Directed by Annie Loui

Artistic Director of CounterBalance Theater and UCI Drama Professor Annie Loui, will create and premiere a new physical theater work at the xMPL (Experimental Media Performance Lab) in the Contemporary Arts Center at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, based on the recently published novel by New York Times “Editor’s Choice” novelist and UCI Professor, Michelle Latiolais. SHE will use a combined graduate and undergraduate team of performers and designers to construct the story of a runaway teenager in Los Angeles.  Exploring the strata of Los Angelenos (from the homeless under a freeway bridge, to an upscale gallery owner) our protagonist looks for a job, meaning, and a new home. Set in an urban Los Angeles of many cultures, promises and dangers, SHE follows the runaway through random encounters during one night alone on the street, resolving in unexpected redemption.

SHE is a contemporary story of Southern California, seen through the eyes of a teenage girl learning to navigate the opportunities and options of life.

Post-show discussions will include the author of the source material, Michelle Latiolais (Co-director of the UCI Writing Program) seeking to promote discussion about writing, but also about the unique social and economic construct of this place we call Los Angeles.