Works in Progress:

Past directing projects:

Dear Jack, Dear Louise by Ken Ludwig
Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata 

Virginia Stage Company

October 17 - November 7, 2021 (in rotating repertory)

Two plays set against the backdrop of WWII. In Dear Jack, Dear Louise, we meet U.S. army doctor Jacob Ludwig who begins a correspondence with an emerging Broadway actor Louise Rabiner. The play follows their love story against the obstacle of war. In Hold These Truths we meet Japanese American college student Gordon Hirabayashi who fights the US government's orders to forcibly remove and incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry, including American citizens, on the West Coast. The two stories are launched in 1942, yet the experiences of the three real-life Americans featured in these stories are extremely disparate, demonstrating the multifaceted nature of life in the United States. Love and victory coexist with hate and the painful, important and ongoing pursuit of liberty and justice for all. Then as today. Read more about these shows here.

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Creative Team:
Scenic Designer.....Alan E. Muraoka

Lighting Designer.....Lynne Hartman

Sound Designer.....André Pluess

Costume Designer.....Jeni Schaefer

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Hold These Truths Cast: Greg Watanabe

Stage Manager.....Adrienne Wells

Assistant Stage Manager.....Aimee Amelia Greco

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Dear Jack, Dear Louise Cast: Dan Fenaughty, Larissa Klinger

Stage Manager.....Kurt Hall

Assistant Stage Manager.....Grace Weaver

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GERMANTOWN PLAYS PERICLES

Shakespeare in Clark Park, Philadelphia, PA

August 29, 2021

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Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP), a small nonprofit theater in Philadelphia, contracted Seema to co-create and direct, with the community of Germantown, Philadelphia, an artistic project to take place outdoors in Germantown’s iconic Vernon Park at the end of August 2021, utilizing Shakespeare’s Pericles as the launching point for creative query. The overall goal was to connect and nourish the soul of the people of Germantown.

Seema led a six-month consensus organizing (CO) process beginning in March 2021, which prioritized the people and narratives of Germantown. Through this process, local residents and organizations co-created and named the project Germantown Plays Pericles, an all-ages fair where audience members perambulated through Vernon Park, interacting with nine 'islands,’ each reflecting a narrative moment in Pericles embodied through a contemporary Germantown activity that included interactive art installations, games, music, breakdancing, mutual aid and resources. The event culminated with an original 30-minute poetic play that refracted Pericles through a tale centering Black Germantown and the community's fight against gentrification. The play was written by Angela Bey and incorporated ideas and writings from community members that surfaced through the CO process. Photos and more info can be found here.

Media

Click here for a 20-second TikTok video of the project
Click here for the digital program

Broadway World: Shakespeare in Clark Park Presents GERMANTOWN PLAYS PERICLES

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Land of Smiles is Part One of Erin Kamler's trilogy of new musicals set in Southeast Asia between 2012 and the present. An artist and academic researcher, Erin wrote Land of Smiles as part of her PhD dissertation research at the Annenberg School at USC. Her continued work at the Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process (AGIPP) in Myanmar gave her the fuel to expand her writing into the trilogy. You can learn more about the musical here: 

http://www.landofsmilesmusical.net/.

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In the pandemic, the creative team worked on adapting Land of Smiles to a podcast format. With the director in Hawaii, actors in California and New York, the writer-composer, musicians, and sound engineer in Thailand, the music supervisor in Michigan, and the sound designer in Chicago, the team recorded a prototype of two songs/scenes.

You may listen to them here: 

http://www.landofsmilesmusical.net/media/.

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The team continue to develop the musical trilogy. For queries, contact Gregory Franklin, Producer, Franklin Theatrical Group at gregory@franklintheatrical.com

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Prototype Creative Team: Music Supervisor: David O | Sound Designer: Andre Pluess | Sound Engineer (Thailand): Thomas Van Ness 

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Podcast Prototype Cast: 

Cathy Ang as Lipoh

Melody Butiu as Soon Nu

SILENT SKY  by Lauren Gunderson

Ford’s Theatre, Washington, DC

January 24 -February 23, 2020

Creative Team: Scenic Design: Milagros Ponce de Leon | Lighting Design: Rui Rita | Costume Design: Ivania Stack | Sound Design: Andre J. Pluess | Choreography: Karma Camp | Hair and Wigs: Anne Nesmith | Dialects and vocal direction: Lisa Nathans | Directing Assistant: Katie Ciszek | Stage Manager: Brandon Prendergast

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Cast: Laura C. Harris as Henrietta | Jonathan David Martin as Peter | Holly Twyford as Williamina | Emily Kester as Margaret | Nora Achrati as Annie

Press

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Washington Post: ‘Silent Sky’ tells the story of pioneering female astronomers with humor and warmth

Broadway World: BWW Review: SILENT SKY at Ford's Theatre is Bursting with Imagination

Maryland Theatre Guide: This show is an incredible gift to all of us. 

Video: Facebook Live Interview