Directing & Dramaturgy
Mission
As a director, I am interested in using my leadership skills and collaborative spirit to help tell a cohesive story. I want to bring a feeling of community and group empathy both to the cast/creative team as well as the audience. I want the audience and performers to experience catharsis, and I want to push them to use this educational and emotional experience to shift their view of the world around them. I believe in reconnecting the audience to their fundamental instinct of empathy, and all of my artistic choices are in pursuit of this. If I can make the audience hope or cry or long for something, I have done my job.
My directorial style is very imaginative. I want to challenge what the normal concept is and make it into something weird and unexpected. I love using nostalgia and the idea of “playing pretend” to create these concepts. I think aesthetic and message go hand in hand, and lots can be said by manipulating a certain aesthetic. Different mediums of art are of great interest to me, as I believe theatre can be elevated through the use of dance, music, and visual art. I constantly think: “How can I take this thing that everyone knows and manipulate it so that they don’t even recognize it?”
As a dramaturg, I treat my process like it’s a massive puzzle. How much can I glean from the script to aid the creative process? What information does the cast need to be successful in rehearsal? How can we welcome the audience into this experience as a part of the story, not just as a passive observer. These questions aid in my search for the perfect puzzle pieces to glue a process together.
My dramaturgical style definitely emanates from a place of joy and immersion. If I can get a cast excited to read an in depth packet, I have done my job. I aim to make the information I present new and exciting, but also digestible that audience members can take away as much as they can from the production. I figure that if I had fun making the materials, there is a higher chance that people will have fun reading and experiencing them.
Directing
Peter and the Starcatcher
Peter and the Starcatcher was an absolute joy to associate direct. There was an element of whimsy and nostalgia that attracted me to the project, and that carried through to the rehearsal process. This is truly one of the most joyful rooms I have ever been in, and it was a wonderful cast and crew to work with. Beyond my contributions through stage combat and intimacy, I was able to spearhead some of the larger stage pictures, including the jungle sequence, and aspects of the massive final scene in act 1. On this project, I discovered that I greatly enjoy using collaborative and instinctive blocking techniques, and then going back and layering those moments with the specificity from our table work. I also learned that I absolutely love a “bit", and 9 times out of 10, will die laughing if you ask “Would this be funny here?”
"Mermaid Outta Me"
"Peter and Molly Meet"
"Bill 'the rat bastard' Slank"
"Swim On"
"The Bowels of the Ship"
"Black Stache"
"Speaking in Dodo"
Aladdin Jr.
Working with young actors is always fun, but working with 100 young actor is…fascinating. Assistant directing this production tested every aspect of time management, organization, and delegation I had, but it was immensely rewarding. Getting the opportunity to be a role model and lasting impression on students’ theatrical experience is a privilege, and I was continuously astounded by the professionalism and capability of these students. Beyond my contributions through stage combat, I was able to fine tune a lot of character work and enhance the more difficult scene work. Surprise, surprise, my favorite number was definitely “High Adventure”, but getting to watch the preschoolers come out in little monkey onesies was definitely a close second. Never a dull moment when working with young performers…
"Aladdin and Magic Carpet"
"These Palace Walls"
"Arabian Nights"
"A Whole New World"
"High Adventure"
"Magic Carpet Antics"
Dramaturgy
Bright Star
Theatre UCF Bright Star Talkback
Theatre UCF Bright Star Talkback
9 to 5
Amelia Community Theatre’s 9 to 5
Amelia Community Theatre’s 9 to 5
New Play Development
I have had the privilege to work in various departments of new play development. My work began as a reader for the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre’s “Playfest”, which has given me an incredible inside look at what it takes to build a season and has taught me to think critically about why we should produce certain work at certain times. I was also able to be a dramaturg on The Berlin Diaries, during the 2022 Playfest season. This was a fascinating process, as doing dramaturgy for a project that is constantly changing is vastly different from being a dramaturg on a published piece. Recently, I was also able to work on the production side of new play development during Weathervane Theatre’s “North Country New Works” festival. I operated as an assistant producer, learning about the scheduling and production process for an event revolving around readings of new works. I was also able to take part in some of the readings, which was very cool to see both sides of the process.
At the University of Central Florida, I was also able to take part in season selection for the 2021-2023 seasons. I also worked as a reader and assistant director for the “Pegasus Playlab” in partnership with the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. New play development is truly passion, and I hope to be able to be continually involved in as many different capacities as possible.
Recent Projects
Professional Theatre
Assistant Producer for North Country New Works Festival (Weathervane Theatre, Fall 2023)
Dramaturg for Andrea Stolowitz’ The Berlin Diaries (Orlando Shakespeare Theatre’s Playfest, Fall 2022)
Dramaturg for Patricia Resnick’s 9 to 5 (Amelia Community Theatre, Summer 2023)
Theatre UCF
Associate Director for Rick Elice’s Peter and the Starcatcher (Spring 2024)
Dramaturg for Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Bright Star (Spring 2023)
Assistant Director for Gian Arellano’s, Race To Infinity (Pegasus Playlab, Summer 2022)
Youth Theatre Education
Assistant Director for Disney’s Aladdin Jr. (Central Florida Community Arts, Spring 2023)
Weathervane Theatre’s North Country New Works Talkback