Written and performed by Alanna Mitchell.
ArtsEmerson, Boston's leading presenter of contemporary world theater and film and the professional presenting and producing organization of Emerson College, will be presenting Alanna Mitchell's Sea Sick at the Emerson Paramount Center Jackie Liebergott Black Box from May 11 - 22, 2022. The performance is the story of science journalist Alanna Mitchell's grand adventure into the ocean to learn its secrets, face its demons, and come to grips with the devastating implications of climate change that threaten our world.
Directed by Franco Boni, with Ravi Jain, Sea Sick is a science journalist's rollicking, true story, refreshingly told in an intimate setting, where Mitchell's marvelous discoveries are presented with whip smart humor and informed by some of today's most fascinating scientific discoveries. Inspired by Mitchell's international bestseller and award-winning book of the same name, this show will leave audiences hopeful and ready to act.
"I'm so thrilled to be bringing the play to ArtsEmerson's audiences next month," Mitchell says. "Our need to fathom just how much we're endangering the life-support systems of the planet has never been greater. And neither has been our power to push the change we want to see."
"ArtsEmerson is committed to advancing climate justice onstage and off," says ArtsEmerson Director of Artistic Programming Ronee Penoi. "We know the scale of the climate crisis can often feel paralyzing, but with Sea Sick, Alanna unlocks a path forward through her unique perspective- offering a much needed dose of inspiration. We couldn't be more pleased to welcome Alanna's work - a powerful intersection of storytelling, science, and civic dialogue - to the city of Boston."
In addition to the opportunity to experience Sea Sick in-person at the Emerson Paramount Center, ArtsEmerson is hosting a virtual livestream of the performance on Friday, May 20, 2022 at 8:00PM ET, broadcast live from the Jackie Liebergott Black Box.
Tickets for the Sea Sick in-person performances and for the Sea Sick: Virtual Livestream performance may be purchased 24/7 at ArtsEmerson.org, or by calling 617-824-8400 (Tue-Sat from 12:00PM ET - 6:00PM ET). The Paramount Center Box Office (559 Washington Street, Boston) is open for walk-up service Thu-Sat from Noon - 6:00 PM ET. In-person tickets cost $60 and the virtual livestream tickets cost $35. Groups of 10+ attending a performance save up to 30%.
Thanks to generous support from Rockland Trust, a limited number of $10 Mobile Rush tickets will be available at 10:00 AM ET each performance day on a first-come, first-served basis, exclusively through the TodayTix mobile app. For more information, please click on "General Public'' when you visit ArtsEmerson's Offers web page.
At the core of ArtsEmerson's mission is bringing people together from communities throughout Boston to be enriched through art. Overcoming the exclusionary tendencies of art requires building institutions where civic engagement isn't a program but is the DNA of the organizational infrastructure.
From hosting Play Reading Book Clubs, neighborhood performances, and public dialogues to making tickets affordable and holding Welcome to Boston Cast Parties around the city, ArtsEmerson provides opportunities for people to connect with artists, ideas, and each other. ArtsEmerson is proud to be offering several free Play Reading Book Club (PRBC) and Public Dialogue events taking place in connection with Sea Sick.
Registration is now open for ArtsEmerson's wildly popular Play Reading Book Club (PRBC) which will be studying Sea Sick from May 2 - 25, 2022. This pioneering theater literacy and community education program deepens the theater-going experience by offering unique and radical access to scripts, artists, and conversations featured at ArtsEmerson, while expanding the social networks of its participants.
Since 2014, ArtsEmerson's PRBC has gathered and formed a theater-going community throughout several Greater Boston neighborhoods to read, discuss, and analyze plays in the ArtsEmerson season prior to seeing them live on stage and then sharing their experience with their communities. The program will allow participants to explore Sea Sick over the course of 4 weeks during in-person or online sessions and is facilitated by trained teaching artists from the Emerson College Masters in Theatre Education program and professional Boston theater artists. Participants are also offered the opportunity to special meet & greet conversations with the visiting artists.
Public Dialogue
ArtsEmerson's mission is not only to present extraordinary artists and performances from around the world, but to engage diverse multi-generational Boston audiences in thinking and talking about issues that address the concerns and challenges of our contemporary moment. ArtsEmerson periodically hosts free public dialogues and "Citywide Read" events aimed at connecting the work on our stages, our artists, our neighborhood partners, and our audiences through meaningful interactions.
ArtsEmerson will present two Public Dialogue conversations surrounding the Sea Sick engagement, the first of which will be a virtual discussion on May 9, 2022. There will be an additional in-person public dialogue on May 25, 2022 - a conversation about climate change.
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