SECOND SKIN

By Kristin Idaszak

Produced by The Flagship Ensemble and The West

Performed April 3rd-May 15th, 2016 at La Jolla Shores, UC Santa Barbara, Westmont College, Santa Monica Beach

"Best Theatre of 2016" LA Weekly

“Throughout it all, Jopson deploys her superb ensemble to powerful effect, expertly using both the setting sun and the vistas of savage surf and expansive sand to frame the kind of deep-focus pictures impossible on a stage but that here are both sensually evocative and poetically emblematic.”
— Bill Raden, LA Weekly

Photos by Jim Carmody and Patrice Fisher

With Kristin Idaszak's Second Skin, I was immediately struck by how the ocean was a character, a force that pushed and pulled the mother, sister and daughter through their lives. Thus, I wanted to "bring that character to life" and place it on the beach. Kristin used the Irish Selkie myth to explore how pride and secrets damage relationships and also turned the male-centered love-story into a tale of women and family.  With three inter-connected monologues, the play hearkens back to Homer telling tales around a fire. 

Second Skin Written by Kristin Idaszak Directed by Kate Jopson Produced by The West and The Flagship Ensemble Second Skin is a feminist retelling of the Irish Myth of selkies. Framed as a ghost story that is gradually revealed in three monologues, Second Skin dives into relationships between mothers and daughters and how one lie can reverberate through generations. In this segment, Sigrid (Claire Kaplan) tells about how she fears returning to her hometown and how she escapes memories by swimming to the edge of her limits and then taking care of her little daughter Quinn.

Video by Spencer Howard

The Tour

Second Skin was the inaugural performance of my company The Flagship Ensemble. Thus, I wanted to share it with the widest audience possible. We started the tour on La Jolla Shores, just down the hill from where Kristin, two of that cast, and I  had attended grad school at UCSD. Next, we toured up to Santa Barbara where UC Santa Barbara's professional presenting organization Isla Vista Live,  presented us on a beach on campus where students pack the beach and hillside. We also performed as Guest Artists at Westmont College's Fringe Festival in Santa Barbara. Then, we returned to Santa Monica for a three-week run with warm audiences who braved the chilly winds.

Eric talks about what he loved about the production of Second Skin in at La Jolla Shores on April 2nd, 2016 www.theflaghshipensemble.com

No Proscenium with Noah Nelson Interview

During the run in Santa Monica, Noah Nelson who has a podcast, blog and list-serve dedicated to site-specific work titled "No Proscenium." Interviewed me about Second Skin. You can listen here

“Under Jopson’s direction, the three performances (Sarah Halford, Claire Kaplan and Susannah Rea-Dowling) are potent, and at times, spine-tingling”
— Pat Launer, Times San Diego
FEEL THE SAND BETWEEN YOUR TOES AND THE GHOST OVER YOUR SHOULDER... Performed on beaches in La Jolla (Apr 1-3), Santa Barbara (Apr 14-16) and Santa Monica (Apr 24-May 15). For tickets go to: www.theflagshipensemble.com

Broadway World with Maggie Yates Interview

The passionate and lovely Maggie Yates, Broadway World's reporter in Santa Barbara, interviewed me about the play and my inspiration . You can read here

“Jopson deploys her superb ensemble to powerful effect”
— Paul Birchall, Stage Raw