Godfather Death by Austen Elizabeth Edwards

Godfather Death was a production of many firsts for me. My first fully self-produced show, first time designing a set not meant to tour, as well as my first attempt at writing a full length play. Everything about Godfather was ambitious for me, and I’m quite proud of the result that the team achieved.

This show also taught me a lot about myself as a theatre creator. One of the most surprising discoveries was how exciting and satisfying it was to make a particularly “green” piece fo theatre. Almost all of the constructed set pieces were scavenged and repurposed from other productions in the community. All of the set decorations and puppetry elements were made from either recycled paper products or discarded household items.

A few of my directorial goals with this production include emphasizing physicality in the storytelling process, experimenting with blurring the lines between realism and non-realism, and pushing the boundaries of an audience not accustom to more avant garde or experimental theatre.

Brutal Imagination by Cornelius Eady

Brutal Imagination is based on events that took place in 1994 in Union, South Carolina. A white woman by the name of Susan Smith, drowned her two young boys and blamed their disappearance on an imaginary black man. In Eady’s re-telling, the imaginary assailant manifests, and over the nine days it takes Susan to confess, he implores her as to why people are so ready to point the finger in his direction. Their discourse, however, is far from prose. Eady weaves reality in and out with a masterful mixture of poetry and dialogue pulled directly from the headlines of the time.

I took on this project with a few goals in mind. As a director, I am fascinated with non-verbal communication. My goal for the blocking of this show became to create a style of movement that could blend from naturalism to non-realism in a way that didn’t jar the audience or break their suspension of disbelief. Visually I wanted to build a world where we could preserve the rhythm and flow of the poetic dialogue.

We were about halfway through our rehearsal process when Orlando was shaken by the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The themes inherent in our show were suddenly hitting very close to home. As a team, we made a point to talk transparently about the emotions that we all found ourselves confronted with. We worked closely to make sure we held each other accountable. If something felt inauthentic to the experience of being a person of color in the south, we made sure to correct it. I was unbelievably proud of the space that the team created around this show, and I truly believe that all of the success we experienced was a result of our collective dedication to authenticity.

Frankenstein by Vincent Hannam

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Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice

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