I’ve got lots of updates this time, it’s been a pretty busy month! Thrilled to finally be fully vaccinated, in time for some exciting summer plans...
Quote of the Month
“You make beauty and then it disappears. I love that.”
- Caryl Churchill
Plans for the Summer!
I’ve held off mentioning this in my previous updates since there are so many ways that things can change last minute, but I’m thrilled to finally share that in just a few weeks I will be heading up to Gloucester Stage in northern Massachusetts for their summer season! I will be taking part in their outdoor, socially-distanced season as the Directing Apprentice, assisting the director of each production. I am so excited for the opportunity to return to in-person rehearsal rooms, and to make new connections with so many artists. You can read more about the season here, and this year’s apprentice cohort here.
Current & Upcoming
As I prepare to move to Gloucester, several long-running projects are wrapping up. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to house manage outdoor performances once again at the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ’s Back Yard Stage the past few weeks, as they presented abridged, family-friendly productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar. The in-person performances of these plays have now wrapped up, but both will continue to be available for virtual streaming as part of STNJ’s Pandemic Playhouse Entertainment offerings!
If you missed the reading I directed earlier in the spring of the new work in development Letters from Lisette, or are curious to hear how the play has grown since then, the second round of The Growing Stage’s New Play-Reading Festival is coming up later this month! All four finalists will receive a second public reading over Zoom, with Lisette taking place at 7:30pm on May 21. I look forward to returning to this delightful new piece for young audiences, and further exploring its cast of historical and fantasy characters.
It will still be a little while before you can hear my production of the new play Zig-Zag for the Premiere the Play podcast, releasing in late summer, but I am currently in the midst of preparations for our final recording session later this week! It has been a wonderful journey to both learn about working in the podcast format and see this powerful play take shape, and I look forward to being able to share the final piece soon.
Appreciating Quarantine Connections
While I could not be more excited to begin getting back to in-person rehearsals and live performances, it’s surprising to look back on the amount of creative connections that have actually come about because of the pandemic. I’ve “met” new artists on each virtual project I’ve worked on, often coordinating Zoom production meetings across many time zones, and become friends with many members of my weekly play reading groups who I’ve yet to meet in person. As the ways we come together to create art continue to evolve over the next many months, I look forward to keeping up these connections and hope that they will lead to some cool in-person collaborations in the future. Already this month I virtually attended two sets of friends’ virtual performances as part of Philly Theatre Week because of these connections, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
A Crafty Closing
This is where I give a little monthly shoutout to the Etsy shop to which I contribute, Queequeg & Paulina Vintage (on Instagram @Queequeg_PaulinaCrafts). We offer an ever-changing selection of varied vintage finds, beautiful hand-knitted accessories, and other exciting crafted items. We currently have some adorable sets of greeting cards and colorful spring knits, and as long as they last each order is shipping with a complimentary hand-painted bookmark!
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