Out of the Box by Amy Grace Lam envisions the spheres of live art, gaming and healing brought into one space. We follow rising star assistant professor Em Wong who signs up for a high-stakes virtual reality game after being denied tenure. To win the game, Em must free herself of nine energy cords that hold embedded memories of the past. Can Em find a way to free herself or will she be stuck in her own virtual reality?

What’s a stage reading? In a developmental stage reading, we are learning more about the characters, story and dramatic elements of a play. For the first time, we get to see how characters move and inhabit the world in which we’ve created. We also want to hear about audience impressions and feedback. This is different from watching a full production of a finished play. Please note there may be starts and stops by the director and creative team throughout the scenes as this is a work-in-progress showing.

This stage reading is produced in collaboration with TigerBear Productions.

Full runtime is 2.5 hours with no intermission followed by a 30 minute feedback session. Please arrive and check in by 3:15 as we will begin promptly at 3:30.

The Magic Theatre requires all persons on its premises to be fully vaccinated for COVID and requires masking inside the theater. Vaccination cards will be checked outside the building.

The Creative Team includes:

Playwright: Amy Grace Lam

Creative Director: Laur Geiger

Sound Artist: Adria Otte

Technical Assistant: Ben Reese

Director and Producer: Jerome Joseph Gentes

Featured Actors: Jo Mei, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Grant Chang, Miyoko Sakatani, Bonnie Akimoto, Halili Knox, Will Dao, Justin P. Lopez,

This reading of Out of the Box is made possible in part by the San Francisco Arts Commission 2021 Individual Artist Grant and Theatre Bay Area’s 2019 Ca$h Grant Creates Award.

OUT OF THE BOX: A Staged Reading of a New Performance Experience