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Intiman Cabaret presents

The Orca Show

Written & Performed by Aysan Celik
Co-created & Directed by KJ Sanchez

April 16–19, 2026

The Intiman Cabaret at the Erickson Theatre
1524 Harvard Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

21+

Dive into The Orca Show, a perimenopausal comedy cabaret from Aysan Celik. Blending stand-up, pop song parodies, and surprising science, Aysan explores the parallels between aging women and one of nature’s fiercest matriarchs: the killer whale.

The Intiman Cabaret transforms the Erickson Theater into an intimate cabaret venue with table and bar seating, cocktail lounge service, and a theatrical mix of one-person plays, drag and performance art, musical acts and more. Bring your friends, family, significant other, or treat yourself to an elegant evening of live entertainment and delightful cocktail service you won’t soon forget!

Cabaret performances are 21+ (proof of age required for entry).

About the Play

The Orca Show is a genre-blending cabaret and interview-based performance that dives into the often-invisible experience of menopause—guided by an unexpected companion: a killer whale.

The journey of creating the show begins when Aysan calls her sister, overwhelmed by an unfamiliar wave of “incandescent rage.” Her sister responds dryly: “Honey, it’s called perimenopause. Remember Mom at our age?” Stunned and clueless, Aysan searches for answers. Soon after, during a conversation with her octogenarian friend Kate, she hears something equally jarring: “Menopause is God’s only gift to women.”

This sparks a quest. Aysan begins talking to people—of various ages, identities, and backgrounds—who are experiencing perimenopause or menopause. What she finds is both deeply personal and widely shared: no two stories are alike, yet everyone echoes the same feeling of silence, confusion, and lack of support.

And then, a killer whale appears. She doesn’t speak, but she seems to be listening. Watching. Teaching. As the performance unfolds, we learn that orcas, like human females, are among the rare species that experience menopause. Even more remarkable, post-reproductive orcas lead their pods. They are matriarchs—wise, powerful, and essential.

Through humor, song, raw conversation, and interspecies connection, The Orca Show becomes both a personal reckoning and a collective awakening. It’s a theatrical meditation on aging, rage, wisdom, and the fierce beauty of becoming the leader of your own pod.

Meet the Artist

Aysan Celik (she/her) is an international performer, a founding member of Theater Mitu, and an Associate Artist with The Civilians – both Obie Award-winning companies. In New York: Artificial Flavors (The Civilians/ 59E59), Gone Missing (City Center); The Undertaking (The Civilians/ 59E59); Co-creator/Actor in Juarez: a Documentary Mythology (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater/Theater Mitu); Paris Commune (BAM Next Wave Festival/ The Civilians); The Black Eyed (New York Theater Workshop); Faust (Classic Stage Company/ Target Margin); Pericles (The Culture Project/ Red Bull Theater); Attempts on Her Life (Soho Rep). Regional & International: King John (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); War of the Roses (Cal Shakes); The Making of a Great Moment (Z Space); Juarez: a Documentary Mythology (US & International Tour); Bob: A Life in Five Acts (Humana Festival); Antigone (American Repertory Theater), The King Stag (Barbican), co-creator and title role, Hamlet/Ur-Hamlet (NYUAD Arts Center/ Theater Mitu). Aysan is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and the ART Institute at Harvard University. She is a faculty member at UC San Diego.

Meg McLynn (she/her) is an actor, vocalist, and teaching artist who’s performed on stages & screens throughout North America. Local credits include roles with Sound Theatre Company, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Book-It Rep, Seattle Symphony, ArtsWest, Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Theatre, Washington Ensemble Theatre, and Theatre22. Meg is a member of the Seattle-based vocal groups, Sugartime Trio, Blue Plate Special, and The ABBAgraphs, and she’s a faculty member at Cornish College of the Arts, Freehold Theatre Lab, Seattle Film Institute, and Mighty Tripod. As always, this one’s for Barbara.

KJ Sanchez (she/her) is the founder and CEO of American Records, dedicated to making theatre that chronicles our time. Sanchez recently directed José Cruz González’s American Mariachi, which was produced at The Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas.

As a director, Sanchez has worked with playwrights such as Octavio Solis, Karen Zacarías, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Martin Zimmerman and Kristoffer Diaz. Her productions – as a director/playwright – have been seen at (select list): The Guthrie Theatre, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, The Alley Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Playmakers Repertory Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Two River Theater Company, Frontera Repertory Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., Cornerstone and Off-Broadway at Urban Stages, HERE Arts Center and the Gene Frankel Theatre.

As an actor, Sanchez has performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and internationally including the Toga-Mura Festival in Japan and the IberoAmericano Festival in Bogota, Columbia. She is a former member of Anne Bogart’s Saratoga International Theater Institute (SITI) Company; she is the voice of many characters on the cartoons Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go. Sanchez is a Fox International Fellow at Yale University, Douglass Wallop Fellow at Washington College, a recipient of the Rella Lossy Playwright Award, an Associate Artist with The Civilians and a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect.

Attilio Rigotti (he/him) is a Chilean theatremaker, technology artist and videogame designer. He was an Associate Artist with Theater Mitu, performing on the international tour of Juárez, and their sold-out run of Death of a Salesman at BAM. Along with Orsolya Szanthó, Attilio co-founded the company GLITCH, focused on new forms of storytelling that seamlessly combine digital and physical mediums. The company’s designs have been featured in productions such as Macbeth (Broadway, 2022) and White Girl in Danger (Off-Broadway), earning nominations for Outstanding Projection Design at the Drama Desk and Helen Hayes Awards for the latter. Attilio has designed for Kaki King, Martha Redbone, City Lyric Opera, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, theatreC, LGPAC, NYU Tisch, Long Island University, Toronto Fringe, and Gamiotics Studios, and has been recognized by the New York Times, Vulture, American Theatre Magazine and the BroadwayWorld Awards. Internationally, he directed and designed the acclaimed production of Matilda: The Musical in the Dominican Republic, which was hailed “as the greatest theatrical feat of 2024 and recent years.” He was a NYTW 2050 Artist Fellow for 2022-2023 and has been awarded the NY City Artists Corps Grant, the Wasserman Scholar Award, and the CYSTEM Award.

Matthew Francis is an actor, writer, teacher, and classically trained singer. From his acclaimed solo play The Gospel According to Matthew to collaborations with Anna Deavere Smith, his work blends storytelling with social advocacy. He holds an M.F.A. from Harvard/Moscow Art Theatre and performs internationally.

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Additional Information

All Intiman Cabaret performances are 21+ only. Proof of age is required for entry (ID required). No refund will be given if access is denied based on failure to show proof of age.

There is a 2 drink minimum per guest, non-alcoholic options are available. Drinks range from $5-$14 each.

All tables have cocktail service, with a limited snack menu. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options are available, ranging from $5-$14 each.

Service will be provided throughout the performance, by scanning the QR code at your table on your mobile device.

No late seating. Shows begin promptly, please arrive at least 15mins early to allow for seating and service. No refund for late arrivals.

  • The Intiman Cabaret at the Erickson Theater is ADA accessible, including the bathroom facilities and lobby.
  • There is one table reserved for ADA seating (Table F3). This table is marked with a white ADA emblem, and can accommodate 1 or 2 wheelchairs.
  • STAIRS: Please note, all seats and tables require the use of stairs except for the tables in row F.

If you have additional accessibility needs or any questions, please reach out and we will do our best to accommodate! Email us at boxoffice@intiman.org and let us know how we can help.

Supported By

Support Intiman’s work by making a tax-deductible donation today. Donations create union jobs in Seattle (we work with all of the theatrical unions), provide free and subsidized education programs, and make free tickets available for every performance. Thank you to all our sponsors, donors, and Members!
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