ARTISTIC STATEMENT
I have been singing and playing pretend for as long as I can remember. It is my greatest source of joy and fulfillment, and I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life. I love sharing my knowledge and joy with my students, and the following are my guiding principles for why I create art and theatre.
Theatre should be accessible for everyone regardless of ability, race, class, beliefs, gender, and orientation. There are some stories which must be prioritized (because they are historically ignored), and those are the stories of marginalized peoples. I believe those stories should never be modified to be more appealing or palatable to the masses. It makes them inauthentic.
Theatre should be taught alongside core subjects in school. It is an important tool in teaching our young people empathy, and that is arguably the most important ability on the road to justice.
I believe that there is no one right way to put on a show (but there are most certainly wrong ways).
I believe in truthful storytelling and that it’s ok to judge characters on the way to finding their truths.
As a theatre artist, it is my job to hold up a mirror to audiences so they can see themselves and the world more clearly and critically. Theatre should be a call to action. It is the starting point for larger conversations to improve our world.
It is important to learn as many jobs in the theatre industry as possible in order to fully appreciate everyone with whom you collaborate. Collaboration is one of the most important things that we do, and I strongly oppose hierarchies (especially in creative spaces).
I believe in the theatre community as a whole. We must lift one another up, celebrate victories, and mourn losses together.
Theatre should be accessible for everyone regardless of ability, race, class, beliefs, gender, and orientation. There are some stories which must be prioritized (because they are historically ignored), and those are the stories of marginalized peoples. I believe those stories should never be modified to be more appealing or palatable to the masses. It makes them inauthentic.
Theatre should be taught alongside core subjects in school. It is an important tool in teaching our young people empathy, and that is arguably the most important ability on the road to justice.
I believe that there is no one right way to put on a show (but there are most certainly wrong ways).
I believe in truthful storytelling and that it’s ok to judge characters on the way to finding their truths.
As a theatre artist, it is my job to hold up a mirror to audiences so they can see themselves and the world more clearly and critically. Theatre should be a call to action. It is the starting point for larger conversations to improve our world.
It is important to learn as many jobs in the theatre industry as possible in order to fully appreciate everyone with whom you collaborate. Collaboration is one of the most important things that we do, and I strongly oppose hierarchies (especially in creative spaces).
I believe in the theatre community as a whole. We must lift one another up, celebrate victories, and mourn losses together.
Photo by Katelyn King