Quote of the Month
“Like snowflakes, the human pattern is never cast twice.”
- Alice Childress
Current & Upcoming
I’ve been moving so my work has been a bit more virtually based the past few months, but I am still keeping busy with plenty of artistic projects! My audio play for next season of the Premiere the Play podcast is now in post-production, and I continue to write and design student activity guides for each mainstage production at The Growing Stage throughout their season. I look forward to having some new, and more in-person New York-based, endeavors to share heading into the new year – and you can get a sneak preview of the first one below!
Performances & Media I enjoyed this month:
Attending the fabulous concert performance of Show Me Eternity at 54 Below!
Reflecting on adaptation and storytelling with Ashley Clements’ The Look Back Diaries webseries.
Catching the regional production of Alice Childress' one-acts Florence and Mojo at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and the new play Becky Nurse of Salem at Lincoln Center Theater.
A few November memories!
Expanding the Canon
Since learning about their mission, I have been an admirer of the Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre and their Expand the Canon initiative. Both a celebration and a call to action, the project demands space in the classical canon for a more diverse intersection of playwrights, many of whom were underproduced or utterly un-produced in their lifetimes. Each year, ETC presents a curated list of excellent and producible classic plays by women and underrepresented genders and endeavors to bring them to communities, classrooms, and stages.
I enjoyed having the opportunity to attend a community reading of one of the 2022 plays, Shirley Graham DuBois’ Dust to Earth, as part of Hedgepig’s “Loose Canon” reading series this month, and I am delighted to be joining the Expand the Canon reading committee this winter/spring as we begin research for next year’s list!
Exhibits around NYC
I’ve been in and out of New York this month, but made time to visit these two wonderful exhibits!
At the Morgan Library & Museum through January 22 –
Ashley Bryan & Langston Hughes: Sail Away explores the incredible life and work of artist and illustrator Ashley Bryan, focusing on his collage artwork to accompany Langston Hughes poems for his book Sail Away, as well as other projects. Throughout his career Bryan celebrated Black life and Black creativity in vibrant art across many mediums, from cut-paper collage to watercolor to puppetry. I found this exhibit by chance and am so thrilled I did – Bryan’s distinct and joyous style is a delight and deserves wider recognition, as do the many wonderful artistic collaborations featured in the exhibit.
At New-York Historical Society through January 22 –
I initially visited The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming in Salem last fall, and now it has conveniently transferred to New York where I can point more people in its direction! Combining fascinating artifacts and primary source documents (in many cases displayed in their original form in Salem, in reproduction for New York) with contemporary historians and artists’ responses to the trials, this exhibit presents a layered exploration of an equally troubling and fascinating episode in our history. On each visit I have been especially struck by the remarkable detail of the written record of the trials – which still leaves oh so many unanswerable questions of what was really happening in the hearts and minds of the residents of Salem in 1692.
Visit before the end of December and you can pair your visit with Becky Nurse of Salem at Lincoln Center!
Art for the Holidays
On the crafts and visual art side of things, I’ve been preparing lots of gift options for this holiday season. Through the Queequeg & Paulina shop that I co-run, you can browse cozy knit accessories and watercolor greeting cards (on Etsy) or customizable art gifts (on Redbubble) for anyone on your list!