Looking Back At A Revealing Beginning

Sanaz Toossi, the writer of Wish You Were Here, attended the SCR Theatre Conservatory throughout her teen years. Along the way, the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Orange County native left an indelible impression on Hisa Takakuwa, SCR’s Conservatory and Education Programs Director.

Takakuwa recently took time to reminisce about her first impression of Toossi, what productions she took part in and how Takakuwa heard her former student’s voice in her work.

Q: What was your first impression of Sanaz when she started at the SCR Conservatory? What was her first production of significance and what did she do in it?

HISA TAKAKUWA: “Sanaz has a long and wonderfully diverse history with SCR and it has been one of the true joys of my career to have witnessed her growth as a person and theatre artist over many years.  I heard of her initially, as I do many of our students, from other faculty.  Whenever I become familiar with a name before I meet a student, that can be for wonderful—or unfortunate—reasons!  Sanaz developed a reputation quickly for being a thoughtful, serious, engaged and enthusiastic student.  The first time I worked with her directly was when she was part of the cast of a Summer Players production (East of the Sun, West of the Moon) just after her freshman year (of high school), I believe.  I found her fun, reliable, highly creative, and a wonderful and supportive ensemble member.”

Q: How long was she a part of the Conservatory?

HT: “I believe she took classes as a teen from her 8^th grade year until she graduated from high school and headed off to college.  During that time, she was a highly cherished member of two Teen Players ensembles (performing in the casts of Snow Angel and Hard Times), performed in two Summer Players productions (East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Time Again in OZ), and played Martha Cratchit twice in A Christmas Carol.  After her high school graduation, she even worked as a production assistant for our first Summer Players incarnation of Into the Woods. She returned to spend some wonderful time with us between her undergraduate and graduate studies as well, when she worked as an Education assistant, as well as assistant directing the Teen Players production of Bliss and dramaturging A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  She also took an adult class during that time.”

Q: Do you remember anything special about her?

HT: “Sanaz is special.  She’s thoughtful in all she does.  She’s smart, funny, creative, kind, observant, curious, passionate and engaged.  We share a love for language, story and human behavior that’s always brought us close.  She’s by nature a storyteller.  More than any specific moment, what I remember most is watching her grow in confidence and claiming her voice and path.  She has always been a storyteller, a wordsmith, a writer—but to begin to claim that publicly, to make the decision to go to NYU, to commit to her calling as a writer/creator, to start to share with others her voice!  Watching that over the years has been truly beautiful to behold.  She also is just an extremely caring and fun person to spend time with!”

Q: Tell us about something she did that really stuck with you, something she wrote, did or performed that stood out or gave you that “a-ha moment.”

HT: “There isn’t an ‘a-ha moment,’ but a constant sequence of them.  I will mention that I FINALLY (with the complexities of the post-COVID theatre world) got to see a production of English at The Old Globe last season.  It’s a beautiful play of course.  But what was so moving to me was that I heard Sanaz so strongly in it—in its characters, ideas, and deep humanity.”

Q: We noticed she wrote program notes for a Summer Players production. When did she start to write for the Conservatory and what prompted it?

HT: “She was working with SCR’s Literary Department at the time, so it made sense to have her combine her two SCR worlds!”

Q: How is she an example of the good things you do?

HT: “We have many Conservatory graduates who are kind, creative humans doing good in the world--  Sanaz certainly among them.  The study of theatre – telling stories, finding voice, listening, empathizing, creatively solving problems, working joyfully with others, building confidence while sharing the vulnerability of the human experience – hopefully leads to much good in and for all.”

Learn more about Wish You Were Here