The Blue Bear

Adapted by Luan Schooler and Leon Ingulsrud
Directed by Leon Ingulsrud

In 1990, author Lynn Schooler was a wilderness guide in Juneau when he met the Japanese wildlife photographer, Michio Hoshino. The two shared a passion for writing, photography, and Alaska’s wild places. Together, they began a search to find and photograph the rare and legendary glacier bear. Before they could find a blue bear, Hoshino was tragically killed by a Siberian grizzly, after which Schooler dedicated himself to getting their photograph to honor his friend. Based on the book of the same title, The Blue Bear follows Schooler’s tale of learning to trust again through his stunningly intimate portrait of a remarkable friendship. The performance combines Schooler’s text with Hoshino’s images in a visually stunning production. The Blue Bear had it’s world premiere at Perseverance Theatre in January, 2011.