 KJ
SANCHEZ, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSE OF ATREUS, RECENTLY
WROTE AND DIRECTED HIGHWAY 47, IN COLLA- BORATION
WITH WORKING CLASSROOM, IN ALBUQUER- QUE, NEW MEXICO
AND HANDCUFF GIRL SAVES THE WORLD, WHICH PREMIERED
AT THE WASHINGTON ENSEMBLE THEATER IN SEATTLE.
Highway 47 examined the remarkable
history of Tome, New Mexico, one of New Mexico’s
oldest communities, which was dramatically altered
after a violent land feud that lasted decades; Handcuff
Girl Saves the World looked at the role heroes
play in American culture. Both plays were based
on interviews with real people. As a guest artist,
she created and directed two original works for the
University of Washington's MFA Program: Too Much
Water, which followed Shakespeare’s Ophelia
as she re-visited Elsinoreand Panophobia, about
the culture of fear in America. She has directed
several plays by Jose Rivera, including a workshop
of Brainpeople for Hourglass Group.
KJ is a former member of Anne Bogart's SITI Company
and with SITI collaboratively wrote and
performed several plays, touring extensively
throughout the U.S. and internationally.
She is now a member of the critically acclaimed
The Civilians, recently performing in Nobody's
Lunch at PS122.
 KJ
has worked with playwrights such as Maria
Irene Fornes, Naomi Iizuka, Charles L. Mee
(performing the role of Thyona in Big
Love – ATL Humana Festival, Long
Warf, Berkeley Rep, The Goodman, and BAM),
Marsha Norman, Jane Martin, David Henry
Hwang, Rogelio Martinez, Luis Valdez, and
many others. Some of the directors she has
worked with include Les Waters, Robert Woodruff,
Maria Irene Fornes, and Jon Jory (on several
productions including Hamlet and
Romeo and Juliet). Her Television
credits include Law and Order,
ER, The Apollo Comedy Hour,
Homeboys in Outerspace and One
Life to Live. She is the voice
of many creatures on the Nickelodeon cartoons
Dora the Explorer and Go Diego
Go.
She has taught Viewpoints training at many Colleges
and Universities including Bard, University of Washington,
Emory University, DePaul and the University of British
Columbia. KJ is a member of New York Theatre
Workshop's Usual Suspects and is on the steering
committee at the Actors Center Workshop Company.
She is a William and Eva Fox Foundation fellow, a
National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications
Group CDP for Directors recipient, and a recipient
of a Rockefeller MAP grant . She recently served
on the National Endowment for the Arts panel, the
New York State Council for the Arts theater panel
and has served two terms on the Screen Actors Guild
National Board of Directors.
DIRECTOR
AND WRITER KARENJUNE "KJ" SANCHEZ HAS
RETURNED TO SEATTLE AND THE UW TO OPEN THE SCHOOL
OF DRAMA'S SPRING 2004 PRODUCTION SERIES WITH PANOPHOBIA.
In conjunction with the 12 graduating seniors of
the Professional Actor Training Program (drama graduate
school) Sanchez designed, researched, scripted and
structured Panophobia all in the span of six weeks;
she now performs it. Days before the play's start,
Sanchez came to Seattle from her native Hell's Kitchen
neighborhood in New York City with a new idea for
a style of theater known as actual-experience she
helped to spawn two years ago.
"I was obsessed with fear in America," Sanchez
said at the first dress rehearsal Friday, "how
we are sort of addicted to it." Following the
questioning and riding the popularity of Barry Glassner's
opinionated book The Culture of Fear: Why Americans
are Afraid of the Wrong Things and Michael Moore's
documentary Bowling for Columbine, Sanchez originally
hoped to create a medicating piece for an overly
anxious audience.
 "When
I first thought about [Panophobia] I was
planning it to be very intense. [I was attempting
to answer] what can we learn? How can we
teach people not to be afraid?" Sanchez
recalled.
But as production began March 8 and the play's 12
actors began both systematically and randomly interviewing
people around the Seattle area, something unexpected
occurred.
"We found that a lot of the stuff that surrounds
fear is kind of funny," Sanchez said. "[We
realized] we're not going to teach anybody anything
they don't already know."
Down a narrow hallway behind the front foyer to
the Playhouse Theater, the actors lounge is cluttered
with stick-figure drawings and printer paper with
storylines written with black Sharpie and yellow
highlighter. These drawings and storylines, all created
by the production's stars, sufficed as the show's
scripting stage.
Panophobia is a conglomeration of dancing, reading,
pictorials, soliloquies and prose attempting to portray
fictional stories of non-fictional and very afraid
people.
The cast collectively interviewed approximately
50 people about their lives and fear and how they
manage both.
Unlike the works of Glassner and Moore, Sanchez
has been able to stay away from the pitfalls of political
preference. Panophobia has very universal themes
on the instinct and natural methodology of all of
us.
While Sanchez's obsession with fear triggered the
creation of this production, fear as a central theme
is used more as a catalyst to greater commentary
than a conclusive statement.
"I hope people leave thinking about the differences
of life," Sanchez said. "If anything, we
can just get people to start thinking about different
perspectives."
By definition panophobia is "fear of everything," but
by artistic production Panophobia is a lack of fear
to present the deceit, hopelessness, trust and triumph
of life.
These individuals have put together a wonderfully
inspiring piece that makes you laugh first and think
later. |
THIS
A WELL- DEVELOPED STORY TOLD BY A NUMBER OF ATHENS’ FIFTH
CENTURY TRAGEDIANS. 
