Dreaming is the first step in creating revolution; theatre makes the dream feel within reach.

As a director, I choose not to stray from having hard conversations, but rather to approach them with the tools to have them productively in a secure environment. This is something I have learned the value of in my life, and I use theatre as my artistic medium to cultivate these conversations. Specifically, I focus on how we as humans experience life as individuals and how that fits into the narrative of our combined stories. As an LGBT+ woman, I actively seek work that is about or includes characters who come from similar and other underrepresented backgrounds and walks of life. I believe the art we create should reflect the diverse communities we live in. I strive to actively seek this diversity not only in the material I choose, but in my teams that I work alongside.

A Brief Overview of My Practice:

When I arrive in a rehearsal room, the first thing I do is a boundary practice with the actors. We discuss access needs and learn to meet each other where we are at to create a secure space where we have freedom to experiment and make art. Then, actor by actor, we delve into introductions to the characters; it is important to know who you are portraying before what you are portraying. This process consists of tablework and physical movement. We then figure out how these characters create this particular story, from scene to scene and in the performance space itself. If the connections are all there, the art can truly live and breathe in a space.

In the production room, the process is similar in many ways. I act as a guide in the conversations so designers can fully express the work and themselves through their mediums. If the themes of the story and the characters have found their purpose in the set, lighting, costume, and sound design, the audience is more readily able to feel that purpose on show night. When all the elements come together to create and allow the stories of our communities to be experienced by an audience, living art has been created.