As a director, my focus is always on the audience. Whatever theory we discuss in the room must be understood in the final product. I lead vibrant productions that impart powerful messages about our shared world – without, you know, losing the "entertaining" part of "entertainment."

The Legacy of Sherwood Forest (2021)

Working in the bucolic outdoor setting of the Morton Arboretum, I led a devising process to create a modern adaptation of the Robin Hood myth, tackling social issues in a manner that all ages could understand. The process was an uphill learning curve, adapting to the process previously used by the Walking Plays and Inkwell Arts, and the final product was truly a collaborative effort between everyone involved.

The Laramie Project (2021)

This radio adaptation of Moisés Kaufman and Tectonic Theatre Project’s enduring play provided a chance to teach sixteen youth actors about Matthew Shepard, and the circumstances around his death in 1998. However, the rehearsal process also focused on the underlying issues around homophobia – and indifference to homophobia – that still reverberate to this day. In one-on-one rehearsals with each performer, we dug through each monologue for the modern parallels, the dark humor, and the enduring truths in the uncensored words of Laramie’s residents, for a radio adaptation that challenged every listener to be an active participant in making the world more inclusive.

GROUPS OF TEN OR MORE PEOPLE (2020)

When the Chicago theatre community shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, actor and writer Gaby Labotka approached me with an idea: to adapt Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost into a modern-day work of “isolation theatre,” to respond to the moment. Over the course of four months, we worked with a cast of twelve actors – some of whom had never met in person – to rehearse and film the project entirely over Zoom. Act I released in July 2020, with plans to film Act II in person once the quarantine lifted. When the case numbers started rising again, we put the health of our actors first and premiered Act II as a live staged reading. Act II will be filmed professionally once it is safe to do so.

DOUBLE VISION (2020)

A new sci-fi comedy, directed as part of the 2020 Chicago Musical Theatre Festival (hosted by Underscore Theatre Company). Along with a vibrant cast of six and a very game team, we helped to iron out the plot, characters, and details of Olivia Popp’s new musical, adjusting as large sections of the script were re-written during the process. The final production was warmly received by audiences, and helped Popp navigate her continued development of the script.

PETER PAN (2019)

Studio East, a staple of the Eastside Seattle theatre community, invited me to direct their 2019 production of Comden & Green’s Peter Pan. Working with two casts of youth actors – 52 performers in all – I created a production that seemed pulled from the childlike imaginations of its participants. Incorporating tactics from poor theatre and found object work, as well as dramaturgy from 115 years of Peter Pan adaptations, the resulting production was fundamentally the actors’ own.

Bicycle Thieves (2019)

Adapted from Vittorio De Sica’s acclaimed 1948 film, this devised adaptation brought together nine performers to collectively discover how to bring this story to the stage. Borrowing from the practices of Italian Neorealism, the resulting adaptation emphasized the fine line between whether we are perceived as good or bad people, and what external factors can push a fundamentally good person to act in a troubled way. The resulting adaptation found a deft balance between the humor of its quick-paced setting, and the weighted silences when the characters looked inward.

COPENHAGEN (2017)

My senior thesis project at Northwestern University. In a play about the line between memory and truth, I worked with the actors to discover different possible realities for the characters – and allowed the characters to blur those realities throughout the play. Staged simply with three chairs in a small blackbox, the talented cast spoke directly to the audience, bringing a sense of joviality to a rather dire discussion of nuclear war.

URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL (2016)

Returning to my alma mater youth theatre as an alum, I was given the opportunity to re-imagine Urinetown for their summer program. Highlighting the Orwellian leanings of the musical, the brutalist aesthetic helped the show serve as a cautionary tale about polarity of opinion – the notion that it is just as dangerous to believe yourself to be entirely in the right as it is to believe your enemy to be entirely in the wrong.

COMPANY: STUDIO EAST – KIRKLAND, WA

Author: Mark Hollman, Greg Kotis

MUSIC DIRECTOR: Kaysy Ostrom

Chroreographer: Marion Reader

Stage Manager: Christine Rattigan

Cast: 16 youth actors (ages 13-22)

Watch the full production HERE

LAST EXIT (2016)

Written in 2004 by a group of student artists in Issaquah, WA, Last Exit is a musical about teen suicide that takes place mostly in flashback, before the tragedy occurred. This staged reading of the musical was the first production since 2009 of this lost gem, a humorous and poignant story of missed connections and avoiding vulnerabilities. I led a stellar cast in bringing these teen characters to life, and exploring the depth behind their cautious conversations.

MOOSE MURDERS (2014)

A very, very staged reading of the worst play ever written. Presented unabridged and uncensored, this raucous disaster of a murder mystery is a legendary Broadway flop that had to be seen to be believed. I worked with the actors to nail down the precision comedic timing in a tragedy that refuses to stop being funny.