Interview: Hai-Ting Chinn of ANNIE DORSEN, YESTERDAY TOMORROW at McGuire Theater

Yesterday Tomorrow is a collaboration between human artists and algorithms. Inspired by a kind of machine learning model known as evolutionary computation, Yesterday Tomorrow gives a unique experience of the complexity and unpredictability of the present tense contrasted with the known past and the imagined future.

Beginning with the Beatles' "Yesterday," algorithms slowly transform that song into "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie. Each night, the spatial and musical path from the past to the future is different; neither the singers, the creative team, nor the audience knows the route we will take.

The piece creates a disorienting series of alternations: between human and machine, between sound and sense, between the recognizable and the utterly unfamiliar. Finally, it's a piece about the passage of time, about progress and regress, about the loss of one world and the optimistic creation of another.

We chat with cast member Hai-Ting about her role and the production.

How does it feel to have live audiences and performances back?

It feels amazing and life affirming on one hand. I unfortuantely ended up with Covid back in March we did our first our un masked singing gig. It just shows that this pandemic is not over yet.

What inspired you to pursue performing?

I started singing as a childhood activity in a youth choir and I thought I would go into science or writer but ended up sliding into opera in college and then I started getting jobs in theatre and other gigs and I couldn't say no. I've been able to make up a career in opera, theatre, music, and more. I feel that people enjoyed what I did and it was a great feeling to bring people joy.

How does this role compare to other roles you've played?

It is completely different from any other production I've done. It's basically playing a complicated video game in front of an audience.

What was your process for developing your role?

The performers developed it collaraboratively with Annie Dorsen, the computer generator, a composer.

Did you face any challenges with this production?

The scenerio of this show is the challenge to the performer.

How was working with the cast and the creative team?

Amazing and beyond what it is in a show, it's really more a collaboration. It's a very small cast and we all have shaped what came out of it. It's more in a collaborative theatre model.

What do you hope the audience takes away from seeing this production?

It's like looking at an abstract painting, so everyone's perspective may be different but I hope that people will see things that resonate with them. The aspect of time and the way that it's shifted during the pandemic, it makes it an interesting performance piece.

What are your favorite local spots?

Owamni by the Souix Cheif was an incredible resturant, the food was amazing!

Thank you Hai-Ting for your time!

Photos courtesy of Hai-Ting and Mara Baranova

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