AEA/SDC
artist statement
I am an acting-centric musical theater artist. When I studied at NYU, the mission statement of the department where I trained was to prepare actors who can sing and dance. While I took that to heart, and would consider myself someone who specializes in musical theater, my focus is more on the acting element.
As an artist, I find that my training has served me well and helps me more clearly collaborate with the actors I am guiding. For me, collaboration is the synthesis of artistic ideas from all those intimately involved in a project. The best theatre generally comes from this effort, as many voices force the director to elucidate and clarify his or her stance and also provide him or her with valuable opinions to make acting moments and design elements work. Whether I am working on a musical or classic play, the questions remain the same and the journey for the actor has familiar guideposts. My approach as an artist enables me to help actors and students find their objectives and make strong, active choices on stage. My directorial vision is based on a firm commitment to activating text and making theatre come off the page in a way that honors the playwright’s vision while still provoking a dialogue among contemporary audiences, whether they are new to the piece or have a familiarity with it.
"I love creating theatre that stimulates audience discussion long after the final curtain has come down."
I love creating theatre that stimulates audience discussion long after the final curtain has come down. Helping actors create these characters and designers build these worlds that stimulate such discussion is the sort of challenge that gets me up each morning. I find many musical theater performers can benefit from my acting centric approach in their performances. I also find that my musical training is beneficial in working with non-musical actors, who occasionally lack the ability to fully utilize their bodies and can perhaps become stagnant or small on stage. The unique marriage of the training I received and embody enables me to work with actors of all kind and help them grow and utilize their skills to the best of their abilities. My practical approach to collaboration and text based acting study helps me work with artists from any background to create theatre that sings.