Take 5 is my framework for creating anti-traumatic spaces for theater workers. So much of what we do—as directors, administrators, designers, stage managers, actors, publicists, etc, etc, etc—harms our collaborators. We couldn’t have designed a more traumatic system if we were deliberately trying to. I’m on a mission to change that. Last spring, I taught […]
I’m so excited that we’re opening Every Brilliant Thing at Silk Moth Stage tomorrow! I’m producing it, and last night, I got to watch the run, including the live pre-show music by Azalea Twining. I am so thrilled with the work Katie Downing (performer) and MaryBeth Killian (director) have done on this project. For those […]
Can we just be honest for a minute? Doing my first play back after the pandemic shut-down was terrifying. I thought that my first show back would be a play I’ve been thinking about for a few years, at a company I have worked with a bunch, with actors I know and trust. My actual […]
Do I have good news for ya’ll! I was just beating myself up because I’ve been busy this week and didn’t get around to telling you about The Hot Wing King and my first sentence was going to be, “Hurry up, you only have another week to see it.” BUT those kind souls at Studio […]
I had a fun time in Connecticut a couple weeks ago. Right after Merry Wives closed, literally the next day, I packed up my kids and my mom, and we drove to New England. Shakespeare on the Sound had invited me to share my Take 5 workshop with them, and they invited us to see […]
As we approach the last weekend of Merry Wives at Quill Theatre, I wanted to share my program note. “Why this play? Why now?” indeed. This is the Merry Wives summer. As we gather in Richmond, audiences are convening in Los Angeles, Bismarck, Atlanta, and countless other cities to experience the same slapstick romp. Shakespeare’s […]
This is about a play that deals with suicide. It’s okay if you don’t want to read it. I went to Staunton yesterday afternoon to see Ginna Hoben perform Every Brilliant Thing. For those who aren’t familiar with it, this is a one-person show by Duncan McMillan and Jonny Donahoe, about a person whose mother […]
Can we just stop saying these things? Please?
We moved our rehearsals over to Agecroft Hall and Gardens, where we’ll be performing, this past week. Even though working outdoors has been challenging (to say the least—a windstorm took out our sound tent and knocked over the walls!), it’s also an absolutely magical place. Anne Kenny-Urban, the executive director of Agecroft, took us on […]
I keep thinking about this article from the SDC Journal, by the brilliant Sara Holdren. It’s the genre of article we’ve all read a thousand times and are kind of sick of: “How does the theater look after pandemic?” kind of thing. But it’s smart, funny, compelling. It’s what all those other articles are trying […]