A LEADER OPERATING IN THEIR PURPOSE: BY JEANNINE GASKIN, ENSEMBLE MEMBER

I found Seat of the Pants when I was working on Intimate Apparel as the Assistant Director at Ensemble Theatre in 2019/20. The entire cast was fantastic, but there was this 1 person who blew me away. They came into rehearsal with this joyful, playful, creative energy that captivated me soul EVERYDAY. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I tend to be an animated person. Hand gestures, loud voice, big movements…It’s my normal everyday energy. So, when I watched this person, they gave me GOOSEBUMPS and I mean, I’m throwing my script across the floor, I’m screaming “Come On” “MY GAWD” and “YASSSSSS” after their scenes. My body was moving to every wave of energy they threw on that stage!! If I had to pick a psychological gesture, it would be PULL. They pulled me in, and it was a WRAP!!! Their name is Craig Joseph.

Throughout the rehearsal process we learned more about each other and that we have a similar love language of good food! He introduced me to soooo many good restaurants! This was our 1st food date We’ve enjoyed a ton of meals together since this pic!

Then I went to see this play he directed called When We Were Young and Unafraid by Sarah Treem. I learned that day, Craig was a BEAST! I had met a man who was operating in his purpose, in his spiritual gift and he has been in my life ever since.

We talked about a “what if” scenario. This what if was reimaging theatre. A world of play, an opportunity to disconnect from the everyday theatre process and still create something beautiful. But the work we create is long lasting. This time we spend together is meaningful, impactful, inspirational… A world where we are doing life together, sharing our highs and our lows, sharing our laughter and our tears, helping each other in different creative spaces outside of our Seat of the Pants bubble. So, when he asked me if I wanted to be a part of the ensemble, there wasn’t anything to really think about. The answer was immediately yes!

I am in my 2nd year of being an ensemble member and one thing I love doing is talking to the patrons. I also love that they remember me outside of the theatre. Hey I know you! And to be able to listen to them as they express how much joy SOTP brings them and how they love the creative way we do theatre. I also love that with each freelance project I have had, I have applied several SOTP philosophies. Room agreements, doing it JOYFULLY, staccato-legato, imaginary body, identifying the seed of the play, beauty statements, major climaxes and auxiliary climaxes… My 1st year I wore a director hat for the season opener of Trouble in Mind. Year 2, I am wearing a Producer hat for Amerikin. It’s an area I wanted to learn about, and Craig has created a space for me to do just that. I’m always very excited to learn and try something new but I’m especially excited to be learning from Craig because of his openness to not only communicate how he may handle something, but also, the freedom he gives you to modify it to do what’s best for you. If you are looking for a different experience in theatre, an opportunity to spend more time in a script and on your feet playing in different atmospheres, doing life with people, building a network of the minds, come and check us out! We start our process back up on DECEMBER 30th meeting once a week for Amerikin written by Chisa Hutchinson!!!

Header Artwork by Ariel Vergez aka BlackBrain, exhibited Cleveland MoCa 2024, photographed by Jacob Koestler