Autocorrect Thinks I'm Dead

A world premiere by Aimee Chou

Directed by Howie Seago

September 7-30 at 12th Avenue Arts

Tickets

Three Deaf roommates get more than they bargained for when mysterious messages from Alexander Graham Bell start appearing on a vintage teletypewriter phone (TTY). Told in American Sign Language, spoken English, and English captioning, playwright Aimee Chou puts a delightfully entertaining twist on horror, a genre known for challenging culture and subverting expectations. An obsessive search for the truth of the afterlife only reveals more secrets and challenges us to look at how we bridge our worlds today.

Featuring a majority-Deaf and Hard of Hearing cast and creative team.

*For the first time in history, Seattle theatre audiences can watch a live professional production with a set created by a Deaf scenic designer and lighting designer.*

Question: Do I have to know ASL to enjoy the show?

Answer: No! This bilingual piece is told primarily in ASL and spoken English. English captioning is incorporated in the entire piece, so both hearing and Deaf audiences will be able to understand and enjoy the play.

Venue

12th Avenue Arts

1620 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98102

Accessibility

The venue is flat and wheelchair accessible, including accessible restrooms. We have accessible seating reserved for wheelchair users and mobility-impaired guests. Select “Accessible Seating” tickets to reserve one of these spots.

Parking on Capitol Hill is limited, so we recommend a drop-off for guests.

Runtime

TBD (estimated 2 hours)

Health and COVID Protocols

The 12th Avenue Arts venue requires all artists and audience members to remain masked when indoors. You may remove your mask briefly to take a bite or sip your drink.

It’s important to us to protect the most vulnerable members of our community by practicing masking. While it can feel like an inconvenience, some people come only to Sound Theatre productions because we actively practice masking.

Playwright Highlight: Aimee Chou

A black-and-white headshot of Aimee, an Asian woman in a dark dress with a "smize" facial expression and medium-long wavy hair over one shoulder

Wordsmith and multi-disciplinary artist Aimee Chou brings this world premiere play to the Sound Theatre stage. 

You may recognize Aimee as the sassy, free-spirited Nancy in our production of Gaslight (Angel Street). This fall, she takes up her pen as playwright for our final show in the 2023 season. 

Aimee caught the playwrighting bug while understudying at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where she served on their season planning committee. Since then, she honed her chops in Deaf Spotlight playwright workshops, presenting plays in live, digital, and hybrid formats.

With a sharp wit and laser-focused mindset, Aimee does not shy away from a good challenge. Previous work includes plays Humanly Possible, Plumb Crazy Pipe Dream, and the shadow puppetry film Motherclucker!

We’re thrilled to celebrate Aimee Chou’s mainstage playwrighting debut at Sound Theatre Company.

 

Fun fact: Autocorrect Thinks I’m Dead was previously workshopped in Seattle through Pork Filled Productions and Cafe Nordo’s Slow Cooker Unleashed! series March 2022.

GALLERY

ID: From left: BRITTANY (Brittany Rupik), MERLIN (Phelan Conheady), CALVIN (Kai Winchester), are in the attic staring different directions, fingers on a Ouija planchette waiting impatiently. Brittany is wearing a black sweater and dark red corduroy pants. Merlin wears glasses and dark hair tied in a ponytail, plus grey shirt and grey hoodie. Calvin also has glasses, light gray shirt and Baby Yoda pajama pants. Background: gable pattern with diagonal slats. End ID.
ID: ID: From left: MERLIN (Phelan Conheady), in a dark sweater and pants, with glasses and ponytail, clutches a coffee table as their left hand is gripped by MEDIUM (Jessica Kiely), who is the only one standing. She’s in a red top and blue long flowing skirt and light-blue turban, who also grips the hand of BRITTANY, who is wearing black long-sleeved top and spider web patterned pants and holding the hand of CALVIN (Kai Winchester) who has a “WTF” expression and is in a black top and jeans. Between those two, INTERPRETER (Talasi Haynes) signs the word “with” and wears a black zipper tunic. Background: an antique dark grey TTY teletypewriter lurks in the nook. Foreground: Coffee table with three candles and Ouija board. End ID.
ID: A close-up of a Green Monster TTY teletypewriter, lit up in bright fluorescent green as electric wires stick out and a spool of paper sits on top. It looks like a sinister robot monster. End ID.
ID: ID: At the base of the staircase, the three roommates, from left, are all staring skyward at something mysterious. Above them is a chandelier and a hint of the attic gables. From left: MERLIN (Phelan Conheady), CALVIN (Kai Winchester), BRITTANY (Brittany Rupik). Merlin is wearing glasses and a dark gray sweater. Calvin is pointing upwards, wearing a grey shirt and jeans. Brittany is wearing a stylishly checkered black-and-white jacket. The scene is lit in a luminous, purple-ish moonlit hue. End ID.
ID: ID: From left: MISSIONARY 1 (Talasi Haynes) in a light violet cardigan and long Navy-colored skirt and black leggings and shoes watches as MISSIONARY 2 (center, Van Lang Pham) has a big smile while signing “signing”. He has a black suit, white blouse, black tie and wears a tan knapsack. On the right is CALVIN (Kai Winchester) with a grey shirt, grey hoodie, blue jeans, and Converse sneaks. He’s standing in front of part of a bookshelf with partially obscured painting, a mushroom lamp, and a bunch of books. FOREGROUND: a standalone green, open door not attached to the rest of the set. End ID.
ID: From left: CALVIN (Kai Winchester), MERLIN (Phelan Conheady), and BRITTANY (Brittany Rupik), all standing under a living room alcove. They’re all surrounding a mysterious Green Monster TTY teletypewriter, lit up in a green fluorescent glow that accentuates the keyboard keys. Brittany is wearing a black sweater and dark red corduroy pants. Merlin wears glasses and dark hair tied in a ponytail, plus grey shirt and grey hoodie. Calvin also has glasses, light gray shirt and Baby Yoda pajama pants. Background: painting, New England living room, flashing signal light on wall. End ID.
ID: From left: a seated (MERLIN (Phelan Conheady), in a dark sweater and pants, with glasses and ponytail, clutches the hands of BRITTANY (Brittany Rupik), who is standing behind him wearing a black top, with an equally terrified expression. To their left is MEDIUM ( MEDIUM (Jessica Kiely) in a red top and blue long flowing checker-patterned skirt and light-blue turban and holding a piece of paper as she delivers shocking news. End ID.
ID: From left: MISSIONARY 2 (Van Lang Pham), wearing a black suit, white blouse, and black tie, standing by MISSIONARY 1 (Talasi Haynes), who is wearing a light violet cardigan and long dark skirt with black leggings, and holding her hands in a prayer position while CALVIN (Kai Winchester) looks onward in a grey top, grey hoodie, and blue jeans. Background: a ramshackle bookshelf. End ID.
ID: BRITTANY (Brittany Rupik), in a black long-sleeved top and spider web pants, seated on a cushioned armchair with her right leg slung over the back of a chair, as she signs "R" over groin and "picture". Background: an antique dark grey TTY teletypewriter lurks in the nook. End ID.
ID: Far left: CALVIN (Kai Winchester) stares at the Green Monster TTY with an alarmed quizzical expression. Center: A lit-up Green Monster TTY in neon green lights casting a green backlight to the alcove nook corner. Far right: MERLIN (Phelan Conheady) also staring at the machine in surprise. Above them on the beam, are cut-off captions ending in “... E TO ALLOW.” End ID.
ID: FOREGROUND: BRITTANY (Brittany Rupik) is seated on a wooden chair clutching a yellow legal pad. She’s dressed in a dark sheer long-sleeved shirt with moon and sun insignia, a brown corduroy zippered dress, and brown belt and black leggings. Hair is dark-purple blonde in pigtails, fastened with a Ouija planchette barette on one side. BACKGROUND: DETECTIVE (Jessica Kiely), a white woman with short black hair, is on the phone, wearing on-duty police uniform with a patch (“Salem Police” and a witch logo). Behind the detective is a ramshackle bookshelf. Both characters are staring in different directions with alarmed expressions. End ID.
ID: From left: BRITTANY (Brittany Rupik), CALVIN (Kai Winchester), and MERLIN (Phelan Conheady) are in the attic, seated behind a wicker basket and two candles Brittany is wearing a black sweater and dark red corduroy pants. Merlin wears glasses and dark hair tied in a ponytail, plus grey shirt and grey hoodie. Calvin also has glasses, light gray shirt and Baby Yoda pajama pants. All of them are signing “Ouija” in unison. Merlin and Brittany are smiling but CALVIN looks confused. Background: gable pattern with diagonal slats. End ID.

Cast

Brittany Rupik BRITTANY
Kai Winchester CALVIN
Phelan Conheady MERLIN
Talasi Haynes INTERPRETER + MISSIONARY 1
Jessica Kiely DETECTIVE + MEDIUM
Van Lang Pham BALE + MISSIONARY 2 

 

Production Team

Aimee Chou Playwright
Howie Seago Director
Andrea Kovich New Play Development Dramaturg
Jake Merz Stage Manager
Ken Michels Movement and Special Effects Choreographer
Ethan Sinnott Scenic Designer
Mia Milling Props Designer and Graphic Designer
Annie Wiegand Lighting Designer
Richard Schaefer Associate Lighting Designer
Doris Black Costume Designer
Castor Rosencrantz Kent Sound Designer
Jared Norman Projections Designer
John Huddlestun Interpreter Coordinator
Justin Duffiance Technical Director/Set Builder
Annie Duffiance Scenic Charge Artist

 

Radical Hospitality Ticketing


At Sound Theatre Company, we believe that theatre should be accessible for all. As such, we have tickets available at a sliding-scale structure.

$75 – Benefactor Rate
$50 – Patron Rate
$25 – General Admission Rate
$5 – Inclusion Rate

You are welcome to purchase tickets at any price you choose. There is no difference in service or seating among the price levels; the higher rates reflect the true cost of producing our high-quality, award-winning work. Sound Theatre appreciates your commitment to supporting art and artists in your local community.

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