Alumnae Nana Dakin ’18 and Ikumi Kuronaga ’20 Join Civilians 2020-2021 R&D Group
Alumnae Nana Dakin ’18 and Ikumi Kuronaga ’20 were selected to join The Civilians’ R&D Group. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the R&D group, which has been developing original pieces of theatre through The Civilians’ investigative theatre process. Past R&D Group members include Columbia alumni Mei Ann Teo ’14, Kareem Fahmy ’07, and Jay Stull ’20.
The Civilians’ R&D Group includes writers, composers, and directors who meet throughout a season to develop original pieces of theatre through the creative investigation of a pre-selected topic of their choosing. The creative processes may include interviews, community engagement, research, and other experimental methods of inquiry. Led by R&D Program Director Ilana Becker, the Group shares and discusses their methodologies and the resulting work. This year, the Group will be meeting online. The process culminates in the FINDINGS Series, a works-in-progress reading series.
As an employee with The Civilians myself, back in 2018, I was blown away by their deep dive into developing theatre. Part of the investigative process involved interviewing people and transcribing all of those interviews, and I was part of that effort. The Civilians’ Artistic Director Steve Cosson, had been working on a play about the BP Oil Spill and its long term effects, which brought him to rural fishing communities in Louisiana. As a southern native, understanding the thick accents of the deep south came with ease to me, as I transcribed the interviews. It allowed me to listen to these rich and enlightening stories of the many micro catastrophes that still affect the Gulf Shore. This process of theatre-making forces creators to collaborate not only with their team of artists but also with the community – the civilians of the play.
Dakin and Kuronaga are collaborating on a Noh-inspired musical called Sunwatcher, which tells the story of astronomer Hisako Koyama, intertwining with the ancient Japanese myth of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Joined by librettist Isabella Dawis and composer Tidtaya Sinutoke, Kuronaga serves as the Cultural Consultant and Producer while Dakin directs the story in the structure of classical Noh theatre. Sunwatcher follows Hisako, a woman with no formal scientific training – also a survivor of the 1945 US air raid of Tokyo, the deadliest bombing in history – who managed to rise to the stature of Galileo. She did so by drawing the sun in painstaking detail every day for 40 years, a landmark achievement for solar science. Sunwatcher is a celebration of Hisako’s extraordinary dedication to ordinary observation, reminding us how seemingly small acts can have an immense impact over time and space.
Dakin is a Thai American director of new work, classics and devised performance. Her work pursues social equity by examining the way culture is constructed and unsettling dormant biases. Her recent productions include White Pearl at The Royal Court Theatre, Mary Jane at New York Theatre Workshop, The Bacchae at BAM Next Wave 2018, Wild Goose Dreams at The Public Theater, and Camelot at Lincoln Center Theater. New work development includes Golden Shield by alumna Anchuli Felicia King ’18, and Half The Sky by composer Tidtaya Sinutoke and bookwriter/lyricist Isabella Dawis, and an all-female production of Shakespeare’s Richard III. Nana was a 2050 NYTW Directing Fellow in 2018/19.
Kuronaga is a Japanese producer based in NYC and Tokyo. She collaborates with international artists to connect people beyond cultures through storytelling. She was part of Steps Dance Studio in Manila, COMPA Teatro in La Paz, and Avex Entertainment in Tokyo. Some of her credits include Tokyo Vice with HBOMax, Angels In America and Head Over Heels on Broadway, and Watashi No Host-Chan: The Stage And Mini Series which toured Japan. Additionally, Kuronaga is a creative consultant for Amazon JP Originals and she writes articles on art and entertainment for Forbes Japan and Vogue Japan.