Hearts of Palm (4w, 1m) follows the personal ethical crises that play out among a group of United States land negotiators intent on expanding a Southeast Asian palm oil plantation. Relaxed safety standards, nonexistent environmental regulations, and dirt-cheap labor – these are the qualities that attracted Empire Holdings to the island of Marititu. Idealistic Empire negotiator Vi Wells is faced with what seems like an impossible choice: close a land purchase that will destroy the habitat of endangered orangutans, or, procure a tract that’s home to indigenous families – forcing them to relocate from their ancestral land.
When another negotiator quits Empire and “goes rogue” to join local rebels fighting the deal, Vi must match wits with a Marititu negotiator who seems to have only her own interests at heart. Over the course of a chaotic and difficult negotiation, Vi finds herself unable to support the unprincipled stance of her colleagues. She must decide if she will cooperate, quit, negotiate her way out of the deal, or find another solution entirely.
The play satirizes and subverts several well-worn tropes, including unrequited love, “white savior” complex, and the notion that “women don’t know how to negotiate,” popularized in Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In. Against a backdrop of larger issues, the play looks at Vi’s dilemmas: being forced to choose between her personal ethics and the interests of her employer, and navigating a workplace freighted with gender bias.
World Premiere, Central Works, Berkeley, CA, July 16-August 21, 2016 (extended!), directed by Gary Graves. Dramaturgy by Caroline Russell-King.
This play was also part of Theatre Esprit Asia’s 2017/18 Season and has been taught as part of the curriculum in UC Berkeley’s Political Ecology class.
Reviews
“Hearts of Palm is a “wildly funny satire … Milton’s script is surprisingly sophisticated.” – Charles Kruger, therumpus.net, Notable San Francisco
“As seen in her previous award-winning play and other works, Milton is a pro at blending painfully direct and on-point social and/or political commentary with comedy and relatable characters—making for a must-see show!” Kim Cohan, Theatre Bay Area
[Hearts of Palm is] “engaging, well-performed by the cast and solidly directed … And if it inspires anyone in the audience to pay more attention to domestic companies’ shady practices abroad, so much the better.” – S. Hurwitt, SJ Mercury News
“Fear not; Milton leaves no would-be white savior unquestioned — or unscathed.” — Lily Janiak, SFGate
“With three women determined to mesh their employers’ political agendas with their personal feminist goals and a male buffoon who thinks he’s a white savior … there is intrigue, jealousy, professional territorialism, and stupidity to spare. … Hearts of Palm draws plenty of laughs from the audience with some well-targeted zingers.” – George Heymont, HuffPo
“[Hearts of Palm] melds sharp political insights with comic personal exposure… high comedy and satire.” – Barry David Horowitz, Theatrius
Script download available at the New Play Exchange.
Watch the trailer!
Photos
Photos of the world premiere at Central Works Theatre, Summer, 2016, by Jim Norrena, ACT OUT Photography.
