LOGBOOK
[structural honesty, methodology]
IDENTIFIERS
PLAYWRIGHT
I write a lot about the fallacy of choice.
In my work, agency is not a right accorded to the most vulnerable, but a series of necessary thefts. Because the systems claiming to sustain us often demand our invisibility as the price of admission, identity only becomes legible through acts of trespass. We don't find ourselves; we make ourselves visible by breaking the social contracts that keep us orderly. We do so, however, at our own peril: to be seen is to be known, and to be known is to admit how much we've already lost.
DIRECTOR
My aesthetic prizes the unvarnished human experiences that lie beneath simulations. I specialize in measuring the distance between characters' public performances and their private selves, using staging and design to illuminate the characters' grief, shame, tenderness, joy, and will using the spectacle of the body.
STRATEGIST
My approach to strategy involves seeing the team as it actually is, not as we wish it is.
I identify friction points where institutional or creative structures have ceased to support their own weight. I then work on alignment, locating the spine of a project or organization and building the architecture to keep its integrity intact.
I write a lot about the fallacy of choice.
In my work, agency is not a right accorded to the most vulnerable, but a series of necessary thefts. Because the systems claiming to sustain us often demand our invisibility as the price of admission, identity only becomes legible through acts of trespass. We don't find ourselves; we make ourselves visible by breaking the social contracts that keep us orderly. We do so, however, at our own peril: to be seen is to be known, and to be known is to admit how much we've already lost.
DIRECTOR
My aesthetic prizes the unvarnished human experiences that lie beneath simulations. I specialize in measuring the distance between characters' public performances and their private selves, using staging and design to illuminate the characters' grief, shame, tenderness, joy, and will using the spectacle of the body.
STRATEGIST
My approach to strategy involves seeing the team as it actually is, not as we wish it is.
I identify friction points where institutional or creative structures have ceased to support their own weight. I then work on alignment, locating the spine of a project or organization and building the architecture to keep its integrity intact.
Rebecca really jump-started our interest. She’s so inspiring. Rebecca made the class more exciting and more challenging at the same time.”
NO SNAKE OIL
I'm fortunate to have been taught by masters, and I humbly carry their lineage with me. But the methodology I use today isn't something I memorized; it’s something I built through years of trial and error.
Although I work in many capacities, I really only have one mode of operation. Whether I'm in a rehearsal hall, onstage, at my desk, or in a boardroom, the physics are the same. I look for the bones: the simplest shape that holds a thing together. Then I look for what's vibrating against it.
There's a specific question I return to again and again. It's a question most of us associate with the monocle-popping indignation of a character in a farce, but for me it's the only question that matters:
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"
Although I work in many capacities, I really only have one mode of operation. Whether I'm in a rehearsal hall, onstage, at my desk, or in a boardroom, the physics are the same. I look for the bones: the simplest shape that holds a thing together. Then I look for what's vibrating against it.
There's a specific question I return to again and again. It's a question most of us associate with the monocle-popping indignation of a character in a farce, but for me it's the only question that matters:
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"
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In English, "mean" is a rare verb because we use it both where we begin and where we end up. Beginning: I mean to say ... (INTENTION) Ending: What this means to us ... (IMPACT) |
It was really useful to do an exercise that required such specific and subtle listening. And not just the hearing kind of listening, whole body listening.” |
The reason I'm effective in a classroom is the same reason I'm effective on the page: I don't use shortcuts. I value candor over cleverness. My job is to listen carefully to the noise on the surface -- the "meaning" of the effect we're producing -- and then listen beyond it to make out the thrum of vibrations down deep.
People often ask how I manage so many different roles. To me, each is a different container for the same action.
In writing, I look for the meaning of the impulse.
In directing, I look for the meaning of the picture.
In strategy, I look for the meaning of the structure.
It’s all navigation. Meaning is the keel: the weight that allows us to stay vertical in deep water and help others do the same.
People often ask how I manage so many different roles. To me, each is a different container for the same action.
In writing, I look for the meaning of the impulse.
In directing, I look for the meaning of the picture.
In strategy, I look for the meaning of the structure.
It’s all navigation. Meaning is the keel: the weight that allows us to stay vertical in deep water and help others do the same.
RECEIPTS/WITNESSIn my view, the work is usually its own best evidence.
LOGSFor a focused look at my production history, see my Directing CV. For my current writing projects and accolades, see my Playwriting CV and/or my listing on New Play Exchange. For a comprehensive history of my pedagogy and strategy work, the Full CV is available. DIRECTING
PLAYWRITING
COMPREHENSIVE
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STUDIO DISPATCHESOne of the best classes and instructors I have ever experienced. (And I’m no kid.)” Far exceeded my expectations, surmounted my highest hopes. My co-writers were diverse but uniformly serious and skillful.” How can I count the ways? Safe but rigorous, opened so many creative doors for me. Smart, literate instructor. Great, great class.” I produced more material than I thought possible. It deepens my understanding of process and who I am as an artist.” Rebecca is a very sensitive instructor who believed in knowing who we are as people. She believed that influenced our writing and POV. Boy was she right! I learned a ton.” |