Horse Head Theatre Co. Presents the Houston Premiere of THE SONIC LIFE OF A GIANT TORTOISE

Horse Head Theatre Co.'s (HH) Houston Premiere of SONIC LIFE... by Toshiki Okada will be presented at Near Northside Studios (NeNo), 1506 Lorraine Street from November 3 - 18, 2017. All performances will begin at 8pm. Concessions sponsored by Buffalo Bayou Brewery, Mid State Wine & Liquor and Frost Bank.

A dream-like folk tale of modern life, THE SONIC LIFE OF A GIANT TORTOISE explores urbanites' collective longing for the extraordinary. Like a Haruki Murakami story come to life, SONIC LIFE... feelingly navigates the complex threads of the mundane and surreal. Can our secret wishes lead us out of the boring day-to-day into a more meaningful existence?

"I was drawn to the play, initially, simply by its title," says director Philip Hays (Horse Head, Main Street, Classical Theatre Co., Prague Shakespeare Co.). "Sonic life? Giant tortoise? What does that mean? One says speed and vitality, the other is the poster child for slowness." Consistent with Horse Head's 2017 focus on "the self," Okada's SONIC LIFE ... will take audiences on a journey of self discovery, dramatizing existential musings on the mundanity of modern life and giving voice to the soul's raucous longing for 'more.'

The story of SONIC LIFE... beings with a secret: Okada's ACTOR 1 (Braden Hunt) clings to a thought he's never told anyone before because it's just not something you'd say out aloud. But, as of late, holding in his secret has become more than he can bear. Gathering his courage, Braden earnestly confesses that he yearns " to live more fully ." That he is unhappy, unsatisfied, alone; and that there must be something that he is missing in life to have created such a void. But what is it?

Soon after this confession, the remaining ensemble ( Callina Situka , Nasir Villanueva , Laura Menzie and Caroline Donica ) begin to appear. All five will take turns, sharing the story not only of this man with a secret, but that of his girlfriend, a woman with a wish, and others--flowing from one character to the next, as in a dream. Okada's experimental devices defy our expectations of identity and character, instead refracting his musings on modern ennui and escape through a group of individuals.

If that sounds confusing, that's part of the point. Okada's SONIC LIFE... is rife with harmonious contradictions, explains Hays : "Characters speak in the colloquial dialogue of realism, but those same characters are navigating a surreal fairytale world. Seemingly incompatible ideas coexist in delicate harmony: a man wants to have a dead girlfriend, but does not want his girlfriend dead. A woman dreams of traveling great distances; but in the end, doesn't have very far to go. It's poignant and absurd, sprawling and brief, darkly comic and painstakingly sincere. It's a lot like real life. Except it's a play, so it's not like real life at all."

SONIC LIFE... features actors Caroline Donica (East Texas Baptist University; Theatre Longview, A.D. Players, and the Majestic Performance Company), Braden Hunt (University of Houston & The Houston Metropolitan Dance Company; Main Street, Stages Ensemble, and A.D. Players Theatres), Laura Menzie (University of Houston MFA, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Academia dell'arte Italy, Clark University; Brown Box Theatre Project, Boston Actor's Theatre, Apollinaire Theatre Company, Icaro Teatro [Mexio], and TCSquared [UK]), Callina Situka (University of Houston; Horse Head, Main Street, A.D. Players, Mildred's Umbrella, Cone Man Running, and Fade to Black), and Nasir Villanueva (Stella Adler Studio of Acting NYC, The Second City Chicago; Stella Adler Studio, The Workshop Theatre [NY], and Texas Rep Theatre).

This mesmerizing, postmodern tale will be presented at Near Northside Studios (aka "NeNo"). Established in 2016 by native Houstonian Enrique Corona, the nearly 100 year-old building is located in the historic Near Northside Neighborhood and is primarily utilized by local photographers. This November, Horse Head will illuminate NeNo with multimedia video, sound and light installations -- and as always, visceral, experience-driven theatre.

For more information visit www.horseheadtheatre.org.

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