Over the past seven years, Boston University sophomore Emmett Whitaker has casted, funded, produced and edited five seasons of “Survivor Palisades” — a fan-made version of the competition reality television series “Survivor.” After disaster struck his community, the footage was all that remained. Earlier this year, a highly destructive series of wildfires swept California, primarily affecting the Pacific Palisades. Whitaker, a Palisades native, was editing his fifth and final season of “Survivor Palisades” when the fires destroyed his home.

From the moment I walked into the Joan and Edgar Booth Theatre to see “Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief,” I knew I was in for an extremely niche specific experience.