I’m about to start a new project over here, and I’m pretty excited about it. Recently, I was working on Measure for Measure at the Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company. One evening in rehearsal, I was talking to an actor and happened to glance down at their script. What I saw was fascinating—colors, notes, scribbles, arrows. […]
Having the opportunity to stage a world premiere is always a gift. I’ve been lucky enough to direct workshop productions of two Pam Mandigo plays (Washed, Give Us Good), and one by TJ Young (Sperm Donor Wanted). At Silk Moth Stage, we’ve now produced two world premieres, and we’re only in our second season. When […]
Come spiritCome charmCome days that are warmCome magical spellCome help him get well If you’re a former theater kid who now has a both favorite kind of ibuprofen and a favorite Taylor Swift song, you probably recognize these words. They’re the ritual created in the last scene of the musical Secret Garden, where the children […]
I’m having a great time rehearsing Susanna Centlivre’s A Bold Stroke for a Wife with these fun people! The show opens tomorrow and runs through Saturday at 8 pm! Join us!
We ended Silk Moth Stage‘s 2022 season in mid-September, with Give Us Good by Pam Mandigo. I haven’t posted about it yet because it’s hard to find the words. I have rarely had the experience of seeing what I dreamed become reality in such a complete way. The only other time that comes close was […]
It might seem like I’ve been quiet over here, but it’s because I have been going all over the place filling up on plays. After the Long Intermission, I am saying “Yes, and!” to any play I can reasonably manage to get to. Between October 15 and November 13, I saw twelve plays (14 if […]
The best part of my day these days is welcoming actors to the Silk Moth Stage for rehearsals of Give Us Good. Working on a world premiere is exciting (Pam Mandigo’s script is such a gift)! Directing for this immersive, flexible, wild space gives me goosebumps. Creating with familiar and new-to-me actors is a joy. […]
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 […]