What We Do
Dragon's Eye Theatre makes theatrical adventures for the children of Philadelphia and the adults who love them. Our work celebrates the wildness of children's imaginations and the child in everyone. We partner with Philadelphia community spaces that are not typically performance venues to offer frequent visitors a chance to discover new stories in spaces they already know and love by creating original, interactive plays inspired by those spaces, while also attracting new visitors.
History
Suzana Berger & Miriam White founded Dragon’s Eye in 2012. With support from our first community partner, Philadelphia treasure Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse, the company developed our signature theatrical style. It includes creating original plays in a public space featuring characters and stories inspired by that space and the people who use it; making the imagination of artists and audience central to our process; and involving the audience in the action of the play in ways that allow each member to choose their types of participation. At Smith, Dragon’s Eye created the much beloved plays Seek & Hide and A Mystery?, both written by P. Seth Bauer with the ensembles and Suzana Berger.
Dragon's Eye Artists
Photo by JJ Tiziou
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Suzana Berger (Artistic Director) is a theatre director, educator, and community partnership builder with a focus on vivid physical performance, creating new work that explores social issues imaginatively for audiences of all ages, and using stories to connect those who previously thought they had nothing in common. For Dragon's Eye, she has directed Seek & Hide and A Mystery? She creates original work with young people in grades 3 through 12. At University of Pennsylvania, she teaches August Wilson & Beyond, a course that uses August Wilson’s plays as the bridge between class members of different generations from ages 19 to 90. To see the full range of her work, visit www.suzanaberger.com.
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Stephanie N. Walters (Playwright: Follow Me Through the Gates) writes plays built on the pillars of laughter, curiosity and whimsy – she describes her work as “Charles Mee, David Henry Hwang, and Mariah Carey split a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.” Her short play, All Girl, was seen at Philadelphia’s Future is Female Festival. She currently studies with Philadelphia’s new play development laboratory, PlayPenn. She is a founding member of Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists and a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. She can be found in classrooms across the city, teaching theatre and playwriting to students in grades 3 through 12.
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Photo by Leon Le Photography
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Founding Artists
Suzana Berger - producer / director Miriam White - producer / actor
Taysha Canales - actor Isa St. Clair - actor P. Seth Bauer - playwright Melissa Erlick - stage manager
Taysha Canales - actor Isa St. Clair - actor P. Seth Bauer - playwright Melissa Erlick - stage manager
Early Supporters
Dragon’s Eye was able to make Seek & Hide and A Mystery? thanks to generous support from Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse; funding from the Leeway Foundation, Lomax Family Foundation, and Pennsylvania Partners for the Arts; core contributions from Victor Keen & Jeanne Ruddy; and donations large and small from many Dragon’s Eye supporters.
Top of page photo by JJ Tiziou:
Taysha Canales and audience members in Seek & Hide at Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse
Taysha Canales and audience members in Seek & Hide at Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse