AHAMEFULE J. OLUO
DEC 5 - 8
SUSAN
PHOTO BY NAOMI ISHISAKA
We begin by acknowledging this land is the ancestral home of the Duwamish and many other Indigenous peoples recorded and unrecorded, who have been the custodians of this land since time immemorial. As guests and — in many of our cases — as settlers on this land, we extend our deepest gratitude and respect to their ancestors and elders past, present, and future. On the Boards is beginning to engage in conversations to deepen our practices in a way that reflects and honors Coast Salish protocol. Part of our understanding of the protocol is making material gifts to the Indigenous peoples of this land as a way of recognizing their genealogical responsibility to the well-being of the territory and all beings who make a home here. We encourage you to donate online at realrentduwamish.org.
This performance will contain haze.
Filming and photography are not permitted during performances.
2
Dear Art Lover, We are so thrilled to have you with us here on this momentous occasion. Thanks for being in the audiences with us tonight. We welcome those of you that this is your first time here and those of you that have subscribed for several years, we appreciate each of you making the decision to come out of your house and sit inside this magical theater together and be moved by this amazing artist and musician from Seattle!
As the cold and dark sets in this winter season, know that On the Boards is the place to find your community of fearless art makers and believers. A place of radical care and of togetherness. Our mission is to invest in the leading contemporary performing artists near and far, and connect them to a diverse range of communities interested in forward-thinking art and ideas. That’s On the Board’s reason for being and that’s the mission that has been steadfast and true throughout our forty years of existence.
We believe in this Seattle community who are interested in supporting forwardthinking art and ideas. There are fewer and fewer places in Seattle where we find a creative community we truly connect with. We are fighting to ensure that these spaces not only stay open but become even more accessible. We want you to always walk through our doors knowing that the artists on the stage, the celebrations in the lobby, the revelry at the Fubar, the great meals at the Studio Suppers, the conversations in the bright pink elevator, are all possible because of YOUR dedication to daring art and ideas. Along with so many others, you have built this artistic community.
Here at On the Boards, the mix of art, questioning, and purpose bring us together and hold us in a uniquely immediate interconnection. The experience of watching a performance together, sharing a meal with one another, having a drink in the lobby, or simply walking through the doors gives us the opportunity to connect with people from our city and embrace the thrill of complex creativity, and very real, very risky vulnerability.
3
We need you; we always have – and we need On the Boards to bring us together, spark conversations, inspire us, and keep us questioning. As we keep fighting for space for our nonconformist, subversive, and brilliant artists like Ahamefule Oluo and his collaborators, and for and friends like you, we ask that you consider making a year-end donation or purchase a gift subscription for a friend to help protect a future for remarkable possibilities here at On the Boards. In Solidarity,
Betsey Brock Executive Director
4
Rachel Cook Artistic Director
About the Artist AHAMEFULE J. OLUO, Musician, Composer, Writer and Stand-Up Comedian Ahamefule J. Oluo is a Seattle-based musician, composer, writer, and stand-up comedian. Oluo is a founding member of and trumpet player in the Stranger Genius Award-winning jazz-punk quartet Industrial Revelation, and was featured in City Arts Magazine’s 2013 Future List as one of Seattle’s most promising artists. Oluo has collaborated with such diverse acts as Das Racist, Macklemore, Hey Marseilles, and TacocaT. In 2015 he appeared on This American Life and received a Creative Capital Award. In 2016 Oluo was awarded Artist Trust’s Arts Innovator Award, and the performance of his autobiographical musical Now I’m Fine at the Public Theater in New York City was called “dizzying,” “engaging,” and “grand” by the New York Times. In 2018, production wrapped on Thin Skin, a feature film adaptation of Now I’m Fine, co-written by Oluo, Charles Mudede, and Lindy West. Oluo both stars in and scored the film which will premiere in 2020.
SUSAN is a Creative Capital Project. SUSAN is commissioned by On the Boards and works-inprogress of the performance were presented in various stages of development in and around Seattle at bars, arts organizations, and clubs. SUSAN was presented as part of Portland Institute of Contemporary Art’s TBA Festival in September 2019. Ahamefule J. Oluo was one of the 2018/19 Artists-in-Residence at On the Boards. SUSAN will be presented as part of Under the Radar 2020 at the Public Theater in New York City this January.
5
SUSAN Writer | Composer | Performer, Ahamefule J. Oluo Co-Writer, Lindy West Lyrics, okanomodé and Tiffany Wilson Director, Jennifer Zeyl Audio Engineer, Matthew Starritt Lighting Director, Robert Aguilar Projections Designer, Juniper Shuey Production Manager, Steven Carlino Company Manager, Haley Freedlund
BAND Vocal Soloist, okanomodé Vocal Soloist, Tiffany Wilson Trumpet, Ahamefule J. Oluo Trombone / Sousaphone, Jerome Smith Trombone, Jason Cressey Saxophone, Skerik Upright Bass, Marina Christopher Drums, D'Vonne Lewis Keyboards, Marina Albero
Special Thanks Roya Amirsoleymani, Bobby Asher, Catherine Blake-Smith, Sammantha Burns, Erin Boberg, Betsey Brock, Vada Briceño, Rachel Cook, Jacque Gbalipre, Jon Grenay, Brett Hamil, Geoff Harper, Wier Harman, Kyle Hartmann, Clare Hatlo, Kay and Robert Hawley, Kristan Kennedy, Hari Kondabolu, Kathleen Le Coze, Jack McLarnan, Emmett Montgomery, Penelope and Charley, Josh Rawlings, Rob Sample, Eze-Basil Oluo, Susan Oluo, Ijeoma Oluo, Ingrid West, Mo Wilhelm, Evan Woodle 4Culture, Art Matters, Creative Capital, Intiman Theatre, Meany Center for the Performing Arts, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Seattle Repertory
6
THANK YOU, ON THE BOARDS DONORS! INSTITUTIONAL & COMMUNITY PARTNERS 100,000+ | The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 50,000+ | New England Foundation for the Arts (National Dance Project and National Theater Project)
10,000+ | 4Culture, Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation, The Morgan Fund, Totokaelo, Garneau-Nicon Family Foundation, The Norcliffe Foundation, Prairie Underground, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture 5,000+ | Aesop, Tyler Engle Architects PS, WESTAF
1,000+ | 501 Commons, Baby & Company, Facebook, Grace Jones Richardson Testamentary Trust in honor of Lance Neely, Jean T. Fukuda Memorial Fund for the Performing Arts, Herbivore, Lane Powell, Mutuus Studio, The Pink Door, The Seattle Foundation, Tomlinson Linen Service, Wyman Youth Trust
25,000+ | ArtsFund, The National Endowment for the Arts, National Performance Network
2,500+ | ArtsWA (Washington State Arts Commission), Nordstrom, Olson Kundig Architects, PayPal, The Ostara Group
400+ | Charles Smith Wines
*= 3 Year Club ^= 10 Year Consistent Giving
$1,000+ Anonymous, Chap & Eve Alvord^, Grace Nordhoff & Jonathan Beard, Lara Behnert, Greg Bishop^, John Branch, Kimberlee Brillhart^, The Cloud Room, Monique Courcy, Florangela Davila, Nicole Stellner & Peter Eberhardy*^, Gina Glascock-Broze*, Ariel Glassman*, Beth Glosten, Pamela & Robert Gregory*, Corey Gutch, Civilization, Wassef & Racha Haroun, In Honor of John Hoedemaker, Stephen Hoedemaker & Thomas Swenson*, Dave Holt, Inform Interiors, Chiyo Ishikawa & Mark Calderon, Andrea Jones, Tom & Jeannie Kundig^, Tina LaPadula & Boyd Post, Caroline Dodge and Ross Lambert, Mireya Lewin, Nikola Litven*, Michael Lockman & Woody Davidson, James & Christina Lockwood, Mari London, Robert R. McGinley*^, Doug Mora*, Mary Ann Peters, Timothy Pfeiffer, Cecilia Paul and Harry Reinert*^, Andrew Adamyk & Caroline Renard, Mort & Sara Richter*, Jennifer Roberts, Jerry Fulks & Stephanie Saland, In memory of Jeffrey Gerson, Carlo & Eulalie Scandiuzzi, Duane Schuler & Sylvia Wolf*, Sara Dickerman & Andrew Shuman*^, Case van Rij, Moya Vazquez*, Gail Gibson & Claudia Vernia*, Greg Kucera & Larry Yoco
Susan Den*, Linda Derschang, Jennifer Salk & David Ehrich*^, Mark Foltz*, Ben Goosman, Aaron & Karen Grady-Brown*, Seth Grizzle, Jay Hamilton^, Adrianne Hersrud, Douglas Holtzman, Pierre Lenhardt & Mariane Ibrahim-Lenhardt, Sara Jinks, Marylyn Ward & Jay Johnston, Gus & Connie Kravas, Bryan Lineberry, Dr. Quinton I. Morris, In memory of Stella Jacobs, Jeremy Price, Timothy Rhodes, Matt & Maren Robertson*, Spafford's Sister, Sarah Rudinoff*, Cathy & Max Sarkowsky, Britt Karhoff & David Levitt, Kathy Savory, George & Kim Suyama, Ruth True, Chad & Tina Urso McDaniel*, Kate Wallich, Carol Young
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Thank you to all our donors! This list includes donors through December 3rd, 2019. Please contact Erica Bower Reich at erica@ontheboards.org if your name should be included but isn’t, or is spelled incorrectly. Thank you! $20,000+ John & Shari Behnke*^, Merrill Wright* $10,000+ Ruth & Tony Lockwood*, Rich & Leanne Reel*^, Bill True, Davora Lindner & Ro Yoon* $5,000+ Anonymous^, Tyler Engle*^, John Hoedemaker*, Tom & Cyndy Israel^, Lance F. Neely*, John C. Robinson & Maya Sonenberg*^, Jimmy Rogers*, Timothy Tomlinson & Vu Pham^, Spafford Robbins*, Norie Sato & Ralph Berry^, David & Dana Taft*^, Annette Toutonghi*^, Chi Chi Wyman^ $2,500+ Maryika Byskiniewicz, DowBuilt, Josef Vascovitz & Lisa Goodman*^, Alfred Lee & Alison Heald*, Rodney Hines*, Dionysus Giving*^, DowBuilt, Marge Levy & Larry Lancaster*^, Diana Knauf & Bjorn Levidow*, Barbara Lewis*, Mama Restaurant Group, Mark Malamud & Susan Hautala*, Kate Murphy, Muutus Studio – Kristen Becker, Erica Tiedemann & Bill Way*, Virginia & Bagley Wright
$500+ Howard Goodfriend & Helen Anderson, Holly Arsenault & Matthew Richter*, Judy Tobin & Mike Baker, Karena & Ian Birk*, Betsey Brock & Eric Fredericksen*^, Tova Cubert,
$250+ Jenny Abrams, Katherine Bourbonais, Todd Campbell, Jeffrey Currier, Sarah Foster, Heath Foster & Kevin Trombold, Jeffrey Fracé^, Pam Fredericksen, Yonnas Getahun, Toni & Peter Haley, Victoria Hardy, Robert Hutchison Architecture, Sean Kennedy, Marriam Leve, Jena Malone, Catharina & Nitin Manchanda, Gene Gentry McMahon & Bill McMahon, @WorldFamous, Erika Nesholm, Katy Hannigan & Roy Powell, Alan & Juliet Pruzan, Braiden Rex-Johnson & Spencer Johnson, Paula Riggert, Sharman Haley & Michael Samoya, Bianca and Clemens Szyperski, Thomas Van Doren, Andrea Wagner
7
$100+ Alethea Alexander, Jacqueline & Wayne Barnett*^, Tessa and Chris Bennion, Maria Bianc, Wally & Julie Bivins, Karen Guzak^, Huong Vu & Bill Bozarth, Carol Brinster, CJ Brockway, Elizabeth A Brown^, David Bryant, Carolyn Butler, Sheryl Cababa, Robin Calderon, Lorrie Cardoso, Jennifer Chunn, Rachel Cook & Eric Zimmerman, Claire Cowie, Joe Blow, Frank Dauer, Ryan Diaz, Nancy Edelstein, Dorit Ely, Matthew Echert*^, Brian Faker, Fancy Art Gallery & Jewelers, Anne Focke, Kai Fujita, Vallejo Gantner, Emily Geballe, Jenny Gerber, Mark Fleming & Drindy Gier, Kaveh Goudarzian, Lindsay Hastings, Alyssa Hiler, Vivian Hua, Alex Hyman, Wendy Jackson, Joey Jagod, Jane Keating, Mike Katell & Sarah Leyrer, Jake Keating, Timothy & Jayne Keating, King James, Brandon Kinports, Hilary Leonard, Nikolai Lesnikov, Tessa Levine-Sauerhoff, Valerie Loebs, Elizabeth Lowry, Michelle Lynch, Wade Madsen & Eric Pitsenbarger, Ella Mahler, Sandy & Tim Marsden, Jessica Massart, William Massey, Kaitlin McCarthy, P. E. & Anna McKee, Jack McLarnan & Rachel Willner, Sarah Meigs, Shamim Momin, Peg Murphy & Steve McCarthy, Robert Pearlman, Zoltan Pekic, Clyde Petersen, Peggy Piacenza, Jessica Powers, Maximilian Press, Christopher & Rebecca Prosser, Dan & Debbie Raas, Kathryn Rathke, David J. Roberts, Rocky Salskov, Carl Sander, Sarah Cave, Larry Schlessinger, Hanita Schwartz, Patricia Scott, Shelley McIntyre & Bradley Serbus, Heather Kravas, Robert Stumberger^, Sarah Harlett & Dan Tierney, Janet Upjohn, Scott & Tess Van Wagner, Lisa Williams, Frances Wolfe, Nina Yarbrough, Jayme Yen $50+ Anonymous, JosĂŠ Amador, Jeffrey Azevedo, Susan Benson, Colleen Borst & Lindsey Twombly, Kimberly Brauer, Dani Tirrell & Marlon Brown, Elvia Pilar Carreon, Abigail Chapin, Tamara Codor, Aaron Craddick, Martha's sister Diane^, Katie Davis & Jacob Sayles, W. Scott Davis, Christine Deavel & J.W. Marshall, Eleana Del Rio & David Jeno, John Deshazo, Nathan Dors, Dwayne Epp & Mark Tilbe, Michael L. Furst, Molly Gillette, Annie Han, Pamm Hanson, Emma Hreljanovic, Amanda
Joan Hubbard, Path with Art, Andy & Nancy Jensen, Maureen Kamali, Helene Kaplan, John Michael Keating, Kathryn Kelly, Adam Kennedy, Kristan Kennedy, Doug Keyes, Sofie Kline, Olivia Knapp, Lisa Liedgren, Mike McCracken & Keely Isaak Meehan, Paul Mendes, Mary Metastasio, Alissa Mortensen, Catherine Nueva EspaĂąa, Rob Pastorok & Global Artists Collective, Susan Rasch, Jean Rowlands-Tarbox, Ruri Yampolsky, Gypsy Mandelbaum, Tim Smith-Stewart, Rafael Soldi, Michael Thompson^, Ellen Sollod & Ken Torp, Jay & Liza Turley, Laura Valiente, Amelia Wade, Jonella Windell, Becky & Rob Witmer, Jason Young, Ellen Ziegle $10+ Anonymous, Diana Adams, Christina Arcidy, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, Steve Ash, Wyly Astley, Claudia Bach & Philip Smart, Erin Bailey-Sun, Gedney Barclay, Lucy Barcott, Tom Bardwell, Thomas Beck, Will Beeler, Meghan Moe Beitiks, Ron Berry, Colby Bradley, Rachael Brister, Sandy Turner, Matt Browning, Liza Burell, Ian Butcher & Carol Chapman, Karen Bystrom, Johnny Calcagno, Amy Calderwood, Evelyn Caldwell-Horne, Jane Carter, Evan Cartwright, Roi Chang, Elena Chernock, Renata Chew, Brendan Malec, Elizabeth Conner, Liza Curtiss, Courtney Dailey, Susan Davis, Zachary Davis, Celeste Delostrinos, Alan Denke, Samie Detzer, Richelle Dickerson, Max Dobler, Gonzalo Domingo, Alexander Dones, Ben Dowdle, Greg Drohan, Tonya Peck & Alex Dunne, Maya Dunstan, Mara Dyczewski, Timothy White Eagle, Michael Eddington, Claire Eliot Yazza, Ana Deboo & Douglas Ende, Champ Ensminger, AJ Epstein, Leah Erickson, Timothy Farrell, Lilia Flores, Kelly Forsyth, Robin Fox, Terese Freedman, Kathy Fridstein & Mark Manley, E. Steven Fried, Ben Gale-Schreck, Victoria Garcia, Kiesha Garrison, In Memory of Jeff Gerson, Viraj Ghandi, Deeann Glamser, Neil Goldberg, Helene Goss, Alice Gosti, Bruce Greeley, Teresa Guard, Can Gulan, Imana Gunawan, McKenna Haley, Michael Hamm, Lyla Hanna, Ben Hanisko, Alexandra Harding, Barbara Sauermann & Wier Harman, Lotta Hashizume, Aisha Hauser, Nina Bozicnik & Jessica Henske, Christine Hoggatt, Elizabeth Hubbard, Catherine
Hillenbrand & Joseph Hudson, Pearce Hyatt, Katlin Jackson, Lars America Jan, Erin Johnson, Evan Johnson, Ronald Jones, Theresa Keesling, Katie Kern, Jennifer Kerns, Cyrus Khambatta, Wesley Kim, Alex Knight, Lou Koehler, Vladimir Kremenovic, Hannah Kris, Jody Kuehner, Erin Langner, Jake Laundry, Ji Lee, Minna Lee, Jake Lindsay, Howard Litwak, Francesca Lohmann, Lisa Looye, James Louie, Kyle Loven, Shaya Lyon, Kim MacDonald, Jordan Rahne MacIntosh-Hougham, Matthew Maker, Allison Manch, Lisa Marahrens, Christl Marcontell, Ben McCarthy, Erin McCarthy, Cara McDermott, Craig Blackmon & Tiffany McDermott, Erin McDonald, Ellen McGivern, Meegan McKiernan, Filiz Efe McKinney, Zita Mears, Stephanie Mehl, Guy Merrill, Molly Michal, Tracy Middlebrook, Missy & David Miller, Kyle Mitchell, Bill Monroe, Daniel Morris, Jeffrey Morrow, Kayla Nelson, Kyle Nunes, Kiera O'Brien, Raegen Rasnic & Arlen Olsen, Wolf Owczarek, Hadley Pack, Seth Pacleb, Alex Pasternack, Jospeh Patterson, Warren Pease, David Pedersen, Virginia Phalen, Danny Pinsker, Alisa Popova, Base, Beth & Allanah Raas-Bergquist, Georgia Ragsdale, Lilia Flores, Erica Bower Reich, Lynn Resnick, Elissa Favero, April Roberts, David Robinson, Kris Rockas, Louise Roman, Nina Rook, Pol Rosenthal, Misty Shock Rule, Karla Schickele, Evan Schiller, Elizabeth Schultz, Zoe Scofield, Norman Scrivner, Michael Seiwerath, Cahilan Shine, Charles Smith, Porter Smith, Frank Stieber, Susanna Stratford, Richard Stroup, Tenold Sundberg, Margaret Sutro, Barbara Swain, Jesse James Swingle, Harold Thackrey, Laurie Thornton, Casey Thurston, Matthew Tischer, AmyEllen Trefsger, Anna Trier, Seth Vail, Rita Van Doren, Rebecca Wear, Paul Watts & Misty Weaver*, Christopher Weber, Maggie Wegener, Ingrid West, Ahamefule Oluo & Lindy West, Jeanna Wheeler, Robert Wigton, Derrick Williams, Kevin & Jana Witt, Pauline Woodman, James Zulauf
You can join this list of treasured humans by: - adding a donation when you buy your tickets - calling or emailing samie@ontheboards.org / 206-217-9886 ext.1023 - dipping your credit card in the ART ROBOT DipJar (look for the sign that says Art Robot) Thank YOU for fueling art!
8
THANK YOU
On the Boards is grateful for the generous support of the following organizations
IN KIND & MEDIA SPONSORS
About On the Boards Founded by artists in 1978, On the Boards invests in leading contemporary performing artists near and far, and connects them to a diverse range of communities interested in forward-thinking art and ideas. We believe if we are successful in our work that we can grow our field, enrich peoples’ lives, and contribute to civic and global dialogues. We value: artistic risks while being fiscally responsible; leadership in our field and the multiple communities we serve to strategically advance the role contemporary artists play in society; racial and social equity, and accountability, to ensure our organization includes multiple viewpoints; provocative art as a vehicle to connect people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives; our local creative community as we engage with international artists and peers; and professional and transparent management.
STAFF Betsey Brock, Executive Director Rachel Cook, Artistic Director Rich Bresnahan, Technical Director Erica Bower Reich, Development Manager Kate Connerty, Communications Associate Sara Ann Davidson, Operations Manager Samie Detzer, Director of External Relations Alexandra Harding, Assistant Technical Manager Clare Hatlo, Associate Producer Sara Jinks, Production Coordinator Ben Marx, Sound Technician Erin McCarthy, Bookkeeper Pamala Mijatov, Director of Audience Services Eze-Basil Oluo, House Manager Charles Smith, Curatorial Administrator
10
BOARD Davora Lindner, Board President Ruth Lockwood, Past President John Hoedemaker, Vice President John Robinson, Treasurer Michaela Hutfles, Secretary Tyler Engle, Member at Large Tom Israel, Member at Large Norie Sato, Member at Large Kristen Becker, Lara Behnert, Kim Brillhart, Maryika Byskiniewicz, Jeanie Chunn, Florangela Davila, Jeffrey Fracé, Corey Gutch, Rodney Hines, John Hoedemaker, Tina LaPadula, Mireya Lewin, Mari London, Lance Neely, Emily Tanner-McLean, David Taft, Kate Murphy, Mary Ann Peters, Spafford Robbins, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Stumberger, Josef Vascovitz, Bill Way
COMING SOON
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Performance Lab: Uncanny Cabaret Wed, Dec 11, 8:00 pm Studio Theater Co-curated by Performance Lab Producer Charles Smith and artist Matt Aguayo A post-binary performance for the glamorous, the outrageous, and the utterly sublime. Hosted by iconoclastic co-curator, Matt Aguayo (Angel Baby Kill Kill Kill), this Performance Lab will transform OtB’s Studio Theater into a cabaret space presenting drag, dance, burlesque, lip sync, and spoken word. Unruly, uninhibited, and radical, this is a Performance Lab one you don’t want to miss. Taylor Mac: Holiday Sauce Dec 19 - 20, 8:00 pm The Moore Theatre Christmas as calamity – 2017 MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist Taylor Mac takes on the holidays to celebrate the season in all of its dysfunction. For this new production, Taylor Mac is joined by longtime collaborators, designer Machine Dazzle, Music Director Matt Ray, and a spectacular band to reframe the songs you love and the holidays you hate. Tickets can be purchased through STG.
ontheboards.org
Tim Smith-Stewart & Jeffrey Azevedo: Salvage Rituals (Work-in-Progress Showing) Feb 1, 2020, 7:00 pm Merrill Theatre This work-in-progress showing invites the audience into the first iteration of an ongoing community practice and dance party. Born from a private ritual to mourn friends very much alive but lost to unsupported neurodivergence and addiction, Salvage Rituals is interested in the potential of communal ritual intersecting with DIY engineering as an embodied practice of mutualism/mutual aid. A rigorous movement score takes place on a hexagonal platform constructed of piezoelectric tiles, which transforms the mechanical stress from the performers' bodies into electrical current, actively powering the stage lights. Solo: A Festival of Dance Feb 20 - 23, 2020 Merrill Theatre Solo: A Festival of Dance explores the solo as a rebellious act of self-expression. This year’s festival will feature an evening length program with five solo performances created by Jade Solomon Curtis, Jumatatu Poe, Adrienne Truscott, Marianna Valencia and Allie Hankins. In addition to these performances there will be additional day-time and late-night programing co-curated with Dani Tirrell happening all over the OtB building.
11
COMING SOON
CUCKOO JAHA KOO
JAN 23 - 26
In Cuckoo, South Korean artist Jaha Koo gives a touching insight into the tragedy of a lonely life in a thoroughly technologized society–all through a sequence of dialogues between Koo and three rice cookers. One day when his electric rice cooker informed him that his meal was ready, Jaha Koo experienced a deep sense of isolation. ‘Golibmuwon’ is an untranslatable Korean word expressing the feeling of helpless isolation that characterizes the lives of many young people in Korea today. Twenty years ago there was a major economic crisis in South-Korea, comparable to the financial crash in the United States and
Southern Europe in 2008. This crisis had a huge impact on the young generation to which South Korean artist Jaha Koo belongs. He witnessed many endemic problems including youth unemployment and socio-economic inequality. Rising suicide rates, isolation, acute social withdrawal and a fixation on personal appearance are but a few of the symptoms. In bittersweet and humorous dialogues, Jaha and his clever rice cookers take you on a journey through the last 20 years of Korean history, combining personal experience with political events and reflections on happiness, economic crises, and death.
Presented in partnership with PuSH Festival, Vancouver, and International Festival of Performance and Ideas, Toronto. Cuckoo was realized with the support of de Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie.