STAFF

PRODUCER

Brianna Virabouth

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Cynthia Chen

PROPSMASTER

Nathaniel Barnard

SET DESIGNER

Andrew Yung

SOUND DESIGNER

Holly Baron

STAGE MANAGER

Eden Wang

Anna Zheng

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Liam Fay

VOCAL DIRECTOR

Jin-Hee Lee

DR. MADDEN DAN

NATALIE GABE

DAN ALTERNATE

HENRY ALTERNATE

DR. MADDEN ALTERNATE

DIANA ALTERNATE

DIANA

NATALIE ALTERNATE GABE ALTERNATE HENRY

Cast Band Guitarist

BASSIST VIOLINIST

CELLIST CELLIST

PIANIST VIOLINIST DRUMMER

Eric Bear

Robert Castaneros

Cate Celio

JC Chien

Shawn Kang

Julie Keipp

Enya Lu

Aarushi Patil

Sheruni Pilapitiya

Madeleine Salem

Aman Singh

Josh Tikare

Nathan Sariowan

Noah Bartelt

Karen Ge

Tae Kyu Kim

Andrew Lee

Sarah Lee (Slee)

Ricky Rios

Sid Yu director’s note nexttonormalholds a special place in my life: it originated at Village Theater, situated in my hometown of Issaquah, WA, a town not known for much more than a salmon hatchery and hosting Costco headquarters. I bring my love for this home to Stanford, reimagining n2nthrough my own found families and creating space for my Asian American community to have space in conversations of mainstream musical theater and mental health.

Designing the world of n2ncame hand in hand with designing community care. With themes of mental struggle, the difficult medical system, chosen family, blood family, and more, this musical bore more weight than any other project I’ve embarked on before. At its core, this show is about how the traditional nuclear family interrupts introspective healing, but invites us to love outside of these systems. It warmed me and made my role as director so rewarding to see this company bond together over baby pictures, silly rehearsal moments, and deep dramaturgical conversations. The family of AATP supplemented the family you see onstage today — the golden memories, the darkest moments, and the forged connections that illustrate new homes.

I want to thank everyone in this community who made this dream possible. Especially to Hope, my dream collaborator, friend, and “theater buddy” since we were first admitted to Stanford together. To Jin-Hee, my role model and unstoppable co-leader who I aspire to continue creating with . To Bri, the glue behind this entire show and the kindest soul. To Nathan, the musical genius who I have the highest honor of working with. And lastly to my own family, who always encouraged me to create, lead, and dream without bounds.

As you witness this production, lean into your memories: the ones we hold dearest to us, the ones we are tired of pushing aside, and the ones that have escaped our grasp. Hold these close, and your loved ones closer: welcome home.

– Chloe Chow

nexttonormaltackles so much in the span of hours – the nuclear family, the creation of homeplace, the mirror between a mother and daughter, the common violence of the psychiatric encounter. but, i want to take a moment to reflect specifically on diana’s experience of psychosis. in some finnish cultures, psychosis is often framed as existing not within one individual, but rather existing in relationships and words exchanged between people. is diana ‘mad’, or is her reality of grief just fundamentally disconnected from dan’s avoidance? how is dan’s reaction to diana’s reality part of constructing diana’s madness? is diana’s madness not just a rational response to a grief that willfully goes unseen?

i hope this show prompts you to think deeply about the ways in which we care for one another. how can we think beyond medical systems and understand the homes we build, the kinship ties we make, and the care we extend to each other as healing?

taking guidance from mia mingus, i understand disability not as a hindrance or a lack, but as a call for us to listen to each other closely, advocate for each other fervently, meet each other gently, and care for each other deeply.

just as there is danger in pathologizing and prescribing cookie cutter treatments to human experiences, there is incredibly powerful healing in community, in seeking to understand each individual and their needs and allowing oneself to be understood, so that we all might help each other heal together. we all deserve to be heard. we all deserve to heal. we all deserve a home that nourishes us as we grow.

– Haniyah, Samantha, Miranda