PROGRAM NOTE

When I was in high school, I read a series called “Escape from Furnace” by author Alexander Gordon Smith. Throughout this five-book thriller, we follow Alex, who is sentenced to spend time in Furnace Penitentiary, an underground hellhole full of pure evil with blood-soaked walls. With mysterious creatures abducting inmates from their beds, and a warden whose eyes are black as night, Alex begins to wonder if escape is possible and if he’ll ever breathe the fresh air of the surface again. 

Titled from the opening sentence of the series, If I stopped running… is inspired by this spine-chilling adventure, exploring the thoughts and feelings I imagine a person who found themselves in a similar situation as Alex would have while devising and executing an escape plan. Wondering if time will be on your side, and feeling the anxiety caused by knowing you could be caught at any time, will an escape be possible? Will you breathe the fresh air of the surface again? Let’s get going… the clock’s ticking!

- program note by Jonathan P. Kochik