This delicate, wrenching duet begins as a disarming story of a relationship. It continues by exploring what we give of ourselves and take from others in relationships and the messy back and forth of that, examining addiction, and coping with the jarring moment of figuring out what to do when confronted with the unforgivable. I loved the nuance and specificity of Yoshiko and John as well as the mythic, heightened, fabulistic layer of the story that emerges towards the end. Lisa Sanaye Dring has such an ear for dialogue that is everyday, human, profound, and poetic all at once.

The community of national and local readers for the 45th annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival in 2022 enthusiastically recommends THE SEA as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were deeply moved by the way the form and wave-like structure of this play beautifully connects us to the characters. We were compelled by the revelations in relationships and female character at the center of the play and the build of the story’s arc. We hope this play is widely read, finds dedicated collaborators, and moves swiftly towards production. #BAPF2022

The way Dring plays with time and space to chart this relationship is brilliant. I am very excited to see actors, directors and designers dig into this play.