Amplified Pitch Session: Premium Excellence

The popular Amplified Pitch Sessions will be online this year, in advance the conference. These pitch sessions were created for artists and representatives to share the projects they are passionate about but because of their size, scope, technical requirements, or other aspect, showcasing these projects is prohibitive. Presenters, if you are looking for thrilling work that you’ve likely never seen before, be sure Amplified is on your schedule!

Once Amplified sessions go live, they will remain available for on-demand viewing by conference attendees.

August 7: Premium Excellence session features projects with performance fees over $10,000

Lineup:

FOR REAL

Presented by Chisa Yamaguchi, SOZO IMPACT, INC.

FOR REAL is a theatrical radio show exploring what it means to matter. The starting point is the intellectual undermining of women—the dismissal of their thoughts, voices, and achievements, and the erosion of their dignity. As an audience member, you are a guest in our radio studio. Over the speakers, you hear the voices of fourteen women. They analyze their stories of intellectual undermining, starting from their personal and professional experiences. How does this influence your sense of self, your trust, relationships, and eventually: the course of life itself? The investigation continues as musicians interview the audience, using a unique technique of simultaneous interviewing and improvisation to support these bold, honest conversations. Each performance is recorded and released as a podcast episode, creating a living archive of voices reflecting on dignity, understanding, and being taken seriously.

LOVE FORCE by Sunny Jain

Presented by Amanda Cooper, ALC Management

Music meets storytelling as Sunny Jain draws on his autobiography and family history to dive into the concept of “love force” or satyāgraha: embracing your oppressor with compassion. In his first theatrical production, Sunny brings his signature talent for creating immediate community, blurring the lines between performers and audience. LOVE FORCE explores the universal nature of music, and how through compassion and love we can break down barriers created by religion, traditions, racism, and time. Through this deeply personal journey, parallels are drawn between the caste system in India and the history of American racism, making vibrant the power of performance to bring unity to audiences—a power of “collective effervescence” that may be essential in confronting these ongoing systems of oppression. Able to be performed in a multitude of different spaces, each element of LOVE FORCE is carefully crafted to unleash a ritual of gathering through song and story.

Nothing Micro about Micronesia

Presented by Leilani Chan, TeAda Productions

TeAda Productions’ current touring production Nothing Micro About Micronesia successfully completed a tour of the Pacific including performances at the Flame Tree Festival in Saipan, and a run at the University of Guam Theatre in Spring 2025. This play’s world premiere at Honolulu Theatre for Youth in Spring 2024 and was featured at the National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and went on to tour the Hawaiian Islands of Oʻahu, Maui, Moku o Keawe (Big Island). For more information, please visit teada.org!

Nothing Micro About Micronesia is a stage play that tells a coming-of-age story about three Micronesian youth who meet in an unlikely place, and through magic, are transported to island adventures in Micronesia. During the journey, these friends navigate between Hawaiʻi and the traditions of their homelands while facing the rising tides of their uncertain futures. The story centers complex issues faced by youth in Hawaiʻi from migration and assimilation to cultural reclamation and familial responsibility; connecting to intergenerational Micronesian experiences in Hawaiʻi, across the atolls and islands of Micronesia, and beyond. The play spotlights the cultural traditions and stories of Micronesians, while highlighting the urgent need for education and advocacy around issues of climate migration, cultural erasure, and discrimination in the present day.

Over the last decade, Artistic Directors Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng, and the ensemble have conducted workshops with members of the Micronesian Community throughout Hawaiʻi, Guam, and the U.S. continent that produced the first nationally touring play about Micronesians–Masters of the Currents. In the summer of 2024, the creative duo traveled to Micronesia and deepened relationships in the Marshall Islands, Pohnpei, Saipan, and Chuuk. That trip became the inspiration for Nothing Micro About Micronesia. TeAda’s successful methodology in community engagement, and touring makes TeAda Productions a leader in transforming American theater.

Red is a Feeling

Presented by Jessie Stinnett, Boston Dance Theater

Red is a Feeling is an evening of short dance works which present multi-faced expressions of love, longing, and the fight to live, woven together by the color Red. The program takes its title from a new commission by Iranian-Hispanic choreographer Roya Carreras Fereshtehnejad who was diagnosed with two forms of cancer in her early thirties. Boston Dance Theater commissioned Roya to make a new piece which “recalls the sensations where the experience of fighting for your life, holding on to each minute, and letting go all collide into the here and now.” Roya’s piece is paired with Jessie Jeanne Stinnett’s Fifties – set to a collection of tunes from the 1950s. With the healing power of movement at its center, Fifties celebrates joy and rhythm, inviting the audience to clap along. Jessie and Roya’s pieces are joined by: Itzik Galili’s If as if and Memories, and Marco Goecke’s Firebird.

Shadows of the Mind

Presented by Tai White

Shadows of the Mind is a dance theater production that dives deep into the well of emotion, guiding audiences through a journey of victory. Much like the ink blot test, its movement and intention present situations that invite viewers to interpret and resonate with what speaks to them. As scenes and emotions shift, audiences are encouraged to explore their own inner convictions—even their shadow selves.

At its core, the production addresses mental health. Each scene reflects real-life experiences commonly faced by individuals in society, ranging from ages 13 to 73. Whether these challenges are experienced personally, by loved ones, or through cultural and social influences, the themes remain universally relatable.

The intent is to use dance as a vehicle for breaking free from limiting beliefs and emotional burdens, offering a safe space for healthy confrontation through art. As a universal language, dance enables connection across race, color, and creed—making this message accessible to all.

Shadows of the Mind was first performed in 2008 and continued annually until 2014. After a decade of creative development, the show was recently revived through community support and funding. Though produced at its most modest scale, its performance at the El Portal Theater stirred powerful emotional responses, including tears of healing throughout the audience.

The long-term vision is to tour the production, bringing its message to communities far beyond Greater Los Angeles. The creator’s late grandfather, Philip Zitowitz, a former professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, had supported plans to take the show international before his untimely death in 2014. This loss only deepened the creator’s resolve to spread awareness and prevent others from feeling isolated or without options.

Estimates suggest it would cost $110,000 to stage the show in New York from California, and $3.8 million for a 48-city tour. With 6–8 weeks of preparation and collaboration with a tour manager or experienced advisors, Shadows of the Mind could soon be ready to share its message of hope, healing, and connection on a national stage.

Twilight of the Empress

Presented Banafsheh Sayyad

Twilight of the Empress is an immersive, multi-sensory performance that transcends traditional stage productions, blending storytelling, poetry, dance, and music to explore the eternal struggle between light and darkness. Featuring seven dancers, an evocative orator, and six musicians, this experience guides audiences through a mystical journey of witnessing, understanding, and transformation. Choreographed by Banafsheh Sayyad, the dance seamlessly merges contemporary Persian movement with Sufi whirling, evoking a powerful dialogue between creation and destruction. Shila Ommi’s spoken word narrative deepens the spiritual resonance, while Fared Shafinury’s fusion of classical and contemporary Persian compositions envelops the audience in an ethereal soundscape. Designed for large-scale venues equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and projection capabilities, Twilight of the Empress activates the stage as a sacred space. It invites audiences not merely to observe but to participate—emotionally, spiritually, and viscerally—awakening their role as agents of balance and healing in the world.