Are we stuck with our memories – or can we fix them? Pia is a neuroscientist whose research focuses on changing the way we process traumatic experiences. Will Pia’s emotionally distant mother - who survived the Khmer Rouge in 1970’s Cambodia – benefit from her daughter’s work? Or are some things just too terrible to remember?

"What You Are Now" is part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series of science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world.

Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood in November 2022

Directed by Anna Lyse Erikson

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg

An L.A. Theatre Works Full-Cast Performance Featuring:

Carie Kawa as Pia

Tess Lina as Chantrea

Joe Ngo as Darany

Samantha Quan as Siobhan

Mark Jude Sullivan as Evan

Greg Watanabe as the Narrator

Senior Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson

Prepared for Audio by Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood

Recording Engineer, Editor and Mixer: Charles Carroll

Sound Design: David Wilson and Charles Carroll

Senior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin

Foley Artist: Jeff Gardner

The original song “What You Are Now” is by Him Sophy, founder of the Him Sophy School of Music in Pnomh Penh.

Special thanks to Professor Craig Woodson and Dr. Terry Miller for their recording of “The Sorrowful King” from “Roots of Rhythm.net.”

What You Are Now (Part 1)

L.A. Theatre Works records plays live in performance. We stage our shows in an audio-friendly format, so actors speak directly into microphones while we add sound effects and music to create an immersive audio experience.

We've recorded over 500 plays in this way - everything from Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde to Arthur Miller and recent Tony winners - and turn the recordings into podcasts, streaming audio, radio shows, and CD’s, so you can listen to great theater anywhere.

Because of our unique format, we attract a lot of top-name talent: our actors have included Chris Rock, Bobby Cannavale, Jane Kaczmarek, Kathleen Turner, Simon Helberg, Amber Tamblyn, Dana Delany, Stacy Keach, Jon Hamm, Matthew Rhys, Alfred Molina, Jonathan Groff...and an ever-expanding list of stars from TV, stage, and film.

What You Are Now (Part 1)

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