Ashleigh Ann Gardner stages a new version of ‘Qualia’ at the Renaissance Theatre Credit: Photo by Monica Mulder

In the aftermath of a global warming-induced nuclear apocalypse, a solo survivor struggles to decide between sheltering with her sentient computer companion or rejoining the remnants of human society.

That might sound like an episode of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, but it’s actually a synopsis of Qualia, the philosophical sci-fi stage thriller by local playwright Ashleigh Ann Gardner. Her script, which won “Best Play” at New Generation Theatrical’s 2019 Be Original Festival, is being revived by Found Object Creative and director J. Marie Bailey at the Renaissance Theatre from Jan. 26 through Feb. 11, ahead of a potential August appearance at the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe.

Gardner granted me this interview via email while preparing for the new production, which stars Megan Borkes in the leading role, alongside Jason Blackwater and Jullien Aponte. I first recognized Gardner for her onstage roles in Dracula and Space back in 2016, and she cites her performances in Ada and the Engine at Tierra del Sol in 2021 and the Ren’s 2023 production of Nosferatu as her personal favorites.

“Ada, the daughter of Lord Byron, is an intelligent, witty and passionate scientist with a penchant for mischief, and the vampire character, Oonagh, holds both ferocity and softness during a tense meeting of a global council; both are underestimated by their peers at times and fight to be heard and seen,” Gardner emailed me. “Having the privilege to perform Ada as she was written and build Oonagh from scratch in a devised rehearsal process fed two sides of myself: my love for researching, identifying with, and understanding an established character and creating a character who held infinite complexities despite her initial terrifying appearance, respectively.”

An unconventional triple threat, Gardner is also a skilled photographer who has taken promo pics for numerous local productions, but she calls playwriting her most “fulfilling” creative outlet. “As a kid, I grew up writing stories and not knowing what to do with them. It wasn’t until I started playwriting in my free time in 2014 that I realized I could combine writing with theater (and that it wasn’t something that only dead white men did),” she says. “Playwriting is a really fascinating balancing act of maintaining plot, tone, structure, atmosphere, character personalities, character dynamics and theme, and I’m addicted to the problem solving that comes with that challenge.”

Initially, Gardner conceived Qualia as a one-person show for herself, but turned it into a three-hander after realizing that she “hated the idea of performing by myself — I love working with other actors too much.” Having known Borkes for nearly 20 years since summers in Orlando Shakes’ Young Company, Gardner infused Qualia’s main character with Borkes’ “silliness, her seriousness, her emotional intensity, her anxieties — in an effort to show people not only a story that was important to me, but also in an effort to show people that Megan is capable of so much more than what I think people in charge of casting have given her credit for.”

Qualia’s questioning of interpersonal connections likewise comes from a deeply personal place for the playwright. “In 2019, I hadn’t yet found out that I have ADHD and am autistic, so I felt like my whole life up to that point (30 years) was spent trying to either figure out why I was broken or trying to connect with people over and over again and failing due to what I thought was a defect of my personality,” says Gardner. “In trying to figure these things out, I quit my job, I put myself out there professionally, and I started creating more things. And then I wrote a story about a woman who gets caught in the middle of desperately trying to connect to someone she deeply cares about and running toward something that may (or may not) bring her satisfaction.”

If you saw Qualia’s award-winning first incarnation, you’re still in for some surprises. Freed of the Be Original festival’s time restrictions, Gardner has replaced her original ending, which she calls “satisfactory [but] a little too abrupt,” with an expanded one that is “much more satisfying in terms of the amount of catharsis both the actors and the audience are encouraged to experience.” And hopefully this staging at the Ren won’t be the end for Qualia, as Gardner anticipates announcing their Edinburgh dates once a venue is confirmed. “Most of our conversations have revolved around attempting to coordinate prop, scenic and costume transport in the event of flying over, which is, honestly, a thrilling game of luggage Tetris that lives rent-free in my brain,” she tells me.

Finally, Gardner urges audiences not to overlook Qualia’s human elements, even if you’re already feeling oversaturated with science fiction stories. “Qualia isn’t about technology,” she says. “It’s about human ingenuity, perseverance, connection, love, hope and maintaining all of these in a world that has essentially fallen into ruin.”

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This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2024.