THE STILL POINT to Make World Premiere at SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco
The immersive multimedia dance-theater work transforms SOMArts Bay Gallery into a multi-sensory experience.
In July 2026, audiences will step inside a multi-sensory performance environment as THE STILL POINT transforms the SOMArts Bay Gallery into a large-scale immersive experience exploring themes of fragmentation and reconciliation. The performance combines choreographed movement, responsive projection environments, sound design, scenic installation, and spatial storytelling to create an immersive journey through interconnected emotional landscapes. The event will run July 16-25.
Upon entering the space, audience members are divided into four groups and guided through four distinct sensory environments, each inhabited by performers trapped within repeating cycles of ritual and routine. As the experience unfolds, boundaries between these isolated worlds begin to dissolve. Glitches emerge. Memories seep through cracks between their worlds and the performers begin to remember who they are.
Drawing inspiration from the Tibetan Buddhist teachings of the Bardo, a threshold state between death and rebirth, and Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot, the work examines what happens when fractured pieces of a single soul attempt to remember themselves and reintegrate with one another. The audience functions not only as a witness, but as a catalyst: their presence gradually alters the emotional and physical states of the performers, reflecting psychological ideas around awareness, perception, and transformation.
'We are creating an environment that allows the audience to go beyond just witnessing. They are actually stepping inside the performers' journeys of isolation and reintegration as the physical structure of the show unfolds,' explains Director and Choreographer Sophia Stoller. 'Our hope is that the audience leaves feeling as though something inside of them has also begun to shift and reconnect.'
The cast includes artists whose credits span immersive productions with Punchdrunk, Third Rail Projects, Emursive, and Broadway productions. Iris Company founder and Artistic Director Sophia Stoller's commissioned work has been presented at the Royal Opera House in London and was called 'captivating' by Fjord Review. Visual Endeavors founder Aron Altmark, whose work includes installations for Sphere and San Francisco City Hall, is creating the production's visual landscape through lighting and immersive projection design, in collaboration with UCSC professor and designer from Costa Rica, Pamela Rodriguez-Montero, who is designing the set and costumes. The interdisciplinary team of collaborators also includes Justin Scheid and Drew Corey, Composers; Nic Murphy, Associate Director/Producer; Claire Elliott, Producer/Dramaturg; Jena McRae, Producer/Publicity Krystal Harfert, Stage Manager; and Aaron Simunovich, Technical Director.
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The Secret Garden Warren Theater at Sonoma State University (6/12-6/28) |
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West Side Story—Film with Live Orchestra Davies Symphony Hall (7/09-7/10) |
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The Still Point: An Immersive Experience SOMArts Cultural Center (7/16-7/25) |
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark SPARC (7/03-7/26) |
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Jagged Little Pill Paper Wing Theatre (7/17-8/09) |
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The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown Santa Cruz Shakespeare (9/11-10/03) |
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An Evening with a Mentalist: Jay Alexander's Mind Tricks Live San Francisco Magic Theater (w/Jay Alexander) at the Marrakech (6/26-6/28) |
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Comedy Oakland at Elbo Room Fri July 31 7:30pm Elbo Room Jack London (7/31-7/31) |
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Comedy Oakland at Elbo Room Thu July 16 8pm Elbo Room Jack London (7/16-7/16) |
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Comedy Oakland at Quinn's Lighthouse Sat July 4 7pm Quinn's Lighthouse (7/04-7/04) |