ROAD TO SKY
World Premiere
November 6 & 7, 2025

Road to Sky is an immersive multimedia dance theater experience by MICHIYAYA Dance, created by Artistic Directors Anya and Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery. This powerful work dives deep into the raw and transformative journey of queer parenthood—centered on Anya’s experience as the birthing parent and Mitsuko’s as the supporting partner. Set across two rooms, Road to Sky sheds traditional narratives, pulling audiences into the intimate and emotional landscape of a queer birth story. Anya and Mitsuko chart their path to parenthood—not as a straight line, but as a winding, reflective road paved with intention, vulnerability, and fierce love. Road to Sky is a deeply personal yet universally resonant work that reclaims space, honors choice, and reimagines what family can look like.

Artistic Direction: Anya & Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery
Choreography: Anya Clarke-Verdery in collaboration with the dance artists
Visual/Contextual Design: Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery in collaboration with the dance artists
Performance: Cam Archie, Lydia Fish, Indigo Sparks, kira shiina, Sabrina Canas & Kanon Sugino
Original Music & Sound Design: Juan-Augusto Lafontaine
Lighting Design: Logan Donahue
Projection & Media Design:
Jess Medenbach Crawford
Costume Design: Uma Shannon
Stage Manager: Kaben Benavides
Theatrical Advisor: Iliana T. Sharp
Creative Advisors: Bree Breeden & Kathleen Kelley
Creative Support: Julieta Alvarez, Alex Bittner, Lex Casey & Alex Schmidt

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Director of Galleries & Public Art: Anastasia James
Venue Curatorial Assistant & Department Coordinator: Davine Byon
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Venue Support: Vesper Phillips, Joshua Rievel & Tyler Thompson
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Marketing & PR Support: Gigi Bower & Diana Roth
Backstage Support: Lex Casey, Morgan Miller & Ezekiel Martínez

Special Thanks: Attack Theatre, Nina Barbuto, Wendy Shafer & Rie Schmidt

MICHIYAYA: Road to Sky was presented at Wood Street Galleries in partnership with the
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Road to Sky was 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 as well as the Tomayko Foundation, Opportunity Fund, and was supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.