Photo: Lauren Matley
Join us for this fever-dream of memory and forgetting, a ritual that will both include your participation and leave you suspended in the shadows...
Catch the final performance of BEOWULF this Sunday!
The journey begins at sunset
at the SF Maritime Museum.
Wrestle with humanity and monstrosity under the stunning expanse of the sky and in the warm embrace of our mead hall.
Photo: Loe Matley
"BEOWULF is sensational. I have never experienced anything like it... We Players know how to offer a play experience like no other. Way beyond play... Beyond anything." -David
"BEOWULF is stunning. Looking forward to seeing it again!" -Kathleen
"I really felt like we were collectively mourning for our country, mourning for our fallen humanity that has departed from nature, from instinct, from listening. The dynamic shifts that broke the meditative, ritualistic rhythms were like waking up from a dream, but into another dream --almost the nightmare of reality." -Adriana
"I keep thinking of the ending procession image; the final preparation before facing the unknown." -Sabrina
The journey begins at sunset
at the SF Maritime Museum.
Thursday - Sunday, March 11 - April 16.
Wrestle with humanity and monstrosity under the stunning expanse of the sky and in the warm embrace of our mead hall.
On a tight budget?
Join the BEOWULF rush ticket mailing list.
Dana has been dancing with inkBoat since 2006. She is currently learning a great deal from two masters of improvisation, aka her kids. Dana is honored to be collaborating with the forces of We Players and Rova Saxophone Quartet, who are among her heroes.
Have there been any specific challenges or funny/interesting stories working outside and in the chapel?
Dana: It’s been pretty problematic working outside in the Battery because of all of the beauty of the surroundings. I mean, how is one supposed to concentrate on rehearsal with views like that all around? The Golden Gate, the bay speckled with sail boats, the occasional moonrise paired with sunset, the passing hawk. Very distracting!
Why BEOWULF now?
Dana: As a culture we still seem to be interested in many of the major themes of the poem, namely good vs evil, and grappling with our own mortality. Particularly in the last few months many of us have been wrestling with the construct of duality, the notion of “us” against “them”. In Beowulf, the poem, the lines of distinction are very clear. Now, and in our production, the lines are not so clear.
Can you share a funny or memorable moment, anecdote, or quote from your experiences in creating BEOWULF?
Dana: This isn’t really an anecdote, but rather something I’ve really enjoyed about the process. I’ve so enjoyed witnessing how the musicians work. It’s as if they have their own language. Music is of course its own language, but then there is a whole other layer that is particular to these musicians and their collaborative process. They have have their own sign language system. They talk about “blorks”. I partly wish I knew their language and partly love that it’s magical and mysterious!
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Check back to learn more about our other collaborators, and catch Dana live in BEOWULF- join us for this sensational world premiere’s Opening Weekend, Saturday March 18 and Sunday March 19! The journey begins at sunset, at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
Photos: Lauren Matley and Maria Chenut
Photo: Lauren Matley
As the the artistic founding director of inkBoat physical theatre and dance company, Shinichi has performed throughout North America, Europe and Japan in theaters and site specific locations. We are beyond excited to have him co-directing this project! Here are some of his thoughts about working with We.
Describe your experience of this collaborative process. How is it similar or different from past projects/ experiences?
Shinichi: From one perspective, it’s a usual collaboration in that we must let go of outcome... because anything that any of us might preconceive will not fit how others, operating from a different paradigm, approach material. So, the process requires listening. In the best of worlds, we create a hybrid performance that takes the best from all concerned.
Photo: Lauren Matley
What is new (or so old it’s new) in this process?
Shinichi: I have not been an “actor” or memorized lines or worked with a text script since 1994. That performance, a Tadashi Suzuki version of “Trojan Women,” was performed at NOHspace in San Francisco, directed by Yukihiro Goto. I played a warrior, wielding a sword.
I have not directed traditional actors since 1991. At that time, I was the founder and director of an experimental, visual and text based theater company called “Vox Theater.” The set designer of that time, Frank Lee, still works with me on inkBoat productions.
Check back to learn more about our other collaborators and see Shinichi live in our upcoming production of BEOWULF March 18-April 16
Tickets on sale now! http://www.weplayers.org/beowulf-2017
ROVA saxophone quartet and dancer Shinichi Iova-Koga of inkBoat explore the resonant space of the historic ferryboat Eureka at Hyde St. Pier.
Curated by Music Director Charlie Gurke
Featuring:
ROVA Saxophone Quartet (Larry Ochs, Jon Raskin, Bruce Ackley and Steve Adams) with dancer Shinichi Iova-Koga.
Location: The historic ferryboat Eureka at Hyde Street Pier
Date: November 2nd, 2013
Our site-integrated concerts explore the themes embedded in or suggested by a site and investigate the sonic properties of a space. Following the success of Canciones del Mar: Songs of the Sea in spring 2013, Music Director Charlie Gurke curates an evening of live music and dance improvisation aboard the historic ferryboat Eureka at Hyde Street Pier on November 2, 2013, featuring ROVA Saxophone Quartet and special guest Shinichi Iova-Koga from inkBoat.
Scroll down to place your reservation!
ROVA Saxophone Quartet
The ROVA Saxophone Quartet has been exploring the synthesis of composition and collective improvisation for over 35 years, creating exciting, genre-bending music that challenges and inspires. The Penguin Guide to Jazz calls ROVA’s music “a teeming cosmos of saxophone sounds” created by “deliberately eschewing conventional notions about swing [and] prodding at the boundaries of sound and space…”
For Vessels for Improvisation, ROVA will be joined by dancer Shinichi Iova-Koga (pictured above), founder of SF based performance company inkBoat.
“Shinichi Iova-Koga’s work is grotesque, beautiful, and funny. As a dancer he is never less than mesmerizing — ephemeral like smoke, limpid like a vernal pool. He has developed a personal form of mixed-media dance theater that integrates contradictory impulses — the ancient and the technological, the chaotic and the formal, nature and nurture. He might be called a dancer at the edge.” ~RITA FELCIANO
Join We Players and these renowned artists for an
unforgettable evening at Hyde Street Pier!
