Human, Nehprii Amenii. Photo: Shannel Resto Photography
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“At the Bottom of the Ocean, where the darkness meets the stars, the Octopus will tell the story of a thing once called the human being…”
In a distant future where humans are gone, an octopus faces a powerful question: could it give one of its three hearts to help create a new kind of human—one that is kinder, more connected, and more in tune with the world?
Told through the windows of a sunken submarine, HUMAN invites audiences on an underwater journey filled with wonder, imagination, and discovery. Using striking visuals, inventive puppetry, dance, original music, and African Diasporic storytelling, the piece unfolds through the eyes of ocean creatures trying to understand who we once were—and who we might become.
HUMAN is a 60-minute interactive performance for the whole family, encouraging audiences of all ages to reflect on connection, care, and what it truly means to be human.
CREATIVE TEAM
Nehprii Amenii (Writer/Director/Puppet designer/Original lyrics)
Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby (original music and lyrics)
Choreography by Chigui Santiago
Scenic Design by Marie Yokoyama
Lighting and Projection Design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew
Sound Design by Joshua Langman
Costume Design by Angela Fludd
Puppet Design by Nehprii Amenii, Dan Jones, and Genna Beth Davidson
Stage Manager – Jordyne Bouza
Creative Producer – Alverneq Lindsay
Production Manager – Carolyn Boyd
The Development of “HUMAN” Has Been Supported by The Jim Henson Foundation, Cheryl Henson, The National Endowment for the Arts, The New Victory Theatre, Powered by The New 42, The Drama League, The New York State Council on the Arts, The New York Foundation for the Arts, Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Chelsea Factory. “HUMAN” is a 2025 National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund grantee, co-commissioned by Sandglass Theater, BAM, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and Asheville Creative Arts.
Join us out-front at the Phanstiel Plaza for a free workshop before the show!
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Nehprii Amenii
Nehprii Amenii is an award-winning Brooklyn-based stage director, playwright, and puppeteer. She has a passion for both personal narratives and grand-scale spectacle. She is known for creating experiences that dismantle the wall between players and audiences. Select credits include Bread and Puppet, The Public, La Mama, The O'neill, Pan Asian Rep, The Clarice, Alvin Ailey, and The New York PhilHarmonic. Her work has been shared internationally in India, Haiti and South Africa. She's been awarded The Lipkin Prize for Playwriting, Anonymous was a Woman Award, and from the Jim Henson Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts ,NYSCA, and the NY women in media fund. She is a Labworks Artist with New Victory Theatre, a resident director with the drama league, a member of The Stage Directors and Choreographer's Society, and the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Nehprii is Artistic Director of Khunum Productions, a platform for Creative Anthropology.
Sponsors
Media Partner: East Hampton Star
Performing Arts programs are supported by 2026 season sponsors Galia Meiri-Stawski and Axel Stawski, with additional lead support from Henry and Peggy Schleiff, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, Monica and Peter Tessler, and Vital Projects Fund.
Guild Hall’s Performing Arts programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Additional support provided by Friends of the Theater: Natascia Ayers and Jim Ciquera, Bonnie and Joel Bergstein, Gene Bernstein and Kathy Walsh, Amy Cooney and Marty Feinman, John and Joan D’Addario, Suzanne and John Golden, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Steve and Susan Pesner and Peace, in memory of Michéle Pesner, whose entire life was devoted to all aspects of culture, The Schaffner Family Foundation, Lisa Schultz and Ezriel Kornel, Stacey and Oliver Stanton, and Susi and Peter Wunsch.
