Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Education: Lecoq-based physical theatre training at Helikos: Scuola Internazionale di Creazione Teatrale in Florence, Italy.
Favorite Credits: I really enjoyed working on Brenda Cullerton’s JayZ&Me and Ingrid Griffith’s Demerara Gold. They are very different shows but they both gave me the opportunity to work extensively with each of these writer/performers to create defined supporting characters within a narrative format. They are both collaborative artists and open to experimentation and they worked really hard to find the specific physical characteristics in each of their characters. It is more work than people think usually I have found if this is the first time they have used movement and gesture to create worlds without many props. Ingrid’s and Brenda’s commitment and trust in me made it really fun to support their stories in this way.
Why theater?: Quite simply the connection with the audience. There is nothing like the feeling of being in flow with them. Also, the magic is created right in front of you, on the spot. Once the ride starts you don’t get off. There is no stopping, editing, adjusting to fix anything. You just have to try again. I am always touched by the vulnerability of people on stage, especially solo artists asking us to witness them alone, risking failure or success, judgment or praise. Also, because theatre is 3 dimensional and live it lends so much possibility to play with form.
Tell us about The Rise of the Usher: It is a story of one young woman’s desire to advance her career and love life as a theatre usher. Jessica’s play takes us into the world of what goes on behind the scenes and during intermission playing various characters the (at first shy) young woman encounters along the way to the top.
What inspired you to direct The Rise of the Usher?: I am drawn to people and characters that are sometimes treated as invisible to people who, in fact they are in direct contact with. I was also very curious about the subculture, various personalities, desires and treatment by the public and co-workers in the world of professional ushers. Public personas vs. individual personalities are always fun to play with in character development.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that speaks to me is any form of theatrical experience where I feel I have tapped into something bigger than myself. For me that could feel like “the universal mind” and the sense that the audience and actor(s) are suspended in a moment in time together with not much separation between the audience and the action on stage. That is really amazing when that happens! This is why I enjoy physical theatre so much because it uses the body to create a wider state of consciousness. I enjoy watching and working in this way because it invokes the imagination of the audience to participate in the illusion and creation of an imaginary world, yet seems very, very real. There are shows I have seen by physical theatre and Lecoq trained performers where I remember being in all these environments and various characters so vividly but it was all in the performer’s ability to include my imagination because there were no props or costume changes. This made the experience a part of my own personal memory, something we both created and shared together. I am inspired by nature and studying people and animals in their natural states and rhythms in life as a means to better understand movement and form. I have had a lot of inspiration from so many talents: I love the storytelling and physical energy of John Leguizamo, the shapeshifting of Jefferson Mays and Sarah Jones, the theatrical magic of many circus troupes and acrobats, Bill Bowers’ use of mime and story, Christopher Durang was a very early comedic influence, Tony Kushner, the poetry of Rumi and the style of comedic storytelling by Louis C.K. and Ricky Gervais.
If you could work with anyone or genre you’ve yet to work with, what or who would it be?: I’ve been very curious about PUSH Physical Theatre lately and would like to learn from them. John Leguizamo was a very early influence on me as a solo performer and his work really touched me on a very personal level. I also want to incorporate shadow theatre and puppetry into solo shows so excited about learning more about these forms of storytelling.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: Most recently I recommended WhiteRabbit, Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour that was recommended to me when I was in Edinburgh last summer.
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I wish I would have seen Angels in America and August: Osage County on Broadway. I have yet to see Chinese Acrobatics live and I would really like that!
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Bourbon on vanilla ice cream. My grandmother got me into it.
If you weren’t working in theater you would be _______?: Asomatic experiencing therapist working with artists to remove creative blocks.
What’s up next?: Jasmine Pittenger’s My Ass (In The World): A True Story Of Love, War, Taliban… And Dirty Lambada-Dancing (The 2015 New York International Fringe Festival) and Mia Smith’s I am Hope (2015 United Solo).