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Two voices. Seventy stories.
One aching country.
FLOODED: An American Autobiographical Tale is a bold new work written and developed by Emily Cox. Born from personal narratives and political urgency, this piece weaves together memory, identity, and the American heartland into a visceral theatrical experience.
Set against the backdrop of a rural Southern Indiana landscape, FLOODED confronts systems of power, poverty, inherited trauma, and survival. It is part elegy, part resistance, and fully human.
Developed collaboratively with a powerful ensemble of performers, FLOODED asks: What does it mean to speak truth in a place that prefers silence?
Main Street Rockport, IN
FLOODED is a bold, thought-provoking theatrical exploration of American identity in 2024. In a country once defined by hopeful slogans like "Yes We Can," today's cultural landscape is fraught with division, disillusionment, and uncertainty. As the nation approaches yet another pivotal moment in its history, FLOODED asks: Who are we? How did we get here? And where are we going next?
Told through a collection of autobiographical events and personal stories, FLOODED weaves together four distinct voices, painting a nuanced portrait of an America at a crossroads. The play reveals the deep disconnect between urban and rural life, celebrating community values while confronting the realities of opioid addiction, violence, systemic inequality, and cultural dissonance. With raw honesty, it examines both the light and the dark—the traditions that bring us together and the forces that drive us apart.
Main Street Rockport, IN
At the heart of FLOODED lies a powerful commitment to authenticity. This piece was created by gathering first-hand accounts from individuals living and working in a small rural community in southern Indiana.
These are not imagined characters or dramatized composites—they are real people, sharing their real stories.
Over the course of five years, voices emerged from church basements, small-town clinics, local schools, and kitchen tables. County nurses spoke about the challenges of serving aging populations with limited resources. Teachers described the creativity and resilience required to educate across income and access divides. Community organizers and social service workers detailed the intricacies of navigating systems built without them in mind.
By centering these lived experiences, FLOODED challenges us to expand the narrative around what it means to be American—and who gets to shape that identity.
Ohio River flooding Rockport, IN
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This play offers a first look at a vital new work that challenges us to lift the rock on American culture and face what lies beneath.
We invite you to be part of the conversation.
“My partner was telling me all night how incredible it was, how she had never felt so called out and struck by a piece of theatre, and how she thinks it could make an immense difference, and how glad she was that she got to experience it."
-FLOODED audience member
Rocky Side Park Rockport, IN
Help Us Keep the Waters Rising
Support travel, housing, meals, and performance needs for our cast as we share FLOODED in chicago, Oklahoma and beyond!
I have been waiting YEARS to be part of a piece of art that meant as much to me as this one did!”
-FLOODED audience member
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Emily Cox is a celebrated Chicago-based producer, writer, and performer known for her dynamic work across contemporary music, opera, and musical theatre. Since 2014, she has become a driving force in the Chicagoland arts scene, creating accessible, innovative programming that builds new audiences and champions underrepresented voices. With over 15 years of arts leadership experience spanning both for-profit and nonprofit sectors, Emily’s work thrives at the intersection of creativity, community engagement, and artistic excellence. Through her company, Cox Productions, Emily has produced seven full-length independent albums of contemporary American music since 2020, while also debuting as a solo artist with her acclaimed one-woman show I Do, I Did, I’m DONE! in New York City and Chicago. Her immersive song cycle Written on the Table Where You Starved Me, commissioned by the Musicians Club of Women, premiered in 2024 in partnership with DCASE and New Music USA. Emily currently serves as Managing Director of /kor/ productions, where she recently Executive Produced the world premiere of Hindsight, a new opera by Bea Goodwin and Felix Jarrar, praised by WBEZ Chicago and WNIN. Her past leadership roles include serving as Managing Director of Underscore Theatre Company, where she helped develop Haymarket: The Musical, a Jeff Award-winning production that earned multiple extensions and national attention.
In 2025 alone, Emily has produced events for the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Music Festival, Music for the Baroque, Chicago A Capella, and many other leading arts organizations. Her extensive production credits also include La boheme, The Pearl Fishers, Don Giovanni, multiple world premieres, digital projects, and community-focused concert series across Chicago. A passionate advocate for arts accessibility, Emily remains actively involved in organizations such as Opera on Tap, Opera America, the Musicians Club of Women, the Dramatists Guild, New Music Chicago, and Chicago Cabaret Professionals. She serves on multiple boards, is a frequent guest artist and director, and continues to develop new works that engage and reflect diverse communities.
Untold Stories
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
American soprano, Johanna Moffitt, relocated from Western New York to Chicago where they have since been making a splash across the Chicago arts scene. They have performed all over the Windy City, making a name for themselves particularly in the repertoire of Puccini and Mozart where their “brilliant and silvery” voice especially shines. As a producer, they have sought to bring accessible performances to non-traditional venues with 501(c)3 company /kor/ productions. They are proud to be part of the female run team at /kor/ productions to help bring innovative experiences to new audiences unlike anything they participated in before. As a stage director, Johanna has led and co-led several projects. Among their favorites are BOHEME 2.0, an innovative take on the Puccini classic in which the entire cast was spread across the continental United States. They worked hard to help the cast find ways to connect with the audience and each other across the world wide web, and were successful doing so, reaching over 3,000 audience members worldwide. As a Music Director, they’ve worked in several Chicago community projects. Among their favorites are leading the choir at the Vi at the Glen retirement community where the choir has performed to great success, studio nights at the Newport Theatre, and several one-woman shows Swipe Left and their own project, One-Woman SCHICCHI.
In their spare time, Johanna very much enjoys teaching in their private voice studio, performing as a storyteller, and hanging out with their adorable pups, George and Charlie.
