Where Are You? (Digital)
Created & Directed by Sim Yan Ying "YY"
Devised with & Performed by Ao Lan Guo, Brendan Schwartz, Guillermo Contreras, John Titus, Maria Müller & Rosalie Neal
October 2020 on Zoom as part of Mabou Mines SUITE/Space
Where Are You? is a series of devised physical theatre productions about how we experience grief and confront death. Drawing from perspectives across a range of ethnicities, nationalities, and religions, this intercultural project attempts to contend with the reality of death and understand the universal experience of grief through its various manifestations.
Trailer
Production History
Where Are You? was first conceived and staged at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in May 2019. It subsequently had a digital production in October 2020 under the Mabou Mines SUITE/Space program, followed by a Singapore production in February 2021 as part of the Wild Rice Directing Residency. Where Are You? is presently continuing its development under the Mabou Mines SUITE/Space program and will be performed in December 2022.
Collaborators
Creator & Director: Sim Yan Ying "YY"
Devisers & Performers: Ao Lan Guo, Brendan Schwartz, Guillermo Contreras, John Titus, Maria Müller & Rosalie Neal
Dramaturgs: Carina Goebelbecker, Manuela Romero & Siena Yusi
Multimedia Designer: Manuela Romero
Sound Designer: Caroline Eng
Publicity Designer: Justina Yam
Assistant Choreographer: Carina Goebelbecker
Stage Manager: Siena Yusi
Photos by Sim Yan Ying “YY”
Press
“Where Are You? is a work that really sees Yan Ying as a young director coming into her own, and the cast commendable in their effort to tackle one of life’s biggest mysteries. […] One also greatly appreciates the efforts by Yan Ying and her team to push the Zoom medium to its limits.”
— Bakchormeeboy
”Where are You? is full of very striking imagery. From the chorus of legs accompanying a powerful monologue about grieving over a dead mother to still images of actors used as backgrounds, each image or shape creates the exact atmosphere that the play needs in any particular moment. […] Where Are You? asks a lot of complicated questions about death and life and doesn’t claim to know the answers. But after viewing, you will certainly feel readier to go looking for them.”
— Max Berry, OnStage Blog
”This show was excellent in inspiring interpretations, thought provoking, and inspired strong emotions in me. The cast and crew did a wonderful job in creating a show that both reflected the emotions of the time it was created and used technology in a way that made the audience feel like it was a part of the show.”
Interviews & Features
“The title Where Are You? is a question I asked myself when my grandpa died 2 years ago. I’d say that this was the first instance of someone I loved dying, and I ended up starting to talk to the sky, or even imagining that my roommates’ cat was the reincarnated version of him. There were so many lingering questions, and not just about where the deceased person was, but even where I was in my grieving process. And the thing is, you never really get over a death do you? It’s like that metaphor about it being like a ball in a box; the pain just becomes less frequent, and you learn to cope better.”