: The future of theatre is in new work. Supporting playwrights and engaging the stories of the moment is central to my work as a director, dramaturg, producer and educator. I want my students to create work that speaks to them whether it's a play they wrote or something they've imagined. I began working on New Plays while at Wellesley College, where I founded and produced a student written playwriting workshop. I continued working on new work when I was in my early career in Philadelphia (I had the pleasure of working on multiple new musicals at the Walnut Street Theatre where I apprenticed) and then developing more new work with my theatre company To The Wall productions, where we created Oedipus Kings: The Drinking Game (A show performed in a Bar) that launched our company. I have worked and developed student works at the University of Pittsburgh, Miami University of Ohio, and Eastern Illinois University.
Below you'll find some of my favorite examples of New Works:
Deceptive Cadence: Stories from Prokoviev, Stravinksy, Shostakovich, and Shchedrin: Supported by a generous grant from the Havighurst Center this world premiere this multi-media performance piece features projection design, live music from a string quartet and piano, and actors portraying the composers and the women in their lives. This piece was conceived by myself and Dr. Harvey Thurmer from the Music Department at Miami University. While preparing for his faculty recital, Dr. Thurmer was struck by the arbitrary way Stalin’s decisions about art effected the lives of the composers who lived and worked in Russia at that time. He brought his ideas about a collaborative performance to me, and we conceived of a show that would blend our department’s specialties together. Dr. Harkulich’s graduate students in Theatre, Mackenzie Kirkman and Kelley Feeman created the script for the piece using the words of the composers from the many diaries, letters, and books they left behind.Miami Alum Chyh Shen Low will return to Miami to play piano in the performance. The performance will also feature professional projection designer Joe Spinogatti’s projection work as a visual background for the piece (the header photo on this page is from this piece). The result of this collaboration is an hour-long dramatic performance that will bring the world of these composers to life, in their own words and with their own music, as they explore the question: Who decides which art is good?
Press: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75ctX4wHiW0&t=5s
Below you'll find some of my favorite examples of New Works:
Deceptive Cadence: Stories from Prokoviev, Stravinksy, Shostakovich, and Shchedrin: Supported by a generous grant from the Havighurst Center this world premiere this multi-media performance piece features projection design, live music from a string quartet and piano, and actors portraying the composers and the women in their lives. This piece was conceived by myself and Dr. Harvey Thurmer from the Music Department at Miami University. While preparing for his faculty recital, Dr. Thurmer was struck by the arbitrary way Stalin’s decisions about art effected the lives of the composers who lived and worked in Russia at that time. He brought his ideas about a collaborative performance to me, and we conceived of a show that would blend our department’s specialties together. Dr. Harkulich’s graduate students in Theatre, Mackenzie Kirkman and Kelley Feeman created the script for the piece using the words of the composers from the many diaries, letters, and books they left behind.Miami Alum Chyh Shen Low will return to Miami to play piano in the performance. The performance will also feature professional projection designer Joe Spinogatti’s projection work as a visual background for the piece (the header photo on this page is from this piece). The result of this collaboration is an hour-long dramatic performance that will bring the world of these composers to life, in their own words and with their own music, as they explore the question: Who decides which art is good?
Press: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75ctX4wHiW0&t=5s
Echoes of Miami- "This is Myaamionki"- Miami University of Ohio
"This is Myaamionki" was the opening piece of “Echoes of Miami,” a student written (and mostly student directed) processional performance that investigated, imagined, and retold the long and storied history of Miami University of Ohio. “Echoes” was conceived by my colleague Saffron Henke who was drawn to the small red book full of ghost stories that Miami gives to new students during orientation. The campus, founded in 1809, has a long institutional history and often touts its position as one of the most haunted campuses in the United States. Henke, a director and actor, saw potential for a performance that could really connect to a wide on-campus audience. (footnote about the audience for Miami shows). It was important to both Henke and me that we highlight a wide range of stories about Miami, and not privilege the historically white and male narrative that permeates the founding stories of the school. It was also important that we worked with the Myaamia tribe to tell a story that didn't reinforce negative stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. This project aligns with my research interests and it was a pleasure to work with student Anthony Thompson to create this script.
Prior to the entrance of the tour guides that took the audience to all of the spooky short plays about the ghosts of Miami's campus, the performance began “This is Myaamionki”, a ten-minute play written in both english and Myaamia that imagined what the campus might look like as Myaamia University instead of Miami. This play started the audience’s journey into imagining our space differently by acknowledging that the land that the audience and the actor’s were standing on was and is the land of the Myaamia tribe, which is why a school in Ohio is named Miami. I directed this piece, and lead the dramaturgy team across all of the plays in the project (for which I received a certificate of merit from KCACTF). I had the pleasure of working with student dramaturg Maia Aoibheil ( who created a version of the script that incorporated hot-links to the Myaamia language pronunciation website.
"This is Myaamionki" was the opening piece of “Echoes of Miami,” a student written (and mostly student directed) processional performance that investigated, imagined, and retold the long and storied history of Miami University of Ohio. “Echoes” was conceived by my colleague Saffron Henke who was drawn to the small red book full of ghost stories that Miami gives to new students during orientation. The campus, founded in 1809, has a long institutional history and often touts its position as one of the most haunted campuses in the United States. Henke, a director and actor, saw potential for a performance that could really connect to a wide on-campus audience. (footnote about the audience for Miami shows). It was important to both Henke and me that we highlight a wide range of stories about Miami, and not privilege the historically white and male narrative that permeates the founding stories of the school. It was also important that we worked with the Myaamia tribe to tell a story that didn't reinforce negative stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. This project aligns with my research interests and it was a pleasure to work with student Anthony Thompson to create this script.
Prior to the entrance of the tour guides that took the audience to all of the spooky short plays about the ghosts of Miami's campus, the performance began “This is Myaamionki”, a ten-minute play written in both english and Myaamia that imagined what the campus might look like as Myaamia University instead of Miami. This play started the audience’s journey into imagining our space differently by acknowledging that the land that the audience and the actor’s were standing on was and is the land of the Myaamia tribe, which is why a school in Ohio is named Miami. I directed this piece, and lead the dramaturgy team across all of the plays in the project (for which I received a certificate of merit from KCACTF). I had the pleasure of working with student dramaturg Maia Aoibheil ( who created a version of the script that incorporated hot-links to the Myaamia language pronunciation website.
Kyooreasade- PAF 15
I gathered a group of actors and designers together to create an installment devised performance piece called Kyooreasede (pronounced curiosity) for the Bunker Arts International Performance Arts Festival in 2015. Inspired by Erin Morgenstern’s novel The Night Circus, the piece created the potential for audience members to interact with space in a new way. Together we developed and created an installation piece that allowed people to linger and encounter, engaging their curiosity and revisiting the space throughout the day. In one corner we created a darkened space with a desk covered in text and a branch also covered in text overhead. Audience members were asked to leave behind a regret and hang it from the tree. As the day progressed people hung their regrets on the tree branch, and as audience members read what others left behind, they were visibly moved. One of our actors enacted the role of a living statue in the room and greeted visitors with the smell of smoky tea, inviting them to smell and experience the space through their senses.
I gathered a group of actors and designers together to create an installment devised performance piece called Kyooreasede (pronounced curiosity) for the Bunker Arts International Performance Arts Festival in 2015. Inspired by Erin Morgenstern’s novel The Night Circus, the piece created the potential for audience members to interact with space in a new way. Together we developed and created an installation piece that allowed people to linger and encounter, engaging their curiosity and revisiting the space throughout the day. In one corner we created a darkened space with a desk covered in text and a branch also covered in text overhead. Audience members were asked to leave behind a regret and hang it from the tree. As the day progressed people hung their regrets on the tree branch, and as audience members read what others left behind, they were visibly moved. One of our actors enacted the role of a living statue in the room and greeted visitors with the smell of smoky tea, inviting them to smell and experience the space through their senses.
LOVE, GARLANDS, BOWS, AND TINSEL: A RADIO HOLIDAY ROMANCE:- EIU
I have a great love of Holiday Romance films. The silly, over-the-top, just-because-its-the holidays films popular on lifetime, netflix, and hallmark bring me so much joy from November through December every year. As the days grow darker, I find a deep amount of Joy in the light from stories about love and connection. I had the great pleasure to develop this play with class of 2022 EIU Student Hannah Killough as her Senior Thesis project.
EIU has done a full foley radio play every other year for the past few years. It's a low budget production, and I was told that the options for scripts were to find something in the public domain or do something new. New Plays are my passion, and many of those old scripts are inherently sexist and racist (And often xenophobic) so it seemed a better bet to just start from scratch. Hannah and I talked about what made a good holiday story and we shared our love of silly holiday romances and decided to take the play in that direction. We listened to old-time radio plays to get a sense of the form and the possibilities for what could be.
Love, Garland, Bows, and Tinsel is a holiday radio romance with a specifically queer bent. This is not a coming out story, but rather a holiday romance for queer students focused on falling in love and finding light in each other as the days grow dark and finals approach. The play will be performed and recorded live on Dec. 3rd and 4th at the theatre at EIU and then aired on EIU Radio on Dec 12th..
I have a great love of Holiday Romance films. The silly, over-the-top, just-because-its-the holidays films popular on lifetime, netflix, and hallmark bring me so much joy from November through December every year. As the days grow darker, I find a deep amount of Joy in the light from stories about love and connection. I had the great pleasure to develop this play with class of 2022 EIU Student Hannah Killough as her Senior Thesis project.
EIU has done a full foley radio play every other year for the past few years. It's a low budget production, and I was told that the options for scripts were to find something in the public domain or do something new. New Plays are my passion, and many of those old scripts are inherently sexist and racist (And often xenophobic) so it seemed a better bet to just start from scratch. Hannah and I talked about what made a good holiday story and we shared our love of silly holiday romances and decided to take the play in that direction. We listened to old-time radio plays to get a sense of the form and the possibilities for what could be.
Love, Garland, Bows, and Tinsel is a holiday radio romance with a specifically queer bent. This is not a coming out story, but rather a holiday romance for queer students focused on falling in love and finding light in each other as the days grow dark and finals approach. The play will be performed and recorded live on Dec. 3rd and 4th at the theatre at EIU and then aired on EIU Radio on Dec 12th..
America-In Play, NYC (Dramaturg): I had the pleasure of working as a dramaturg with a large group of playwrights lead by Lynn Thompson in the 2008 and 2009 Festival seasons. This early work was really influential on the possibilities of what we might do with older American plays that are inherently racist, sexist, and not producible. This type of adaptation is something I'm still interested in today..
