Interview: Multi-Hyphenate Daniel Sugimoto On His DATE WITH DEATH & Feeling Magical Connecting To His Audiences

Zoo Company's artistic director, writer/performer Daniel Sugimoto will world premiere his latest creative endeavor MY DATE WITH DEATH - A MUSICAL ROMANCE for a limited run beginning November 10, 2018 at the Miles Memorial Playhouse. We had the chance to delve deep into Daniel's creative mind to learn of some of his creative processes.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Daniel!

The last production I saw of your creation was LETTERS TO EVE, an ode to your grandmother Midori. Is MY DATE WITH DEATH as personal to you as LETTERS?
Absolutely. I would go as far to say that MY DATE WITH DEATH is more personal. I was thirteen when I composed my first two songs and they were both about death and loss. Writing them was the first time I remember feeling I could use songs to alleviate personal pain. LETTERS TO EVE, although primarily about the Japanese American experience during WWII, is also a complicated look at death, loss, grieving, cultural viewpoints on death, and human outlook on death. It's safe to say most of my work will include some musings on mortality because it's the one thing that relates to everyone. LETTERS TO EVE will always be a piece honoring those who fought for family, freedom, and country. MY DATE WITH DEATH opens the door for the discussion on a highly sensitive issue that we aren't embracing as a society. It's personal because I'm living the realities now. I'm aware of our culture indulging in death and our growing disregard for the value of human connection. So I feel personally responsible for making sure the theatrical medium stays a open space for people from all walks of life to feel understood; to feel like someone is saying the things they can't. Since I use music and writing to alleviate my own struggles, I hope some can find similar solace.

Do you feel like you're completely exposing your real self in this play?
The characters in the show are both different sides of my thought process, so the words are completely exposing myself. But the character I play is a bit more aloof then I am... I hope. In terms of letting the world know my thoughts on death and some personal struggles with it, yes, this is the most naked I'll feel as a writer. WHITE PEOPLE DRINKING was risky because I knew I would lose some friends, but with this one I hope by exposing some honest beliefs, I can inspire others to do the same. That being said, there are some fantastical sci-fi elements to the show that I can't quite say are my true beliefs, but hopefully after seeing the show the audience can understand how I am using that genre to dilute some of the harder hitting critiques of our society. Musically however, this is the closest I've ever come to exposing my true self. I have compiled some rather raw material that doesn't try to fit a 'sound' or emulate other works as I might have done in the past. For me, this is why it feels most rewarding to be doing this piece. It's the closest I've come to distancing myself from the noise of the world and just painting alone for eight months to create a unique experience.

The origins of MY DATE WITH DEATH have been incubating in your creative mind for seven years. What spurred the completion of this concept?
The origins of this show actually date back to the first songs I ever composed. I was 13-years-old, taking guitars lessons, and writing lyrics in school. Once I experienced death, bullying, sadness, isolation; I felt like writing was the best way to say something, talk to someone. MY DATE WITH DEATH has been the show I've always wanted to write with the songs that helped me through some similar tough thoughts. Before beginning the writing process, I had a dysfunctional addiction to prescription sleeping pills (that have also snuck their way into most of my work). Actually, for about 13 years I was on and off taking sleeping pills, and later on into my twenties, I started mixing with alcohol and other not-so-smart things. This obviously put a damper on all things creatively, but music and theatre were the only things that could grab me out of the drug-induced depressions. It got to a point where my evaluation of my life's worth became toxic and dangerous. With the help of the wonderfully patient Julia Lisa, I decided to cut the drugs and alcohol out eight months ago, and have been writing ever since. I like to write things out so I can better understand them. Since I was so close to death, I decided to just start with the prompt of falling in love with death; being seduced by death in a sense. From there, I started crafting a universe in which this 'date' could take place, and in this process, made me more and more aware of the severity of my experiences, the delicate nature of my deprecating thought process, and how these musings could pose a helpful tool for others who experience the same thing. I want people to know they aren't ever alone.

Did you feel the current times were the right time to bring up a mention, let alone, a full discussion on suicide?
100% the right time. Out of all the things that seem to be troublesome with our cultural environment, I believe a hidden trauma that people are experiencing is deep isolation and loneliness. We have a 24-hour news cycle with some of the most dramatic pieces we're ever experienced. We're all absorbing this information through a screen on a device built to entice our individual engagement, and there are enough meds roaming around for everyone to get high three times over. One of these things would be a difficult thing for one to handle, but mix any of these together and you've got a dangerous concoction. Speaking from personal experience, before I started structuring my intake of world news I found it extremely disheartening. Not only due to the content, but because of how powerless it made me feel. This powerlessness can lead to feeling useless as a person, and then add in social media and now we're even deeper into the rabbit hole of a false emulation. The harsh reality is, the darker the world; the more enticing the bright lights of virtual reality seem. Don't get me wrong, technology is beautiful and I'm an avid gamer. But sometimes I found myself popping out from my phone and not knowing how to interact as well, not feeling as solid in my place in the community. I think if we dive head on into these conversations, instead of pretending people don't have these thoughts, we can help a lot of people understand their pain as opposed to immediately wanting it to be over. A platform is a platform. If I can, in any way, promote a healthy discussion on the afterlife and the true value of our time on this earth, I will do it. Primarily because I know best what feeling like you don't belong on this planet can do to someone, and I can help.

How did you come to choose Trevor Project to donate part of your tickets sales to?
As a society, we are all communicating on a much higher level. So the knowledge we all share on the issue of suicide and isolation within the young LGBTQ community is not a mystery. Within my personal experience, multiple friends have experienced family trauma associated with coming out, living in a religious town, or having parents that weren't responsive to them in their time of need. Having experienced what this can do to a family or an individual long term, I wanted to highlight that narrative in MY DATE WITH DEATH. Cause when you really get down to it, there isn't a more welcoming community than the LGBTQ, especially if you're feeling alone or unable to express yourself. In our current climate, we are no longer afforded the comfort of ignorance, and the LGBTQ community has been receiving a much more negative stream of toxic rhetoric that has already had dangerous effects. The Zoo Theatre does not accept prejudice, racism, bullying, or homophobic ideologies, and wants the next generation of the LGBTQ community to know they aren't alone.

You and Julia started The Zoo Theatre Company December 19, 2016. And now she's directing you in MY DATE WITH DEATH. What brought the two of you together initially?
Julia and I met doing children's theatre together at Creating Arts Company and some shows with Creating Arts Company Studios. We always worked really well together, and she is the only person that will tell me my work is garbage when not ready. I admire her opinion and we work in a very balanced yin-and-yang style. I have to be impulsive as a writer, 'cause if you don't jump on something, you will lose it or get blocked. She is much more methodical and likes to plan. Together we tend to feel unstoppable because we can cover all fronts. We got to play Ricky Ricardo and Lucille Ball respectively in a show at The Sayers Club. I think that says enough about how well we work together and how much we love it.

Which do you prefer - receiving immediate audience response when you're performing onstage? Or watching your words and music interpreted by others as you watch offstage?
Great question! Usually I don't prefer to be in the shows that I write. I've always wanted the characters to be as true to the page as possible. MY DATE WITH DEATH is different because I truly know this character inside and out. I have to say, sitting back and watching your show is an exhilarating experience like no other. Anyone who has worked with Zoo knows that I'm always running around trying to stay composed before the show starts, but when you get the first laugh or the first applause, everything melts and it's a magical feeling. I prefer the feeling of the audience feeling, laughing, or truly listening to the words and music more than I do performing. I love performing, but I can control it, so I tend to be less nervous. But when you can't control it, when you're entrusting the process, it's invigorating. MY DATE WITH DEATH is vocally one of the most challenging shows. I'm excited for other male vocalists to see how they'd handle the material for an hour-and-a-half straight!

I've seen you strut your stuff in CAC Studio's immersive musicals, in which you were part-owner, as well as, the musical director. Will we be seeing you in any established musicals soon? Or are you in the mindset of performing your own works?
Although there are no current productions lined up, I will surely be auditioning for other shows as they come along. Julia and I embrace creative control as a tool that helps us listen to the world around us, as opposed to having a quota to hit. We do this because of something that inspires us which helps the audience know we're present with our pieces, fully engaged in the narrative and its potential impact. However, one of the goals for MY DATE WITH DEATH is to tour, so I plan on taking on New York fairly soon!

Tell us about THE UPCYCLERS - A GREEN MUSICAL, which you are performing in rep with MY DATE WITH DEATH.
The UPCYCLERS is a musical concept Julia and I have had for about three years now. With the superhero boom in pop culture matched with my nerdy affection for all things superhero and Julia's genuine care for the planet, we joined forces to create a Pixar-like narrative geared at inspiring kids to take action.

What inspired you to produce children's theatre?
I auditioned for a children's version of THE LITTLE MERMAID around 6-7 years ago in this tiny black box theatre. This show went onto to become Creating Arts Company, which the owners so graciously brought me on as Musical Director and co-owner. Whatever anyone tells you about children's theatre, it has the potential to be some of the most beautiful theatre you will ever do. To be honest, I was always one foot out of doing another show for kids, but this company always supported me. I wouldn't have ever dreamed of writing and doing theatre on my own without them. Children are magic and their experience at the theatre has given me some of the brightest memories I will ever have. You could put me in a 50,000-seat stadium blasting show tunes. It wouldn't be as magical as being dressed as Captain America taking a kid dressed like Lightning Man from his wheelchair and hoisting him into the air so he could fly like the other kids and watching his face just glow. There is actually a character in UPCYCLERS directly inspired by that kid.

And what can you tell us about Zoo Theatre Company's WHITE PEOPLE DRINKING?
WHITE PEOPLE DRINKING was a show we ran a year and a half ago and then revamped it for this year's Hollywood Fringe Festival. The Festival was highly successful and the show was nominated for Best Ensemble Theatre! I can't quite say we plan on doing it in the near future but we have been sending the script out to theaters and other festivals to try and keep that piece running! WHITE PEOPLE DRINKING is a social commentary made up of more conversations that no one really wants to have. It was inspired again by my interest in creating honest uninhibited pieces that challenge the audience. I also wanted to write a parody of the American classics like WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf? and DEATH OF A SALESMAN. If you're a fan of the classics, you'll find some funny callbacks to those shows!

What do you envision for The Zoo Theatre Company in five years?
Luckily, The Zoo Theatre has already accomplished some of its initial goals, so I hope we can continue to grow. We've always wanted to be socially relevant and stay true to the pieces we want to do. So as long as we can do that and become more of a staple in the independent Los Angeles theatre scene, then I will be satisfied. We have plans to go to New York with shows, so I'd love to see The Zoo Theatre Company base and platform grow and be able to reach out to more communities and bring theatre to schools.

What do you envision for Daniel Sugimoto in five years?
In five years, I see myself in New York, producing shows and collaborating with other writers. I want to continue to grow as a writer. I have a multi-medium series I'm working on that I hope can get picked up someday. Personally, I see myself with a family of my own at that point, settled into a good creative groove.

Thank you again, Daniel! I look forward to seeing your latest personal creation.

For ticket availability and show schedule through December 2, 2018; log onto www.thezootheatreco.com

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