Minimalist Clean Signature CV Resume-2.jpg

My Manifesto

I believe that live theatre is the closest we can get to magic. I include magic shows, circus, storytelling, stand-up, and concerts in “live theatre” because to me any artist in front of you doing something that reminds you (indirectly or directly) what it means to be a human is theatre. I believe that magic is essential, and that magic is terrifying to people with power.

I believe that power is largely taken when it would better serve everyone if it was given. I believe that power should always be a gift in the theatre because shifts in power should be deliberate on stage. I’d be interested in a world where people paused their own conversations to readjust the power dynamic between them. But I believe control is a fiction most of the time, so I doubt that would really happen.

I believe the art I make understands me better than I do. And I think that’s okay, and true for most people.

I believe everyone should paint more.

I believe in mess. I think clutter is stressful, but mess is different—to me, mess is traces of everything you’ve done and everywhere you’ve been. The mess I believe in is the paint on your sleeve, the sticker from that show you did, the scraps of paper, receipts, and pipe cleaners that have found their way across your desk, the meeting time you wrote on your hand four separate times to remember, the three different songs that are somehow simultaneously stuck in your head—I believe that mess can be useful if you can manage not to judge yourself for it.

I believe that art is best when no judgement goes into it. I believe it’s really difficult to stop ourselves from judging the work we make. I think everyone should be making more worse rather than less nearly perfect because if you’re invested in perfection, you’ll never be ready to share.

I believe that art should always be a sharing.

I believe everyone making theatre should be doing it for the audience.

I believe work of any kind is empty if you’re doing it for only yourself.

I believe in theatre that can picture the person who needs it most. If you know who that person is, then the play’s purpose feels direct even if the piece isn’t.

I believe that plays have heartbeats. If there isn’t a heartbeat, I don’t think it’s quite a play yet, and that’s okay. I believe it takes a lot of time for art to decide what it wants to be. I believe that this is often incredibly frustrating. I believe that frustration is a much bigger part of writing or making than people talk about it being.

I believe in sensory theatre. I believe that there should be a lot more theatre than there is that invites its audience to smell and touch and play in the world of the story, especially for very young audiences. I believe every kid should get to go on an adventure at least once before they’re too old to think it’s cool, and I believe that the creation of experience-based “escape room theatre” (as I’ve started calling it) should mean that this is possible. I believe books are wonderful, but that most people can’t help but wish they were real. I believe that this kind of theatre has to be impeccably designed because kids are better at noticing the cracks in an illusion than people tend to give them credit for.

I believe that fear is part of theatre. I believe that fear is an essential part of life. I believe that adventure wouldn’t exist without fear. But I also believe that fear is a bully and can be really hard to stand up to. I believe that courage is not winning over fear or getting rid of it but accepting it and sitting next to it day after day until you understand each other.

I believe that a decent majority of the “sorrys” said in any given day would be more productive if they were replaced by “thank yous.” I recognize that I say "sorry" way more than I should. That being said, I believe there are times when a sorry is necessary and that most people, even if they tell themselves otherwise, know when that’s the case.

I believe stage directions are the playwright’s love letter to directors. I believe plays are love letters to their audience. I believe art and love are part of each other like a body and soul.

I believe in caffeine. I know it really isn’t good for me, I know it’s the reason I have heartburn so much of the time, but I also believe it keeps me moving, and I’d rather be moving with a burning heart than stagnant any day.

I believe in music. I believe theatre is inherently musical. I believe that words, pauses, and the rhythm of speech make plays musical even if there isn’t a moment of melody. But I also believe that most plays would be served by some melody music even if it’s only during scene changes.

I believe it is possible for making a living as an artist to be incredibly worthwhile. I also believe that in order for this to be the case, you have to really love it. I believe you might be thinking “why would anyone want to be an artist if they didn’t love their craft?” to which I would say I would guess that you likely do know some people in this category. I believe theatre, and art more broadly, are things many people have been told they’re good at. I believe it’s easy to love being told you are talented and easy to love being good at something, and I believe that this is not a strong enough love to sustain you through the ups and downs of the performing arts industry for a lifetime.

I believe everyone should do more of what they really love.

I believe that life usually makes this difficult.

I believe “impossible” is a word without a definitive definition—the “impossible” on every graph tends to slide away as soon as you get too close to it. I believe we could all test that word more often—if we all pushed that word far enough, I think we might find, in quite a few cases, that it doesn’t actually exist.

I believe that people should talk about the stars more often. I believe everyone notices when a star is bright or the moon looks cool, and I believe that people should voice those observations way more than they do. I believe in the value of reminding each other that we are all human.

I believe in the value of “us”. I believe theatre and its success is a sign that most people believe in “us” too, even when they only say “me” or “you” because theatre can’t do its job well without everyone being there for each other within it.