Word for Word to Stage Dave Eggers' THE EYES & THE IMPOSSIBLE in San Francisco

Z Space and Word for Word will expand offerings for young audiences by launching Word for WordPLAY, a new program that will light up the imaginations of kids and families by connecting them to the joy of literature and performance. The program will debut with a fully realized production of Dave Eggers' The Eyes & the Impossible. The novel tells the tale of Johannes, a “free and fast dog” whose job it is to watch over the equilibrium of a bustling, sea-side park uncannily similar to Golden Gate Park.

The Eyes & the Impossible will run 15 performances, February 26 through March 15, 2026, at Z Space; tickets are $35 for child/youth and $55 for adults with special pricing for groups and student matinees; the Afternoon with the Author on March 7 at 2pm is $35/$75; for more information www.zspace.org/eyes 

San Francisco, December 11, 2025 – Expanding the number of theatrical offerings aimed at young audiences, Z Space and Word for Word will present the theatrical debut of Dave Eggers' Newbery Medal-winning novel The Eyes & the Impossible (chapters 1-6).  This will be the first production under Z Space's Word for WordPLAY program, focused on providing literature-based theatrical programming and workshops for Bay Area youth and families.
 
“This coming year marks a meaningful programmatic expansion, thanks to a legacy gift from longtime Word for Word supporter Constance Bernstein, making it possible to launch Word for WordPLAY,” says JoAnne Winter, Artistic Director of Word for Word. “We are thrilled to invite families who haven't yet ventured through our doors to come and experience our grand space and Word for Word's unique theatrical style. We want audiences to see Z Space as a place of artistic adventures for the whole family – with productions, classes, summer camps, storytimes, and more!” Program Director Gendell Hing-Hernández says, ”For the inaugural production of Word for WordPLAY we wanted a story that would speak to youth and adults with equal emotional clarity. This story of Johannes, his friends and their devotion to friendship, freedom, and achieving “the impossible” will resonate beautifully with Bay Area families.”
 
In addition to being awarded the Newbery Medal, in 2023 The Eyes & the Impossible was listed as a notable book by NPR, Publishers Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, Common Sense Media (among other outlets) and became a New York Times and ABA best-seller. 
 
“As in all Word for Word productions, the play uses the text exactly as written, creating a wonderful mash-up of language and performance, helping to open children's imaginations to the possibilities of theatrical play,” says Vanessa Flores Chacko, Associate Artistic Director of Word for Word. The book begins with a scene of Johannes the dog talking about his life in the park that he calls home, complete with acute observations of its inhabitants and its visitors.
 
I turn I turn I turn before I lie to sleep and I rise before the Sun. I sleep inside and sleep outside and have slept in the hollow of a thousand-year-old tree. When I sleep I need warmth I need quiet I need freedom from sound. When I sleep I dream of mothers and clouds—clouds are messengers of God—and I dream of pupusas for I love pupusas and eat them with gusto. 
 
I am a dog called Johannes and I have seen you. I have seen you in this park, my home. If you have come to this park, my vast green and windblown park by the sea, I have seen you. I have seen everyone who has been here, the walkers and runners and bikers and horse-riders and the Bison-seekers and the picnickers and the archers in their cloaks. When you have come here you have come to my home, where I am the Eyes. 
 
I have seen all of you here. The big and small and tall and odorous. The travelers and tourists and locals and roller-skating humans and those who play their brass under the mossy bridge and the jitterbug people who dance over that other bridge, and bearded humans who try to send flying discs into cages but usually fail. I see all in this park because I am the Eyes and have been entrusted with seeing and reporting all. Ask the turtles about me. Ask the squirrels. Don't ask the ducks. The ducks know nothing.