Looking at You
Nerds at Silicon Hills like to party. They’re in the middle of a celebration at their massive corporate headquarters when you join in the fun. As you order a free drink from the singing, computer-generated assistant built into your table, a swirl of operatic voices, EDM and crime jazz surrounds you. You are now inside a story of high-tech espionage and sultry romance where Edward Snowden meets Casablanca. Looking at You confronts surveillance capitalism and the erosion of individual privacy in a digitized world.
What the press has said about the show in development:
“Compelling drama, attractive music and a strikingly smart libretto. I’m excited to hear more, if ever offered the chance as a New Yorker!” –Opera News
“Kamala tackles the implications of digital privacy laws through an energetic, playful score and interactive multimedia which draw the audience into the discussion on a very personal level; Rob Handel’s delightfully nerdy libretto makes this a killer trifecta.” –WQXR
A HERE & Back Production, Co-Produced with Opera on Tap in association with Experiments in Opera
Run time: 80 minutes. A panel discussion with drinks follows every show.
A panel discussion with digital privacy and surveillance experts follows every show – drinks included!
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Kamala Sankaram -
Kristin Marting -
Rob Handel
September 6-21, 2019
Tue-Sat @ 8:30pm (except 9/10)
Sunday @ 4pm
Mon, Sep 9 @ 7:30pm
Sat, Sep 21 @ 4pm & 8:30pm
Previews (Sep 6 & 7):
$15 Seating – See it first, save $10!
$45 Premium Reserved
$50 Pay-It-Forward
Sep 8-21:
$25 Seating
$45 Premium Reserved
$50 Pay-It-Forward
Premium: $45 Reserved
Premium tickets include reserved seating and a free glass of wine upon arrival.
Pay-It-Forward Tickets: $50 Seating
Pay-It-Forward Tickets subsidize free tickets for students and make access more affordable for everyone, all while providing you with a $25 tax deduction on your purchase. Pay-It-Forward today and make theatre more accessible and equitable!
Did you know? The real cost of a Looking at You ticket is $168.
Looking at You is made possible through the generous support of Carnegie Mellon University; KSF; Mental Insight Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; Opera America’s Grants for Female Composers supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and Opera America’s Innovation Fund supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation; Puffin Foundation; and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Developmental support provided by American Lyric Theatre; Anti-Social Music; BRIC Lab; The Civilians R&D Group; Mana Contemporary, and Todd Mountain Theatre Project. In-kind support provided by Alessandro Acquisti, Ralph Gross, Joe Holt, and Daniel Dickison.
Looking at You is led by the core ensemble of writer Rob Handel, director Kristin Marting, and composer Kamala Sankaram. We love working together because we really inspire each other to make fun, impactful, social justice-focused work. We collaborated most recently on Bombay Rickey (Meets the Psychology of Desire) in the PROTOTYPE Festival 2016 in NYC.
Our investigation into privacy was initially inspired by research conducted by Alessandro Acquisti and Ralph Gross at Carnegie Mellon’s Privacy Economics Experiments Lab. Alessandro and Ralph have subsequently joined us as collaborators along with genius programmers from Bandcamp Joe Holt & Daniel Dickison, creating ways to mine data in real time during each live performance of Looking at You. Our team of new-music-opera luminaries includes Samuel McCoy (music director), David Bengali (video), Nic Benacerraf (environment), Kate Fry (costumes), Ayumu Poe Saegusa (lighting) and mind-blowing performers Paul An, Blythe Gaissert, Adrienne Danrich, Mila Henry, Jeff Hudgins, Eric McKeever, Erin Rogers, Josh Sinton, Brandon Snook, and Mikki Sodergren.
After 5 years of development, we are eagerly preparing for our world premiere at HERE in a co-production with Opera On Tap, in association with Experiments in Opera. It takes a village and we could not have made it this far without the support of these organizations as well as Mana Contemporary, Opera America, Anti-Social Music, BRICLab, KS Foundation, Todd Mountain, and the Civilians R&D Group. Each of these organizations has provided us with a crucial step along our path to creating this work.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Welcome, Rix Engineers! Please review these important company policies before entering the Rixplex.
There is no late seating. Please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early.
Worried about what to wear? No need! Looking at You will take place inside Rix, in your favorite company canteen, organic coffee shop, dive bar and taco truck – feel free to wear whatever you’d wear to work – (tech) business casual.
Every engineer will be offered a free drink. Come early to make sure you get yours. And yes – you may bring your drinks in!
Email addresses: We are committed to respecting your privacy. We adhere to the following fair information principles: Accountability, lawfulness, fairness and transparency, purpose identification and limitation, data minimization, accuracy, storage limitation, and integrity and confidentiality. To further your enjoyment of the experience, it is necessary for us to obtain certain information about you. By submitting personal information (including email addresses) to us or to our agents, you agree that we may collect such personal information for the purpose of populating our proprietary software.
Kamala Sankaram
Kristin Marting