ABOUT THE SHOW

MAINSTAGE | AN ORIGINAL DEVISED WORK
Direction and Choreography by Erika Chong Shuch

In times such as these, having recourse to periods of and spaces for “doing nothing” is of utmost importance, because without them we have no way to think, reflect, heal, and sustain ourselves- individually or collectively.

— Jenny Odell

Performance maker, director, and choreographer Erika Chong Shuch will return to TAPS to engage a group of student collaborators to develop a new performance work that will premiere through TAPS in Fall 2023. Leaning into Jenny Odell’s book How To Do Nothing as a springboard, we’ll devise playful, performative structures that invite audiences into a contemplation of time, memory, and stillness.

Students will engage in a collaborative devising process; the ensemble will generate material, conduct dramaturgical research, and participate in brainstorming discussions. The rehearsal room will be a space to celebrate and honor the diverse perspectives, instincts, and strengths of the collective through guided, creative adventure. Students working across disciplines are encouraged to join: dancers, actors, musicians, writers, composers, choreographers, and also those simply interested in generating new approaches to performance.

This production will be produced in collaboration with the COLLEGE program. In addition to its scheduled performances, this production may be live-streamed or recorded for public viewing.

Stanford TAPS seeks to build a diverse cast for this production and encourages members of any race, gender identity, and ability to audition. If any accessibility accommodations are needed please email tapsinformation@stanford.edu for assistance.

ABOUT THE REHEARSAL PROCESS

A TAPS Main Stage production is a significant time commitment that comes with course credit (TAPS 122M) and requires rehearsals five to six times per week. Not all students will be called for every rehearsal, but participants will be expected to be available for each rehearsal unless they have listed it as a conflict. You can view the Rehearsal and Tech schedules in the right-hand column under “Resources.”

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Erika Chong Shuch is a choreographer, director, and performance maker whose work spans devised experimental performance and social practice, and produces unexpected forms of audience engagement. Shuch has worked for theaters including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Arena, Roundhouse Theater/ Getty Villa, Theater for a New Audience, Pittsburg Public, Portland Center Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Folger Theater and Kennedy Center. Erika’s work has been supported by Creative Capital, New England Foundation for the Arts, among others. She was a 2021 finalist for SDC’s Fischandler award and is a Bay Area Fellow at Headlands Center for the Arts. Shuch founded For You, a performance group that brings strangers together and considers performance making as gift-giving. Their works include First Things First (2019-20, the Momentary, AK), Artists and Elders (2020-current), Dr. G.’s Bingo Extravaganza (2022, Oregon Shakespeare Festival), East of the Pacific Audio Tours (2022, Cantor Art Center) and The Welcoming (forthcoming). www.foryou.productions

ABOUT AUDITIONS

I am excited to work collaboratively with the cast to discover material that amplifies the interests and impulses of the individual cast members. As such, it would be extremely helpful for you to bring material of your own creation to the audition process.

-Erika Chong Shuch, Director

Auditions will be via remote interview with the director, scheduled via the Audition Form. 

CASTING BREAKDOWN

The director is looking to build an 8-12 person interdisciplinary ensemble.

ASSISTANT POSITIONS