Performing Artists Coalition for Theater

First Look Sonoma  and the Paul Dresher Ensemble   are proud to be co-producing a new experimental opera, Both Eyes Open, with music by Brooklyn-based composer Max Giteck Duykers  and a libretto by acclaimed playwright and filmmaker Philip Kan Gotanda .  

Both Eyes Open explores the scarring that interned Japanese-Americans experienced during World War II and suggests paths toward healing. Combining contemporary music and singing, extended vocal techniques, chanting and spoken word, with physical theater, interactive audio/video and modern dance, Both Eyes Open revisits a pivotal moment in U.S. history and the ethnic tensions that still resonate today.

The premiere is scheduled for May 2020 at the newly rebuilt Presidio Theater  in San Francisco, with support from the Japanese-American Confinement Sites Program  of the National Parks Service .

We also have several workshops scheduled this year - in CA and in New York City - and need your help to make this all happen.

Please help make this important stage work a reality by making a tax-deductible donation today.

-Melissa Weaver & John Duykers, First Look Sonoma