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The Daily Aztec
Arts & Culture
Nov. 10 - 16, 2021 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com
‘Miku and the Gods’ inspires its actors By Haley Risch CONTRIBUTOR
“Miku and the Gods,” presented by San Diego State’s Arts Alive, took its audience on an emotional and thought-provoking journey. Through passionate acting and thoughtful set design, the performance led viewers through conversations about death, friendship and the simultaneous importance and impermanence of memories. “Miku and the Gods,” written by Julia Izumi and directed by Peter James Cirino, follows the story of a young Japanese American girl from a polytheistic background who desires to be a god. The performance opened on Oct. 29 and completed its final showing on Nov. 5. It was held virtually and had a limited in-person audience to comply with COVID-19 protocols. Despite the decision to be presented mostly virtually, which is atypical in prepandemic theater, nothing from the play seemed to be lost. The story and spirit of the actors was conveyed perfectly through the screen. Hope-Elizabeth Dagdagan, the SDSU student who portrayed 12-year-old Miku, had the ability to bring the audience back to their inquisitive and sometimes painful childhood years through her emotive acting. Cirino explored this aspect of the performance during the “Miku and the Gods” Discovery Series Panel Conversation on Oct. 26. “I get taken away by the story and by the fierceness [of] this young character that Julia wrote so well, Miku,” Cirino said. “And it makes me long for those
Photo by Mckenna Perry
A performance sequence from the production of “Miku and the Gods,” an immersive play put on by SDSU Arts Alive.
times when I was little, to be that sponge and want to take on the world.” Miku was struggling to deal with the death of her older brother and wanted to become a god so she could use her powers for good and ensure no more innocent people died. She and her new friend Ephriam, portrayed by Jaiden Sanmarti, sought out how to become a god and slowly learned of the sacrifices they must make. At the same time, Miku’s grandmother, Grandma Seiko, was afflicted with dementia. She has lively and difficult conversations with her friend Shara, the minor god of war, portrayed by Booker Schrock. They dealt with the process of dying and the idea of memories fading being inevitable. The elaborate storyline slowly revealed to the audience how all four characters are
deeply connected through death. Through explosive and touching monologues from Grandma Seiko, Shara and Miku the audience is provoked to think about the complexity of memories and death. The ability of the actors to portray characters far outside of their age range as well as their ability for their emotions to transcend beyond the Zoom screen was fascinating to watch. Justine Elise Banal, who portrayed Grandma Seiko, explained how she was able to relate to her role. “My grandma is my rock. A lot of who I am today, as corny as it sounds, is because of her. So, it was really interesting to play that opposite role and be that person for Miku in the play,” Banal said. The audience not only received both the calm and intense acting moments well, but the music, lighting and set design further helped the performance
come to life. Although the set was static throughout the performance, it was well utilized through use of multiple levels for the actors to walk on and a wall of crystal-like beads which added dimension. The bold, colorful lighting of Act II synced with the mood and made each scene vibrant and visually pleasing. The costumes also added to the visual beauty of the play. The gods’ costumes were all brilliantly unique and eyecatching. They created a nice contrast from the regular clothes of the human characters. The captivating end scene where the gods finally spoke about their personal deaths was made all the more interesting because of their costumes. The utilization of different camera angles for the Zoom audience was engaging and made it feel almost as if watching a film. From the music to where the character stood on stage, everything in the play was well connected and symbolic. Along with the central themes of the play, Izumi wanted to showcase Japanese American culture. She did so through Grandma Seiko’s onigiri, the use of Japanese honorifics, the practice of polytheistic culture and more. In the “Miku and the Gods” panel Izumi described the importance of having polytheistic representation and how it was a reflection of her own experiences. “Miku is Japanese American because I am. Her story is not my story, but a lot of me is in her,” Izumi said. To learn more about the upcoming performances from SDSU’s Arts Alive visit the School of Theater, Television and Film event page or visit the Arts Alive SDSU website.
San Diego State Symphony and Wind Orchestra shine By Marian Cuevas STAFF WRITER
On Nov. 4, the San Diego State Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra performed their “Nothing Gold Can Stay” concert downtown in Balboa Theatre. The program consisted of two sections, each of which featured two pieces. President Adela de la Torre and the Dean of Professional Studies and Fine Arts attended the event and shared their words and gratitude with the audience at the start of the event. In her brief time on stage, de la Torre stated SDSU will now start sponsoring an evening of gratitude each fall, an event for which the SDSU Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra will perform in Balboa Theatre. This news was well received by music majors, whose pleas have been unattended by the president’s administration. Sade Rains, a third-year piano education major who attended as an audience member, shared her thoughts on this. “I was surprised to see the president of our school giving a speech about how special the music students are… It was a relief to hear her mention how the music school would begin to receive some new sponsorships,” Rains said. The performance touched their audience, especially in the context that it took place. “I have been deprived of the concert experience for so long, which is what made this performance even more special,” Rains said. “I feel that my words alone can’t bring the Nothing Gold Can Stay concert justice.” The venue was a notable element of this event, as Samuel Jiménez, a fourth-year violin education major who performed with the orchestra commented. “It was such a privilege to… perform
in such an amazing venue with some outstanding music. As students, we don’t always have the privilege to perform in these spaces, and it completely changes our sound into something that is truly astonishing to listen to,” Jiménez said. The Wind Symphony opened the concert by performing “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Steven Bryant. This piece, based on the poem of the same title by Robert Frost, captures a simple and familiar beauty. Bryant discussed how the composition, which was inspired by Frost’s poem, captures a paradoxical descent from dawn to day, embodying the “lucky fall,” the idea that “loss can bring greater good, and is in fact necessary,” Bryant said. The second work in the program featured Elizabeth Gaitan, a fourth-year vocal performance soprano. “Places we can no longer go” tells the story about the composer’s mother, who has dementia. It goes from unintelligible blabber to distinct, clear fragments of memories. For this piece, the soprano starts singing in the audience, further capturing the disorientation dementia patients navigate daily by placing the soloist among the audience members, where many were not able to pinpoint where the voice they were listening to was coming from. Jiménez, who is also Gaitan’s boyfriend, said this performance was an amazing way to return to music in an indoor space. “[Her] solo in this piece was so emotional and I can’t even begin to express how proud I am of all her hard work and success. The offstage clarinets and triangles plus the space… really brought out the powerful energy this piece had to offer and brought me to tears,” Jiménez said. The Symphony Orchestra took over for the second half of the program, performing
Photo by Virginia Michel
The SDSU Symphony Orchestra’s performance of “Firebird Suite” was one of the night’s highlights.
“Blue Cathedral” by Jennifer Higdon and “Firebird Suite” by Igor Stravisnky. “Firebird Suite” was a performer and audience favorite. “[Firebird] has such a special place in my heart, and I am so grateful for being able to perform it with the symphony,” Jiménez said. Rains, an audience member for this portion of the concert, said this was her favorite piece, as the audience was able to see each section of the symphony shine. This event also left music majors hungry for more, hoping that their craft will be better appreciated going forward. Rains emphasized the hardship of being a music major while also expressing hope that the larger public will be more appreciative of the arts. “SDSU’s music program has an amazing group of people that constantly juggle their personal lives, a million one-unit classes, and the stress of mastering their
craft,” Rains said. “Even if you aren’t a music student or a fan of classical music you should definitely take the time to see what we do here in the music building. My peers have been so inspiring to me and I’m so thankful to have had that experience with them as an audience member.”
Photo by Virginia Michel
Composer Michael Gerdes led the symphony orchestra in their performance of “Firebird Suite.”
