BARN OWL is a genre-busting theatrical experience exploring loss, queer cosmologies and the power of belief. Featuring an intergenerational ensemble, BARN OWL seeks to surpass boundaries of identity, age, gender and narrative form. This piece confronts the viewer with universal questions such as: “Why are we here together?” "Where do we come from?" "Where will we go next?" Harmony is a non-binary New Age book clerk, whose mother abandons them as an infant to be raised by their Uncle Al, a working class realist who owns a bowling alley called Galaxy Lanes. Harmony's attempts to redefine, accept and transcend life's challenges drive the action of the play. Inspiration for BARN OWL comes from New Age ideologies, the sacred–profane dichotomy, UFO phenomena and digital artifacts left behind by members of Heaven’s Gate. Created within the context of a cultural climate that is fixated on boundaries that divide us, BARN OWL dares to move beyond an earthbound mode of thinking in an attempt to build a bridge to something bigger than ourselves. 

Creative Team: Evan Johnson (actor/writer) and Teddy Hulsker (actor/multimedia artist) and Clove Galilee (actor/choreographer) with creative support from Libby King, lighting by Christian Mejia and stage management by Kaitlin Rosen.

Featuring "The Cosmic Elders": Christie Allair, Perry Tom, Virginia Pellegrini, Helen Dannenberg, Michael Freeman, Michele Menard, Carolyn Zaremba, Hugh O'Regan, Vicki Anderson and Beth Wilmurt, Marty Pants and Clarajean Carbonara as "The Star Child."

BARN OWL was presented through CounterPulse’s curated Co-Production Program in June 2018. CounterPulse is building a movement of risk-taking art that shatters assumptions and builds community. For more information, please visit www.counterpulse.org

BARN OWL was also presented in partnership with Intersection for the Arts as part of the INTERSECT SF Series; Technical Support from Z Space’s Technical Design Residency Program.