March 26, 2024
For immediate release

Contact:
Andrew Wood: 415-399-9554 (o) 415-305-1102 (c) [email protected]

Jay Park: (831) 331-8131 [email protected]

The Soul Catcher
Focuses on Abuse in LGBTQ+ Relationships
with Tale of Narcissistic Disorder

Calendar Editors Please Note
Who: Kassandra Production and The Soul Catchers.
What: 2024 San Francisco International Arts Festival
Where: 2868 Mission Street, SF, CA, 94110. Mission Cultural Center.
Date & Time: Wed May 1 & Fri May 3, 8:00pm;
Sat May 4, 2:00pm.
Tickets:Early Bird: $20, Advance: $25, Door: $28.
Box Office and Information: 415-399-9554 or
https://www.sfiaf.org/2024_kassandra_production

Photos Available on Request

March 26, 2024 San Francisco: San Francisco International Arts Festival (SFIAF) will present the U.S. debut of Copenhagen based Kassandra Production with the US Premiere of The Soul Catcher ~ Unmasking the Modern Predator. The Soul Catcher is a seductive and deeply disturbing performance about psychological abuse, manipulation and power – In a powerful mix of performance, dance, spoken word and newly composed electronic music.

Focusing on a gay relationship between actors Erik Pold and Johan Svensson, the piece sheds light on the invisible mechanisms behind abusive relationships, with a specific focus on Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). A toxic cocktail of lack of empathy, harmful self-absorption, intriguing alterations of reality, the hunt for affirmation and a predatory and exploitative behavior towards other people. In a cynically manipulated game of love bombing, gas lighting and pity play the victim is reduced to an emotional punching bag. A source of supply whose sole purpose is to feed an insatiable ego.

For Kassandra Production artistic director, Annika Lewis’ statement about the play, read the program HERE.

Kassandra Production
Kassandra Production is an artist driven platform for innovative contemporary performing arts, in the intersection of dance, theatre, media, activism and performance art.

Kassandra Production challenges theatrical concepts and creates work that is characterized by a strong conceptual and visual outcome – mixing the trivial with the philosophical. The work is signified by skewed and humorous angles, often with multiple fictional layers and the use of multimedia expressions – in a border defying and complex scenic expression.

Kassandra Production explores new performative spaces, places and concepts. Performances have been set up in private apartments, caravans, fairs, old factories, vans, abandoned stores, in the media, with and on the Internet – as well as in traditional theatre spaces.

Annika B. Lewis (Artistic Director, Choreographer)
Annika B. Lewis was born in San Francisco, raised in Sweden and now based in Denmark. Annika studied physical theatre and dance and holds a MFA degree in Contemporary Performative Arts from the Academy for Music and Drama in Gothenburg, Sweden. She works internationally as a self-producing artist in the intersection of dance, theatre, artivism and performance art.  Annika is the founder and artistic director of Kassandra Production.

Signe Krogh (Set & Video Design)
Signe Krogh holds a BFA from The Danish Design School in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is working in the intersection between traditional theatrical productions to performance, art exhibitions and light sculptures. Signe has been a designer in numerous Kassandra Production performances, attempting to balance the fine line of creating strong concepts without closing the gaps for self-interpretation.

Sofus Forsberg (Music)
Sofus Forsberg holds a master in electronic music composition at RAMA - The Royal Academy of Music, Denmark, where he now teaches. He is a electronic music composer and sound artist known for his pioneering work on the electronic music scene in Denmark in the early 2000’s. Currently he produces a breed of techno with elements of ambient and noise with a focus on live modular synth performances playing clubs in Berlin and Europe.

Morten Ladefoged (Light Design)
Morten Ladefoged holds a BFA in Dramaturgy from The Institute for Dramaturgy at the University of Aarhus and a Diploma in light-design from The State Theatre School in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has created the light-design in numerous Kassandra Production performances, always with a distinct and delicate twist.

Johan Svensson (Performer)
Johan Svensson holds an MFA in acting from the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, in his native Sweden. He has a long experience as a professional actor, narrator of audiobooks, radio drama and teaching in acting.

Lisbeth Sonne Andersen (Performer)
Lisbeth Sonne Andersen holds a BFA in physical theatre from Nordic Theatre School in Aarhus, Denmark. Lisbeth works internationally both as a creator and a performer and her work has covered both stage performances, site specific pieces, performative concerts, video- and installation art and film.

Erik Pold (Performer)
Erik Pold holds a BFA from the School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam, Holland. Erik is working internationally as a performer, director and teacher. His main focus is participatory and experimental performing arts.  

Funding Credits: These performances were funded in part by: The Danish Ministry of Culture, the Skanby+Gould Foundation Fund and Argonaut - A Noble House Hotel.

SFIAF 2024 is made possible in part by the support of Bernard Osher Foundation, California Arts Council, California Office of the Small Business Advocate, California Venues Grant, Grants for the Arts, New Place Fund and the Further Foundation, the Western Arts Federation (WESTAF) and many generous individuals.

Calendar Editors Please Note
Who: Kassandra Production and The Soul Catchers.
What: 2024 San Francisco International Arts Festival
Where: 2868 Mission Street, SF, CA, 94110. Mission Cultural Center.
Date & Time: Wed May 1 & Fri May 3, 8:00pm;
Sat May 4, 2:00pm.
Tickets:Early Bird: $20, Advance: $25, Door: $28.
Box Office and Information: 415-399-9554 or
https://www.sfiaf.org/2024_kassandra_production