Seen/By Everyone
West Coast Premiere
Co-Produced with Five on a Match
"Breathtaking ... A surprise" —NEW YORK TIMES
"Powerful ... Compelling" —TALKIN' BROADWAY
October 5-21, 2018
Thursday - Saturday @ 7 pm
Sundays @ 4 pm
Tickets: $15 student, $35 General Admission, $45 VIP
Special $15 Preview Thursday, October 4 @ 7 pm
"Fascinating ... Intriguing" —NEW YORK THEATRE REVIEW
Seen / By Everyone is a "thought provoking" (OFF OFF LINE) mashup of the uniquely 21st century experience of mourning and moving on in the digital age of social media. Cat videos, photos of ultrasounds, proclamations of loneliness, and the endless gloating of lives well-lived coexist with heartfelt final goodbyes to, now, ghosts in the machine. What does it mean to live, die, grieve, and keep living in the era of over sharing?
Seen / By Everyone is an exploration of death and grieving in the hyper-connected age of social media. The play consists entirely of found text culled from social media. Over two years, thousands of comments and posts pulled from a variety of social media platforms were collaged together. Placed next to each other, they formed conversations, and through this process, distinct voices emerged. The five members of Five on a Match then created a play from these voices, all mourning in their own ways, set in a bar on the banks of the river Styx.
Seen / By Everyone was created as a piece of conventionalized physical performance, deriving movements from images found on Greek pottery. In this West Coast Premier, Theatre of Yugen and Five on a Match will partner to incorporate elements of Noh theater into a new production because of Noh’s close relationship to the subject matter and desired physicalized performance.
Seen / By Everyone uses found text to illuminate the intimacy of people’s online revelations and tells a story of how we are now returning to an era, like the Greeks before us, of public mourning. The play explores how this technology has turned all users into chroniclers of their own lives and the lives of others. It also highlights the humor found when there is no barrier between the heartfelt and profound and the banal and crass. A deeply felt remembrance of someone just passed away is butted up against the latest SNL clip-gone-viral. What that culture-mashing moment looks like is played out in real life.
Presenting Seen / By Everyone in San Francisco gives the people who are actively involved in shaping social media platforms a chance to hear the words of the people who use these platforms as a de-facto town square, a place to find connection in an increasingly transient society and raise their awareness of how their products impact society at large.
The San Francisco audience is, perhaps more than any other, uniquely situated to shape the next modes of social media. As the home of Silicon Valley and meeting place of hundreds of unique cultures, the Bay Area is the perfect place to continue refining this story of how we die, grieve and keep on living in the era of the over share. The Bay Area audience is prime because it includes those that are working at Facebook, Twitter, et al and are shaping our lives in ways that are incredibly powerful, but also many for whom social media is their link to a national voice. This production also seeks to explore how social media gives a platform for members of underrepresented communities to engage in a nation-wide dialogue. To engage them, Theatre of Yugen will continue to offer pay-what-you-can nights and reaching out to community organizations to offer free or discounted tickets. In presenting Seen / By Everyone, it will help that very technology become ever more empathetic and truthful to the lives of those that use it.
"Effective ... Fun" —THE REVIEWS HUB
SEEN / BY EVERYONE was originally produced by Five on a Match June 4th–25th, 2016 at HERE Arts Center in New York City, hailed for its "Refreshing curiosity ... Talented actors" —THE HIGHLIGHTER
About the Artists
THE CAST
ADRIAN DEANE (Maggie)
ADRIAN DEANE is back with Yugen! After a holiday season run as The Three Spirits in Yugen's "A Noh Christmas Carol" last year, Deane returns, again as a spirit of sorts, which she chooses to take as a compliment from her director as to her stirring spirit-uality. Deane has also performed with Town Hall Theatre, FaultLine Theater, Role Players Ensemble Theatre, Douglas Morrisson Theatre, most recently with Anton's Well Theater, and others. She will next perform with Indra’s Net for their December production of an original play based on the life of Stephen Hawking (as Jane Wilde Hawking). Thank you to Five on a Match for working to make sense of fragments of lives as a single story to tell, to Nick and the entire Yugen team for letting this West Coast team try its tongues and bodies at it, and to this cast for socially suffering together for two months. It’s been a hashtag pleasure. www.adriandeane.com.
ALAN COYNE (Art)
This is Alan's first show with Theatre of Yugen. He has previously worked with SF Shakes, Livermore Shakes, BACT, Custom Made, Golden Thread, Lafayette Town Hall Theatre, and most recently, with We Players on Caesar Maximus. He has also written for SF Olympians, ShortLived, and Group Hug. You can see him (and Deane) this December as Dr Stephen Hawking, with Indra's Net Theater at the Berkeley City Club.
ENORMVS MUÑOZ (Writer/Producer/Actor: Bartender)
Credits include This Lingering Life (Theatre of Yugen & Cake), Sidewinders (Cuttingball), The Oskar Trilogy (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), A Language Of Their Own (Kumu Kahua) and Dogs Body (Theatre of Yugen w/Dah Teatar). He has been performing with Theatre of Yugen snce 2005, is a founding member of Five on a Match, clowns with Fou York, and is a burlesque performer. www.enormvs.com
ANNIKA BERGMAN (Elizabeth)
Annika is thrilled to return to the Theater of Yugen after premiering there last winter in Noh Christmas Carol. She has dabbled in a variety of theater and film work with some favorites being Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, and Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde. She's honored to help bring this show to life, and is grateful to everyone who made it possible. annikabergman.com
J.J. VAN NAME (Helen)
J.J. Van Name (Helen) Honored to make her West Coast debut with Theatre of Yugen. Performed extensively on East coast including 20 years at Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre: Actress/Text Coach; PEW grants: Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare & Co. Off-Broadway: Sinclaire/SEALED FOR FRESHNESS-New World Stages, Bertie/MOTHER TONGUE-GayFest NYC. In memory of my nephew Clint.
PAUL RODRIGUES (John)
Paul (Rodrigues) is excited to be joining Theater of Yugen for the first time, and to be working with Nick Ishimaru again, having been directed by him in The Land of Infants in 2009. Previous roles in 2018 include Mark in American Jornalero directed by Tioni Collins with Ubuntu Theater, and Jackson in Champagne directed by LeeAnn Dowd with 6 New Plays. Up next will be Barbarella with Dreams on the Rocks Productions in December. For more credits and photos, go to rodriguespaul.com and enjoy the show!
STEPHANIE WHIGHAM (Roxy)
Thrilled to be joining Theatre of Yugen for the first time, Stephanie was most recently seen in Mercy Killing at PianoFight. Notable roles include Anna in Closer, Estelle in No Exit, and Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra. She is also the graphic designer for Awesome Theatre, Tabard Theatre and San Jose Stage. www.stephaniewhigham.com
Production Team:
Nick Ishimaru -- Director: Nick Ishimaru was trained originally as a musical theatre performer and started exploring Japanese theatre while studying at Colorado State University (BA, 2005), where he directed a kabuki adaptation of Macbeth. He went on to study at San Francisco State University, (MA, 2009). His work explores a combination of Western and traditional Asian performance techniques for original creations, along with work in conventional musical theatre and Shakespeare.,His directing work at Theatre of Yugen includes The Red Demon by Noda Hideki, A Noh Christmas Carol, and the Fermentation Laboratory. Previous directing work includes It Ain’t Me by Claire Rice (original), Land of Infants by Meghan O’Patry (original), and Kaguya (original adaptation). Other recent production work includes A Minor Cycle by Greg Giovanni (original; actor and fight choreographer), This Lingering Life by Chiori Miyagawa (original; actor), and several traditional kyogen plays with the Theatre of Yugen (actor).
Liz Brent -- Costume Designer: Liz Brent is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. She specializes in costume design, construction, and wardrobe organization with a decade of experience and a background as a performer. She is a Colorado native who graduated from CU Boulder and lived in Japan before moving to San Francisco. Her favorite shows include otherworldly elements of the fantastic and mythical. More of Liz’s work can be seen at http://www.lizb.work/
Ella Cooley -- Sound Designer: Ella Cooley is a local theatre-and-music maker and educator. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz (‘13) with a B.A in Theatre Arts and moved to San Francisco shortly thereafter to focus on making music; sound design is a fulfilling way for her to experience both of these worlds at the same time. Ella spends her daytime hours working at Theatre of Yugen as Office Manager and teaching music and theatre to little ones. She recently received a TBA Award for her work on The Winter’s Tale (Ragged Wing Ensemble).
Joshua McDermott -- Scenic Designer: Joshua McDermott was graduated from the University of Hawai'i with a M.A. in Asian Theatre, specializing in the Japanese avant-garde. He has been working and designing in the bay area since 2005 and is employed as the Technical Director for the performing arts and social justice program at the University of San Francisco, where he is the coordinator of the Tech and Design Certificate.
Brittany Mellerson -- Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson is an East coast native and a graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory Program – with a BFA in Theatrical Lighting and Sound Design. Brittany is the resident lighting designer for Lamplighters Music Theatre and Master Electrician at The Magic Theatre in San Francisco’s Fort Mason. Recent credits include lighting design for The Gondoliers with Lamplighters, RE: with Tim Rubel Dance, Urinetown with Monta Vista High School and Absolutely Fabulous! With the Royal British Theatre Co. Up Next! : Pirates of Penzance with Lamplighters Music Theatre and lighting design for the 45th Annual Telluride Film Festival.
Eteya Trinidad -- Projection Designer
Written by FIVE ON A MATCH:
Matthew Cohn’s (Writer/Producer) is a New York-based artist. New York: Don Juan Comes Back From The War (Lenfest Center for the Arts); Seen/By Everyone (playwright/performer with Five on a Match, at HERE Arts Center); Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream (New Place Players); The Country Wife (Odyssey Productions); Babette's Feast (The Connelly Theater). Regional: Oslo, A Doll’s House, and The Importance of Being Earnest (Northern Stage); Measure for Measure (Elm Shakespeare); Rhinoceros (Mighty Theater). He is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Vox Theater. www.matthewcohn.com
Amir Darvish’s (Writer/Producer) New York Theatre: Seen/By Everyone, This Lingering Life, I Came To Look For You On Tuesday, The (*) Inn, Taxi To Janna, and the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway one-man show: Mercury. 2010 NY Innovative Theatre Award recipient for Outstanding Featured Actor in Psych and a 2009 NY MITF Best Actor Nominee for Higher Education. Film & TV: “Madam Secretary”, “Shades of Blue”, “Person of Interest”, “Bar Karma”, “Running Wilde”, “Love Magical” and “Month to Month”. www.AmirDarvish.com
Meg MacCary (Writer/Producer) played Queen Isabella in the popular web series The Adventures of Jamel: The Time Traveling B-Boy. Her New York credits include City Girls and Desperadoes with Austin Pendleton (Theater for the New City), This Lingering Life (HERE), Dinner With Friends directed by Pam MacKinnon (Roundabout), I Came To See You On Tuesday (La MaMa), The (*) Inn (Abrons Art Center), The Tempest (Target Margin), Seen / By Everyone (playwright/performer with Five on a Match, at HERE.) She’s performed regionally at the Guthrie and La Jolla Playhouse. She won an Obie Award for her performance in Rinne Groff’s What Then. She plays Blair in Yaara Sumerak's short film American Daddy. Meg co-founded Clubbed Thumb and served as co-artistic director for 13 years. Next up: The Peanut Butter Show with Little Lord. www.megmaccary.com
Jen Taher’s (Writer/Producer) credits include Immersion at NYTW (Emerging director fellow showing), Yvette and the Wild Shame (Signature), Asking for Trouble (EST), Flying Snakes in 3D and Dead People (both at Ice Factory), 9 to 5 - a drag queen version at the Castro Theater, San Francisco, National and International Tour of Chuck Mee's Bobrauschenbergamerica with SitiCo, and La Femme est Morte at PS122 & Edinburgh Fringe (Best Acting Ensemble Award).