Five Questions With Mina Morita

Mina Morita relishes this moment in her distinguished directing career. The responsibility of directing a play with such deep, heartfelt meaning to the playwright. The incredibly talented and accomplished cast collaborating with her to tell the story of Sanaz Toossi’s Wish You Were Here, running Jan. 12-Feb. 2, 2025 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Morita took time to chat about directing such a personal work, what characters she relates to and what she hopes audiences take away from the experience.

Q: With Sanaz Toossi writing this as a tribute to her mother, tell us what it’s like to direct such a personal work.

MINA MORITA: “The ink on this love letter feels like it is written from Sanaz’s own veins. She has poured her heart and care into this tribute to her mother, and it is an honor to be invited to direct Wish You Were Here. The women of this world are glorious, brash and full of life. What they seek and how they love is larger than the time that has passed between us. I feel a profound love and responsibility for each woman and for how Sanaz’s and her mother’s world is wrought onstage. It is important to me that Sanaz and her mother are proud of this production taking place in their home town!”

Q: What has Sanaz told you about this play that applies from a directing standpoint?

MM: “Sanaz is a genuinely generous playwright from a directing standpoint—trusting my instincts and choices. Having worked with her on her play English at Berkeley Repertory Theatre last year, she has always insisted that the women portrayed be full of life and courage, no matter how complex their circumstance. She has also made clear that the play be about the women inside of it, and that the political circumstances—while just outside the door—are outside the door.”

Q: You’re making your SCR directing debut with this production. Tell us about that.

MM: “Well, it’s thrilling frankly! As a director of new plays and formerly the Artistic Director of Crowded Fire Theatre in San Francisco, SCR has been known to me as a major developer and champion of new plays. I remember being here for the Pacific Playwrights Festival shortly after David (Ivers) was named the new Artistic Director, and it was electric to see the organization shine with his commitment to new work. I’m also elated to see Suzanne Appel join SCR (as Managing Director)! She has been a longtime friend and advocate of bold theatre.”

Q: Do you personally relate to any of the characters in Wish You Were Here? If so, how?

MM: “Absolutely. I think there’s a piece of me in all the characters, but there’s something about Nazanin’s longing for a life that straddles different worlds that really resonates. Her sense of yearning and loyalty, even as she wrestles with change, mirrors questions I’ve faced in my own life about home and identity. I often feel that my inner life feels like some tumultuous ocean with a current that I don’t necessarily show to others. 

“I also resonate with Zari as she realizes the cost of leaving home. And then there’s the friendship dynamic—those deep bonds that hold you up even when life pulls you apart. I’ve been fortunate to have relationships like that in my own life.”

Q: What would you like audiences to take away from this production?

MM: “May the generations of women in our audiences feel themselves: their loves, the flow of their lives, the spirit of themselves—past, present, and future—in the women of Wish You Were Here. There is so much we hold onto as women that for some reason, we are not able to share with others. I hope that, even in the silence of the theatre, on the car ride home, or in the quiet of closing our eyes that night, you can let go just a little bit for being seen.”

Learn more about Wish You Were Here