I think young performers bring a natural raw energy to the stage that is often polished away. I am interested in maintaining kids’ unique vibrancy and natural playfulness while helping them find simplicity and grounding in their work. As a director I revel in finding real and honest connection between actors onstage—to me it is thrilling to experience an actual conversation between two actors. I love when actors are brave enough to bring their whole selves to a character—the best and worst aspects of themselves; the parts they love and the parts they hate.
I encourage actors to be completely honest about whom they are and remind them that each character they play is just as human as they are. I find it fascinating exploring how to tell a story as honestly as possible, and working with the actors to discover what story we will share. I often find that a cast can teach me more about a play than I could ever figure out on my own.
Through an exploration of character motivations using my own version of Practical Aesthetics, I try to provide opportunities for the actors to do the text and story justice. I often see plays where what the actors are saying and what they are doing do not match—where they say how angry they are, yet remain unfazed; where the director has not provided the circumstances for the actors to create the stakes necessary to tell the story of the play. Additionally, I ask actors to find the love and nobleness in each character, whether the actor agrees with the character’s views or not.
To me, theater is a conversation between the actors and the audience—it is a give and take. I am interested in how we can keep the audience on the edge of their seats, engaged in a conversation that is dangerous, exciting, and being created with them in that moment.
I believe in treating kids as professionals. They are capable of so much more than we ever give them credit for, and I will always strive to push them out of their comfort zones—beyond what they think is possible in themselves and in theater.
In recent summers at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts, I have taught a number of improvisation classes, including directing the Improv Troupe with our oldest campers. In Improv Troupe, we focused on bringing the principals of long form scene work to short form improv games. Using the philosophies of the UCB Improv Theater, Reckless Theatre, and the PIT, along with the work of Chicago-based improvisers TJ & Dave, I placed a heavy emphasis on creating grounded, “real” scenes that allowed the actors to patiently and organically explore the moment in order to find the “game” of the scene. This year we also talked extensively about creating characters with strong points of view that allow actors to filter the gifts being thrown at them by their scene partners. Another popular class this year was Plays of the Week, in which we read works by a large variety of playwrights. Some of our works this year included The Wolves by Sarah DaeLappe and Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker. In the past I have taught a class entitled Truth in Comedy, based on the book of the same name by Del Close, that focused on bringing the spontaneity and play of improvisation into grounded comedic scene work. Finally, I taught a webisodes workshop in which campers and I worked collaboratively to write, act in, and edit our own YouTube videos starring a large cast of sock puppets, in addition to teaching classes in acting technique, audition technique, musical parody, and monologues.