Pratidhwani and Theater Schmeater's I AND YOU Opens 10/18

"I AND YOU" by Lauren Gunderson Co-Produced by Pratidhwani and Theater Schmeater Directed by Agastya Kohli Theater Schmeater's landmark 26th Season rolls on as we partner with Gregory Award winning theater company, Pratidhwani to bring you the emotionally-charged and powerful "I AND YOU" by Lauren Gunderson.

Anthony arrives unexpectedly at Caroline's door bearing an urgent homework assignment. She hasn't been to school in months due to illness.

As these two sparring, sparking, high school students share their secrets, they unlock a much deeper mystery that has brought them together. I and You is an ode to youth, life, love, and pronouns.
Starring Josh Kenji and Varsha Raghavan, "I AND YOU" will leave audiences breathless. Directed by Agastya Kohli, and presented at our Belltown space, "I AND YOU" is a vital part of Theater Schmeater's season of Theater For All People.

"For 26 years, Theater Schmeater has been producing professional theater that drives human connection through shared experiences, catalyzing conversation, and leveraging a platform where artists can communicate with a deliberate, passionate, and relevant voice. This season, "Theater for All People" is a call to action to really put this mission on its feet: to ensure that we connect, reach, and reflect people of every color, age, income level, shape, gender, and ability in the art we produce. It is our responsibility to do so. Our first annual itinerant theater co-production project with an arts organization that is run by or focuses on artists of color, is an integral part of putting that mission into action. We are beyond thrilled to be partnering with Pratidhwani to bring "I and You" to the community for this inaugural effort. One of our greatest assets, second only to our passionate staff, is our home stage, and it is with great joy, that we open the Schmee and Schmee family to Pratidhwani" - Andrew Shanks, Artistic Director at Theater Schmeater

Founded in 2003, Pratidhwani is celebrating its 15th year of inspired programming this year, which includes recently concluded, critically acclaimed run of Queen by Madhuri Shekar (presented in partnership with ACTLab at ACT Theatre) and A Small History of Amal, Age 7 by Lindsay Joelle (co-produced with Forward Flux Productions), running Sept 19th through Oct 6th. Previous productions include Dance Like a Man by Mahesh Dattani in 2015 and Mother in Another Language by Taniya Hossain in 2011 -- both performed at ACT Theatre in collaboration with ACTLab, and world premiere productions of The Banyan Tree by Seattle based playwright Tulika Kumar in 2013, and Everything but the Paper by Sonal Champsee in 2014.

"We at Pratidhwani are overjoyed to partner with Theater Schmeater - a company that has been a constant presence in the Seattle theatre scene for decades. In presenting I and You with non-traditional casting, not only are we able to further our mission to create performing opportunities for artists of South Asian descent, we are also able to invite new audiences - fans of Lauren Gunderson, fans of Walt Whitman, and fans of Theater Schmeater - to join with Pratidhwani. This is really the principal accomplishment for this production."