ABOUT ME
When I make mimetic art, whether it be in the medium of theatre, film or even an online digital project, it is always the audience that I am thinking about as the final collaborator in the artistic process. With each and every piece, whether I'm the writer, the director, the dramaturge or any combination of those, I ask myself "how will this be experienced?" It is this care for the audience that defines my work the most. In that regard, I refuse to accept mediocre art in what I create, and the work is always being made better. I've worked in professional and in educational theatre for nearly three decades and I don't distinguish between the two in terms of quality. Students can be taught to process and make great, professional quality art. In everything I make, I collaborate fully with my team, supporting one another through the making, and celebrating it together. We never create alone. It is always in collaboration with our fellow artists, and then, finally with our audiences.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
EDUCATION
Human Trafficking
in 2016 I made a play based on a year's worth of research into human trafficking in Michigan. These piece is called Stories in Blue. Now I'm taking students from my University to Ghana to make short documentaries about fighting modern day slavery.
1992-1996
University of California, Santa Barbara
M.A./Ph.D. in theatre with a specialization in theatre history
Race and Theatre
In 2010, I made a piece about the lived experience of race in the city I was living in. This is a reprisal of the same piece, now with updated material. It's called Lines: The Lived Experience of Race
1989-1992
Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA
B.A. in Theatre
Domestic Violence
In 2019-2020, I made a documentary with my students about domestic violence. Now I am turning that same material into a live theatrical performance.
Human Trafficking
in 2016 I made a play based on a year's worth of research into human trafficking in Michigan. These piece is called Stories in Blue. Now I'm taking students from my University to Ghana to make short documentaries about fighting modern day slavery.
1992-1996
University of California, Santa Barbara
M.A./Ph.D. in theatre with a specialization in theatre history
Race and Theatre
In 2010, I made a piece about the lived experience of race in the city I was living in. This is a reprisal of the same piece, now with updated material. It's called Lines: The Lived Experience of Race
Devising Theatre
I take novels, activiting material from culture, old classical texts, really anything and turn them into performance. I just finished devising a new production of George Orwell's 1984 and next will be working with W&L on Jane Austen's Persuasion, to open in December of 2021.
1989-1992
Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA
B.A. in Theatre
Domestic Violence
In 2019-2020, I made a documentary with my students about domestic violence. Now I am turning that same material into a live theatrical performance.