As a theatre maker, I am drawn to pieces that exemplify what makes theatre a unique artistic medium. There is a reason some stories demand to be told on the stage — stories told through movement, puppetry, combat, and reaching out to an audience so close you could touch it. Why try to hide the practicality of theatre when it can be embraced? No other art form provides the opportunity for artists and consumers to communicate so directly, or for the audience to change the outcome of the art. I believe that maximizing the impact of live performance begins on the page, so I write plays that are conscious of their performers, audience, and venue.
My perspective as an actor has greatly impacted the way I write. I dedicate focus to characters and their relationships not only to one another, but to place, time, and themselves. Bringing the absurdity of the subconscious to the surface is my goal with many of my pieces. The experiences I’ve had as a queer woman also appear in most of my work, but the goal is not only to speak to an audience of me. I look for the universality in my own stories and build off of them. I do this through poetry, movement, combat, intimacy, and other forms of art that can express emotions and concepts too large for words.
Beyond my own experience, I like to take a collaborative approach to creating new work. When I pass off a completed piece to a director, I want them to feel secure in the text but free enough to mold it to their image. I am always open to making changes based on the cast or vision of the director. Before a piece is complete, I like to go through many trial phases and readings with other creatives. I put my script into the hands of directors, actors, writers— anyone familiar with translating written words into full productions. I trust my fellow artists to help guide me toward the product that I am looking for.