The Attic

A scene of sexual activity; mentions of death, suicide, kidnapping, assault, abuse; sounds of war; flashing lights

Written in 2002 by the acclaimed Japanese playwright and director Yoji Sakate, The Attic explores the phenomenon of hikikomori or persistent social withdrawal. At the time of the play’s writing, hikikomori was an emergent social issue affecting mostly young people – some refused to leave their rooms for years, depending on their parents or caregivers for their everyday needs. Because Japanese culture places a high premium on social conformity, hikikomori was first defined as a culture-bound syndrome: an idiom of distress related to the fear of individuation and social insufficiency. But, as the play highlights, experiences of social withdrawal are diverse, reflecting a range of psychological, social and political factors.

Indeed, the popularity of this play in productions across Asia, the US, and Australia underscores the rising prevalence of hikikomori across the globe. Our collective experience of social isolation and confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, which called all of us inside, adds to the play’s enduring significance and resonance across cultural borders. In the US, beyond the pandemic, notions of individual self-sufficiency, an increased focus on media and consumer identities, and the internet outsourcing of what were once in-person encounters have all heightened our risk for hikikomori. Moreover, acute social isolation is itself traumatic, and can lead to ongoing mental health issues and crises.

Loneliness is of course a universal experience. Who among us hasn’t felt lonely – left out, left behind or forsaken in some way? Even extroverts or social butterflies can lack meaningful relationships and suffer from a sense of alienation or the loss of meaning. As Sakate shows us in The Attic, there are both negative and positive expressions of aloneness and loneliness. In our loneliness, we can shut others out or we can be reminded of our relatedness, our deep need for each other.

As many of us experienced in the pandemic, social isolation opens up time in a new way. This play asks us, both in its form and content, to reconsider and reimagine our relationships to and interconnections across time and space, arguing that when we are brave and listen deeply – to ourselves, to each other, and to the world around us—we become aware of the constant thrum of life, of the sound of the earth spinning within and all around us, of all of the ways we belong.

– Michi Barall

A note on cross-cultural contexts and representation

We thank Mr. Sakate for sharing this play with us, a play produced now in over 30 countries all over the world. When I first taught The Attic in my Theatre and Asia class in 2021, the play resonated deeply with students, who were still attending class then via Zoom, shuttered in their rooms. Like many classes in the Theatre and Performance department at Purchase, Theatre and Asia works to highlight the diversity and vitality of theatrical cultures and texts that are often underrepresented in American theatres. This production references its Japanese contexts, but is by design embodied by a multitalented multiracial cast, much like contemporary US productions of Shakespeare or Chekhov. With the encouragement of Sakate, and the support of our translator and production team, we have intentionally practiced what theatre scholar Patricia Ybarra calls coalitional casting in order to give our community access to this text as well as to Asian theatrical and media contexts (many of which are global). Perhaps most importantly, this play, like much Japanese theatre, exists in an interstitial space between worlds – where time and space bend and realities and contexts overlap. Our production also inhabits this interstitial space – a space of complex cross-cultural crossings, networks and assemblages.

Cast bios (in alphabetical order)

Nicki Castillo is a fourth year BA theater and performance student, originally from the Bronx, New York. Purchase rep credits include Purgatorio Wonderland (Child 3/Cat), Piñata (Addison) and understudied for A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile (#1/#3), Mac Beth (Witches 1, 2 and 3). Other credits include ensemble work in musicals such as Urinetown, A Chorus Line and Evita, as well as background film work in West Side Story (2021) and In The Heights (2021). She sends many thanks to her wonderful friends, family and her amazing boyfriend.

Kim Crossway is a THP junior from the Capital Region. Purchase Credits include: She Kills Monsters (SM), Life After Cali (“Katelyn”), Marisol (“Homeless Ensemble”), and is a member of the Crescendo Show Choir. She wants to thank everyone who’s been apart of this main stage production!

Ahona Dias is a fourth year theatre & performance BA actor born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She currently resides on Long Island, New York with Purchase Rep credits: Fefu and Her Friends (Christina), Dance Nation (Connie). Other credits include: Guys & Dolls (General Cartwright & ensemble), Radium Girls (Irene Rudolph & ensemble), The Little Mermaid (Adela & ensemble), and The Laramie Project (Catherine Connelly & ensemble). Many thanks to her family and friends who continue to support her unconditionally.

Lee Giove is a fourth year Theatre and Performance major from Staten Island, New York. Purchase credits: She Kills Monsters (Steve/Fight Captain). Special thanks to my family and friends who have always supported me and very special thanks to Michi and the crew of The Attic for giving me this amazing opportunity.

Mary Goff is a third year theater and performance and sociology double major from Antwerp, New York. Past credits include Late, Late, A Very Important (Irina) and Despite These Marks (Angie). Mary is so grateful to have such supportive friends and family, and she would like to give a special thanks to the wonderful production team who worked so hard on this show!

Skylar Hertz is a Senior THP major with a minor in Psychology. She is thrilled to be able to act on-stage in her final semester at Purchase. She appeared last semester in her Senior Project, “Behind Us is Noise”, and in various student films. Skylar would like to give special thanks to her Attic castmates, Michi, and her mini schnauzer Leah.

Kiana Hindi is from Arizona and is a junior Theatre and Performance major here at Purchase. This is her third production at Purchase and has also been involved in “Mac Beth” and “What If If Only”. She would like to thank her wonderful friends for all their endless support and love.

Matthew Lazzarino is a junior theatre and performance major and playing writing minor from Yardley, Pennsylvania. This will be his second performance here at Purchase following his performance in She Kills Monsters (Orcus). He would like to thank his friends and family for their support, especially his mom and dad who are always by his side supporting his path through theatre.

Ashley Limjoco is a fourth-year Media Studies major and Theatre and Performance minor from Manila, Philippines. Past Purchase theatre credits: assistant dramaturg for Fefu and Her Friends.

Sydney Lynch is a fourth year student at Purchase majoring in Theatre & Performance. She was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Some of her previous acting credits at Purchase includes playing Elissa in Some Other Kid of spring ’22 and Loureen in POOF! of fall ’22. She would like to praise her mother and family for all the extreme support they have given her throughout her time in school. She would also like to thank all the amazing artists she has met at Purchase that inspire her and have collaborated with to create work.

Robert Mandry is a senior studying acting and screenwriting. “The Attic” marks his Purchase College theatre debut and his first role on stage since middle school. Special thanks to his family, friends, and teachers who have supported him through this journey.

John Richard Mateyko is a fourth-year Theatre and Philosophy student from Long Beach, NY. Previous credits at Purchase include: Actor 3/Another White Man in “We Are Proud to Present…” and Snelgrave in the One Flea Spare Project collaboration- “A Passage in Relief”. John is also an alumnus of the British American Drama Academy and Chautauqua Theater Company. Gratitude and love to Michi, as well as to his father for his endless support.
www.johnrichardmateyko.com

Joann Maxwell is a fourth year student from Connecticut who is majoring in theatre and performance with a minor in playwriting. Purchase acting credits include A Walrus In The Body Of A Crocodile (2/Emma), The Christians (choir member), Mac Beth (Macduff), Fefu and Her Friends (Paula), Proof (Catherine).Outside credits include The Three Sisters (Chebutykin), The Glass Menagerie (Tom). 

Isabella Moncada is a double major in Theater and Performance and Literature from Yonkers, NY. Purchase credits include She Kills Monsters (Run Crew). This is her first role at Purchase and she is excited to be apart of it! She would like to thank her family and friends for their support.  

Sydney Nocerino (She/Her) is a fourth year theatre and performance and journalism double major with a minor in playwriting, from Queens, New York. Purchase Credits include The Wolves (#7), Dance Nation (Amina), Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (Tabitha) and Fefu and Her Friends (Cindy) Many thanks to her friends and family!

Dixie O’Connell is a fourth year Theatre and Performance major hailing from the Jersey Shore. Past acting credits at SUNY Purchase include: Fefu and her Friends (Emma), The Christians (Elizabeth), The Wolves (#13), Mac Beth (Witch 1), A Robot Wrote This (Margueritte Spangler), How I Learned to Drive (Male Greek Chorus), and Dance Nation (Maeve). They would like to thank Purchase Theater for the mems, the wonderful team for their work, as well as her friends and family for their support.

Nahiem Paris is a fourth year senior from Buffalo, New York, majoring in Theatre and Performance and Arts Management. Nahiem has had the opportunity to be in other productions at Purchase, such as, Purgatorio Wonderland (Child 3/Old Man), Framed (Dr.Emerald), We Are Proud to Present…(Black Man/Actor 2). He has also directed a production called Poof by Lynn Nottage. Nahiem has made many accomplishments while at Purchase and hopes to use skills he learned while at Purchase to some day open his own arts institution. He would like to thank his family and friends for their love and support.

Olivia Rose Perrone is a performer, theatre-maker, and writer in her fourth year at SUNY Purchase. She is pursuing a double major in the Theatre & Performance and Playwriting & Screenwriting programs, with a minor in Gender Studies. Olivia’s most notable stage credits include Donna in Mamma Mia!, Judy in 9 to 5: The Musical, The Witch in Into The Woods, Envy in Piñata, and now Young Woman in The Attic. She has also acted in several films at Purchase including Drunk in Love, written and directed by Jonathon Oliveira and Self-Consumed, written and directed by Beccah Dunklin. She is currently working on a few personal projects of her own, too— including her senior project Room for Growth, which will be going up at Purchase in Fall 2023. Olivia is also very passionate about singing, songwriting, voice acting, modeling, and teaching Drama & Theatre Arts part-time in her hometown, Port Chester, NY. After Purchase, Olivia aspires to perform, write, and direct for theatre, film, and television.

Morgan Reichberg is a first year sociology major from Manhattan, New York. Terezin (Off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons) Love/Sick (LaGuardia High School), DNA (LaGuardia High School). Special thanks to mother, father, David and Ben for being my #1 fans always. 

Alexis Taylor is really excited to be back on stage again. She is excited for the opportunity to apart of the Attic production. She would like to thank her friend and family for supporting her in pursuing her dreams. Alexis hope that you all enjoy the show. 

Tess Walsh is a Dramaturg + anthropology senior. Past dramaturgy credits at Purchase include Fefu and Her Friends, Marísol, Mac Beth, How I Learned to Drive, and Eurydice. So much gratefulness to Michi for her unwavering support, and to the whole cast and crew for their incredible work. 

Belle Wood has been involved in theater at SUNY Purchase and Michigan State for the past 3 years. Last semester she performed in ‘El Publico’, a play on campus, and she also stage managed a production. Last year she also acted in a few short films made by students on campus. She is originally from Michigan so outside of studying at Purchase she takes classes in the city at The Barrow Group and HB Studio. In Michigan she was a part of the Detroit Murder Mystery Company and she also joined an all female freestyle rap improv group! They performed live at The Magnet Theater in NYC last year. She is currently looking for representation.

Amer Zafer is a fourth year Theatre and Performance major from Queens, New York. His past credits include his senior project El Publico. He would like to thank his parents and two older sisters for supporting him as well as his friends at Purchase for believing in him.  

Production & Creative bios (in alphabetical order)

Jeremy Burd is a third year Lighting Designer and Programmer from Long Island, NY. After he graduates, Jeremy wants to go on tour with an artist and put on shows all over the world. Production Credits Include: DiscOasis | Lighting Operator, A Chorus Line | Lighting Designer, Marisol | Lighting Programmer

Edie Gregg is a senior Directing student here, and is very grateful to Michi for allowing her to be the AD for this production. Working with such a dedicated team of actors, designers, and tech crew has been a lovely experience. She recently directed her Senior Production What If If Only this Fall, and has appeared on and back stage in several senior productions over these past four years, but never the Mainstage! Much love to their family and friends, and here’s to a bright future!

William Keener is a fourth year Lighting Design major from Houston, Texas. His recent Purchase Rep credits are Fefu and Her friends (Lighting), Cyranno de Bergac (Sound), and Barbeque (Lighting). Will appreciates all the support he has received from his Family and friends over the past four years.

Jeison Lenis Lopez is a 2nd year Scenic Designer from Stamford CT. He was the assistant props charge for both Serious Money and The Conduct of Life. A big thanks to his friends for helping him throughout the years thus far.

Emily Mustillo is a Scenic Designer from Brooklyn, NY. Purchase credits include A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile (Assistant Scenic Designer), Barbecue (Scenic Charge), Cyrano (Props Charge), Fefu and her Friends (Props Charge). Other Credits include Next to Normal (Scenic Designer) at Nxt Generation Theatrics. Thanks so much to her family and friends for their support- she is so excited to share this show with you!

Emma Wills-Umdenstock is a fourth year lighting designer from South Hempstead, NY. Purchase Rep credits include Waiting for Godot (Assistant Lighting Design), Purgatorio Wonderland (Programmer), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Master Electrician). Other credits include For the People (Lighting Designer) for Purchase Conservatory of Dance Racial Equity Group, and English with an Accent (LX Head) at Lincoln Center. Love to Mom and Dad, heartfelt thank you to Mr. Reid and Nathan.

Michi Barall is a NYC-based theatre artist and scholar. As an actor, Michi has appeared in new plays by Julia Cho, Philip Kan Gotanda, A.R. Gurney, John Guare, Naomi Iizuka, Han Ong, Jose Rivera, Paul Rudnick, Charles Mee, Sarah Schulman, Anna Deavere Smith, Diana Son, Lloyd Suh, Regina Taylor, Doug Wright and Chay Yew, among others. Michi’s dance-theatre piece, Rescue Me, was produced at the Ohio Theatre by Ma-Yi in 2010. Her adaptation of Peer Gynt, entitled Peer Gynt and The Norwegian Hapa Band, premiered in 2017, at the ART/NY Theatre. Recently, Michi co-wrote the short films Sophocles in Staten Island and its follow up Odets in Staten Island with Sung Rno, directed by Jack Tamburri and produced by Ma-Yi Studio. She is currently a Mellon Foundation Generation Now grantee under commission for a new play for multigenerational audiences. Michi holds degrees from Stanford University (AB), NYU (MFA, Grad Acting) and Columbia University (PhD,Theatre/English & Comparative Literature). Her academic work focuses on commercial theatre and spectacle entertainments, modern Asian and Asian American theatre, disability theatre and animal performance. She has taught at Columbia University, NYU and MIT. She is currently on the faculty at Purchase College in New York.  

In our teaching and art, the Conservatory values inclusiveness, equality, and excellence. Upholding all of our training is our aim to train and graduate citizen artists: multifaceted people with a strong sense of purpose in approaching an arts education.

What is a citizen artist? Citizen artists seek to discover how their unique voices can contribute to our world. They understand what it means to be an artist, and what they are here on earth to say and do and make.

The Conservatory trains future citizen artists in three degree programs:

BFA Actor Training.

The BFA is an intensive professional training program offered to a highly select and diverse group of students. The professional training is anchored in four years of study in acting, voice, speech, and movement, complemented by offerings in dramatic literature and analysis, history of the theatre, stage combat, improvisation, mask work, acting for the camera, and the business of acting. As one of five schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, Purchase is one of a handful of colleges in the world capable of training artists at this level—and of drawing a faculty from the ranks of professional theatre

BFA in Theatre Design/Technology.

Emphasizing studio and classroom training, our professional training program in theatre design/technology gives students the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of our alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards, among other honors. Quite literally, Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all tristate venues, and with countless touring productions

BA program in Theatre and Performance.

From traditional theatre to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the theatre and performance major encourages creativity, intellectual curiosity, social engagement, and critical thinking. The core requirements combine scholarship and practice to provide students with a strong foundation in theatre history and dramatic literature, with mandatory stagecraft/production courses. Theatre and Performance majors are encouraged to expand the scope of their education by studying abroad, as well as pursuing coursework in other programs of study within the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Purchase College