ARTISTIC STATEMENT (December 2022)

I identify as a New Play Director and as an Ace Playwright; I am also an aspiring Artistic Leader.

I am passionate about art, theatrical and otherwise, that is in conversation with the present moment - politically, socially, intellectually, emotionally - and I am particularly drawn to interdisciplinary collaborations created by artists and thinkers from diverse professional backgrounds. Thematically I am interested in the discovery and embodiment of identity. I am also interested in climate art and activism, and see the climate crises as the issue of our time.

As a Director, I believe that giving the microphone to artists I deeply respect defines my own voice; it’s a curatorial perspective - that the amplification of their voices, in conversation with one another, channeled through me, communicates my (and our) aesthetic and thematic passions. 

I prioritize Collaborators - I see the director / playwright relationship as sacred and intimate; individual projects are fleeting but the hope is that career will be long, with relationships central. The art is a product of sincere connection - we’re pursuing shared goals, better together with each and every project. Theatre is fundamentally an interpersonal and collaborative art form.

I am most excited by art with diverse explorations of human sexuality- all across the spectrum. As an asexual artist, I think beyond the gay/straight binary and aim to be in dialogue with the dominant culture about how we depict and discuss sex, romance, desire, spectrum, orientation, and identity. I have known that I am a theatre director for longer than I’ve understood the language of (a)sexuality.. Identity is personal, fluid and evolving; that said, I am who I have always been and this gives clarity to my interests and instincts in both life and art.

However, I rarely see my experience in narratives which has motivated me to begin writing - representation matters. As a Playwright, I aspire to normalize Asexuality through Art, making it visible through positive autofiction narratives and contemporary invesitgations of historical aces. I did not plan to write. I needed to write. Once I began to understand myself, it felt necessary, vital even, to contribute - to help build cultural scaffolding for Asexuality. I hope to bring my life to my art in a vulnerable, truthful way that will help others understand themselves, too.

I am committed to equity, diversity and inclusion- LGBTQIA representation is personal, and I understand and support the urgent need to diversify the stories we are telling, and the artists and creative teams who are telling those stories- for whom. With every project as a director, I think deeply about the play’s content and the perspectives housed within and I aspire with sincerity to build diverse teams that can support the growth of that play. The first step is to be aware of who I am, what I offer, and my blindspots- in terms of perspective and life experience.