October: Art and Artists

After a stretch of audio projects, remote collaborations, and one-off events, I’m delighted to be back in the room for some workshops and rehearsals. …But should you need to find some one-of-a-kind art gifts for the holidays, I can help with that too!

Ladies & Fools: Coffee Break with Joan and Margaret

Early in October, Ladies & Fools’ collaboration with the 2025 Circle Festival culminated in a mini workshop for a future project in the works. The piece we are developing explores Joan of Arc and Margaret of Anjou, pulling them out of their history plays and putting them in conversation with each other. We loved having an opportunity to gather at AMT Theater and hear some pages-in-progress aloud, followed by a fun dramaturgical discussion.

What’s next? Follow Ladies & Fools on Patreon, and be the first to hear about our next projects! (If you select to follow our page for free, you’ll receive periodic emails from us. If you are interested to set up a small monthly donation (including $2 and $5 levels), rather like a mini membership, you will gain access to fun perks such as behind-the-scenes blog posts and early ticket info.) 

Now Rehearsing: 8min20sec

After an exciting sampler of special events and remote projects earlier in the fall, how delightful to be back in a rehearsal process. I’m collaborating with Forager Theatre Company as Dramaturg and Assistant Stage Manager for their new musical project 8min20sec, coming to Culture Lab LIC as part of their upcoming New Works Festival.

It takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the sun’s light to reach our Earth. 8min20sec is a collection of musical reckonings, each beginning when the sun is announced to have burned out, and exploring how we hold on when we have to let go. 

This piece is at once wistful and playfully whimsical, bringing together a fun juxtaposition of musical and storytelling styles, and I look forward to seeing it take shape next month. Tickets are available for our December 4-7 run at Culture Lab!

Coming Up: November Calendar

Thankful for this month’s varied happenings— including more visual art than usual!

Weekly, on Fridays - Radio Violence Releases

Have you caught up on Episode 1 yet? New episodes will drop each Friday wherever you get your podcasts, giving you time to build your theories for our audio mystery miniseries of What Happened to Aster…  (As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I had lots of fun managing sound effects for this series – as well as lending my voice to a few characters!) 

Beginning November 6 - Off the Wall Art Fair

Speaking of Culture Lab LIC… they also offer an exciting holiday gallery display each year (on view through Dec 14), focused on affordable fine art from local artists. I have an original watercolor in the show this year, and can’t wait to browse the gallery during our 8min20sec run!

November 17 - Take Root: Teacher Round Robin

Forager Theatre Company’s pay-what-you-can, all levels dance class continues on Monday evenings in November. For a fun wrap up to our fall session, I’ll be teaching as part of a round robin class! All the teachers from our fall session will be teaming up to create a mash-up combo, likely drawing mostly on jazz and contemporary styles.

November 21-23 - Future Came And Went

I’ve enjoyed providing some dramaturgical support and contributing to script revisions for this lyrical experimental work, which imagines an epilogue to Three Sisters. Tickets are on sale for this talented team’s debut, playing at The Wild Project.

November 29 - Santa’s Holiday Market @ TGS

Need even more holiday art gifts – but in New Jersey this time? For a second year, Queequeg & Paulina will be participating in this festive Thanksgiving weekend event hosted by The Growing Stage (a wonderful theatre for young audiences and another of my dramaturgical homes). Come peruse our selection of knit accessories, watercolor art gifts, and handcrafted holiday decor!

October Highlights & Recommendations

Some favorite media and performances from the past month!

Reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Listening to Periphery, the newly-released debut EP from Times New Rita

In Collaboration During the final weekend of Circle Festival, I enjoyed catching performances of the very funny Don’t Push the Red Button and beautifully-acted Sunbreak. It was also a treat to hear a few musical-in-development readings while staffing the annual NAMT Festival, with my standout for this year being Jenn Grinels’ Wakeman.

On and Off Broadway Thrilled to catch The Baker’s Wife at Classic Stage and Queens at MTC. And not only did I love re-visiting Liberation at its Broadway transfer (playing through Jan 11), I am loving how many friends and colleagues I’m hearing who are getting to experience Bess Wohl’s beautiful play this time around. 

Out of Town Glad to visit Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at The Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, in David Catlin’s atmospheric stage adaptation that leans into Shelley’s experience penning the tale.