The end of the 2024-2025 theatrical season has been my most recent time of reflection, so here are a few things I think I've learned as the Artistic Director of a small professional theatre company, offered up here in the hopes that maybe you'll find these ruminations useful as well. In no particular order:
Read MoreIn the Michael Chekhov Technique for actors, there is a concept called The Four Brothers. These are reminders and qualities that can lead to integrated, inspiring, full-bodied performance. The first three Brothers are: a feeling of Ease, a feeling of Form and a feeling of Beauty. The fourth Brother, a feeling of the Whole (sometimes called Entirety) can refer to the actor’s awareness of the full scope of a play or story, but it can also refer to an ensemble of actors being tuned into each other as a unified, cohesive unit.
Read MoreI have been lucky to have been involved in several “World Premiere” projects - some that have died on the vine (sadly) and some that have seen some decent life after my iteration. All of them included lessons about myself, the different ways the creative process can take shape and the underlying current of the business of show.
Read MoreIn the weeks leading up to our first rehearsal, I had one major concern: how were two directors - one who had been working with the play for two years, and one (me) who’d only been involved since auditions over six months ago - ever going to co-direct a group of six extremely talented, creative, and smart actors in. World premier play?
Read MoreThis week, we wrapped up our year-long commitment to four free artist workshops with our culminating session: Devised Theatre Practices. Each year, our goal is to create opportunities for artistic exploration that are both meaningful and accessible. We remain committed to removing as many barriers as possible so that artists from all backgrounds and disciplines can participate, explore, and grow.
Read MoreOn this particular Fathers’ Day, I am once again in rehearsal for a show. I am also once again sad to remember that my father was never able to see me perform before he passed away in 2005 - on the morning of the opening day of the show I was doing at the time. That awful morning reinforced the saying, “the show must go on” in the strongest terms in my mind since that day. I attribute my love of singing to my mother and my love of acting (a fool) to my father. He instilled in me the belief that it is okay to make fun of yourself and to laugh as often and as hearty as possible
Read MoreThese are the moments in which character is forged—not in times of triumph, but in the absence of external validation, when the structures that once supported us vanish and we are left to navigate the wreckage. In embracing the ambiguity of the “after,” Omega & Alpha has offered us more than theatre; it has given us tools for reflection and, perhaps, transformation.
Read MoreSpending the past three months with a toe dipped into the world of Peg has been a rare privilege. I approach Peg as part actor, part dramaturg - hours spent researching her patterns of difference, listening to neurodiverse voices, and taking props home to practice the intimate, silent choreography of her world.
Read MoreFor some, the physically expressive explorations and the abstracted movements might not cut it. For some, that kind of work can create a barrier and requires more work to release into and cross the threshold of trust. Super fair. For such actors, in addition to their other script and character preparation, one might call upon a tool called “Corridors.”
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