SUITE/Space 2022 | Sim Yan Ying “YY” | Where Are You? (New York)
SUITE/Space 2022
Where Are You? (New York)
Created and Directed by
Sim Yan Ying “YY”
Devised & Performed by
Ao Lan Guo, Brendan Schwartz, Guillermo Contreras, John Titus, Maria Müller, Rosalie Neal & Shannon Helene Barnes
Performances
December 8 & 10 @ 9:00pm | December 9 @ 7:00pm
Run Time: 70 minutes
Mabou Mines
150 First Avenue (Second Floor), NYC 10009
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It’s been said that grief changes us irrevocably – that the death of a loved one shakes us up in unexpected and unimaginable ways. Some of us cling to rituals and superstitions. Others replay memories. Still others laugh in the face of its absurdity.
Weaving together personal stories and cultural perspectives, Where Are You? attempts to excavate the universal experience of grief through its unique manifestations. How do we talk openly and honestly about death? How can we be fearless about grieving deeply? And how might we reckon with where we go after death? This devised physical theatre production seeks to bring some light and lightness to stories that are too often kept in the dark.
Content Warnings: Visceral descriptions of death and grief, mentions of suicide, and violence.
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Sim Yan Ying “YY” (she/her) is a theatre creator, director, performer & writer based in Singapore and New York. She strives to make works that are experimental and accessible, physical in nature, and reflective of a diversity of lived experiences. YY believes in the power of live performance to bridge perspectives within and across communities in an increasingly polarised world.
Her original works include: Bloodlines 血脉 (Fault Line Theatre), a collaboration with artists across the Sinosphere examining the volatility and promise of Chinese-ness; Who’s There? (New Ohio Theatre), an international collaboration about the socio-political upheaval and racial unrests during the pandemic; I LOVE WHITE MEN (Caveat NYC/ Ars Nova/ Dixon Place), a one-woman show excavating white worship and postcolonial baggage from an immigrant’s perspective in New York; (un)becoming (T:>Works N.O.W. 2021), exploring the complex dynamics of mother-daughter relationships today; Who Are You? (Esplanade), about the experiences between migrants and locals in Singapore; and Without Reason (Esplanade), about the struggles of an interracial relationship in Singapore.
YY is presently a Director in the Esplanade TRIP Program, a Directing Resident at Singapore Repertory Theatre, and an Artist in Emergency Academy. Training: BFA NYU Tisch. simyanying.com
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.