Artistic Statement

The Arts and Entertainment sector is as culpable as any for the continued and systematic inequality in our society. I believe that Radical Inclusion is the only means to change the course of the tide. Radical Inclusion because it takes fundamental change that goes beyond passing gestures to right correct a failing ship; and inclusion must be an active, intentional and ongoing process. This stretches beyond a desire to diversify our audiences; but must start with what is on our stages and screens, the people who create it, and especially those that manage it. This is the only means to create true access within the Arts.

Radical Inclusion has been the core tenet of my 20+yr career as a director, a producer, and a teacher. I seek to create access and equity within all things that I create. I hope to provide opportunities and platforms for those voices that have been under heard and underserved. I believe it is these ‘ideals’ of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, Learning and Social Justice that can drive a new era of artistic creativity that our culture has only yet to experience.

So, the big question is “Why”? Why do we go to live Theatre? Why do we go to live concerts or a baseball game? There is an active relationship between the performer and the audience that does not exist anywhere else or at any other time. Why do we go to the theatre or the movies? There is a communal existence, a shared story of love, passion, fantasy, adventure and ultimately of dreams. I believe that we all wish to see ourselves, our hopes, our desires, and our experiences reflected back at us; perhaps not in the literal but in its essence. Access will only be achieved when we are all welcomed into the room.

One of a few life changing experiences in the theatre came to me in the late 1990s. I was cast in a production of Angels in America by Tony Kushner in the role of Louis. It was in that same year Matthew Shepard was tortured and killed. It was through these experiences both on stage and in our communities that I saw the true impact that the Theatre could have; the conversations that the Arts could spark. In the coming years I dove into the works of Sarah Kane, Suzan-Lori Parks and Naomi Izuka, among many others. I found a religion in their work, deeper than just their gorgeous wordsmithing, that resonated through their punctuation, pauses and epic visual moments. Moments floated high to be crafted by directors, designers and especially actors.

I am drawn to work that tells our American and Global pluralistic story. I look for the magical and the epic; work that defies genre. This includes work that is highly theatrical and uniquely cinematic; as well as work that is interdisciplinary, multi-medium/media, and blurring the lines of genre. In recent years I have evolved into a quest for hope. That is, even in the worst of times, a search for what makes us truly human.

Currently I find my career at an exciting intersection. I have had a world of amazing experiences full of great highs and great lows. I had the opportunity to serve as Artistic Director of a regional theatre; Associate Producer of 2 Obie Award winning Off-Broadway theatre companies; as well as arts festivals, concert pavilions and film/media productions. I have learned from and enjoyed the opportunities to create, present and engage with audiences from coast to coast. Now my journey has led me to the DC Metro area, and specifically Montgomery College in Silver Spring/Takoma Park MD. A college that has been named one of the 5 most diverse community college’s in the United States. An artistic home where I can truly provide those opportunities and platforms for the under heard and underserved voices of our community. Our strength, as the Arts and Entertainment community, is in our intersectionality. Our world is not singular but plural. It is the time that we embrace it.