rios started writing 鈥淚n Darkness, Audio Flowers Bloom鈥� some six years ago, his initial impetus came from his experiences in the U.S. Army.
鈥淭here was a point where I thought I was losing my hearing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 used to drive tanks in the Army, and I thought that might have something to do with it. Anytime I have these life experiences, I use that as inspiration. So, I started thinking, what if I do lose my hearing? What if I never get to hear music again?鈥�
Because Rios likes to write about younger characters, he shifted his imagination to kids who never got to experience music.
鈥淚 feel like some of the most impactful music that people have heard was when they were teenagers because they got to choose their own music. Part of this play is my love letter to the music, even though there鈥檚 no music in it.鈥�
During his decades in theater, Rios realized that good theater for young audiences transcends generations.
鈥淚鈥檝e stayed within the realm of young audience theater because, as I鈥檝e told every artistic director, I actually don鈥檛 write for kids. I write for families because I want everybody in the audience to get something.鈥�
The UAH Humanities Center is sponsoring the playwright鈥檚 visit to UAH. Rios will lead a hands-on on Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 11:20 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. in Morton Hall Room 141. The event is open to the public.
鈥淚n Darkness, Audio Flowers Bloom鈥� will be presented at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 12-15, and at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16, in the Robert E. James Blackbox Theatre in Morton Hall. Admission is $10 for the general public and free for UAH students. For tickets, visit the Theatre & Film This Season page on the UAH website.