MFA Statement of Purpose

As a young child my first professional inclination was to become a Baptist minister. This transformed into the desire to be a trial lawyer before I finally settled into pursuing a career in the theatre. Not the typical path of a budding artist, but looking back I see a common thread – using my gift for communication to reach people emotionally, intellectually, and perhaps even spiritually. In a world that seems to need passionate, honest politicians and lawyers to steer society back on track, I am often asked why I am so dedicated to the theatre. The answer could not be clearer to me – society needs that same passion and honesty in its theatre. A piece of theatre may never legislate as a Congressional bill or Supreme Court ruling, but it does have the ability to alter each audience member’s perception and, in turn, affect their life first hand. Thus, my work in creating honest, truthful theatre as a director is not only worthwhile, but absolutely necessary.

Lyricist Yip Harburg once summed up his profession by saying, “Words make you think thoughts. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.” The text of each good play illuminates a discovery or poses a probing question into the human condition, a thought. As director I do not create that thought any more than I create the text. I am not the story-writer, I am the story-teller. It is my duty through craft and collaboration with designers and actors to determine the most effective way to arouse the thought of the playwright’s text in each audience member. Unlike Brecht, I want the audience’s investment in the story unfolding before them to be so great that they never think about the thought of the play during the performance. Ideally, upon leaving the theatre they are stirred to reflect on the play as it relates to their individual life – thus feeling that thought in a uniquely personal way. This is accomplished in a variety of ways individual to each piece, but I always pay acute attention to the rhythm and tempo of the text as it relates to the overall experience. David Cromer summed it up well in saying that the goal is to make each moment seem “immediate and inevitable.” However naturalistic or abstract, the play should progress as though forces within it could not allow it to progress in any other way.

Over the past few years I proved to myself that I could find consistent directing work and successfully initiate my own projects. While this time in the field has been extremely educational, I have reached a point where I know I would benefit from focusing that energy on further developing my craft as a director in the mentorship environment of an MFA program. I have been fortunate to open a strong dialogue with other emerging directors, but I continue to seek a consistent professional mentor to offer criticism on my body of work as it progresses. While I purposefully sought out and created challenging projects over the past year, I look forward to the opportunity in graduate school to tackle even more dramatic styles and work on story-telling techniques currently outside of my box. Though we work in very different ways, much of my recent work has been informed and enriched by my time assisting on the work of Eric Rosen and Mary Zimmerman. I look to continue that growth in my personal style, craft, and technique during graduate study.

I plan to utilize the craft I hone in graduate school to focus on innovation in the professional theatre as a director of new plays and musicals in development, in addition to fresh looks at established material. Attending an ethnically diverse inner-city high school instilled within me a curiosity for the stories of those whose backgrounds were quite different from my own – stories that appear far too infrequently on our stages. In this environment I developed a deep appreciation for stories involving diverse groups working collaboratively for the better good and stories of discriminated persons finding the strength and platform to express their voice. I also believe there is great value in re-thinking the potential of the musical theatre form and re-examining the wealth of musical theatre material already written to distill it down to the essence of those librettos, the thoughts contained therein. As technology advanced and the spectacle took over Broadway, we let down our guard in upholding the raison d’être of song and dance in the musical play so revolutionarily established by the likes of Bernstein, Hammerstein, Robbins, and Sondheim. As my career progresses I hope to create work that redefines society’s perspective of what an evening at the theatre can be by bringing new voices to the stage and what a musical can be by diligently striving make an audience feel a thought through song and dance, rather than marvel at the multi-faceted talent on display.

Ultimately I hope to find an artistic home where I can found a theatre company. In addition to providing a strong artistic voice for its community, I believe that company should also foster the growth of young artists through training as actors as well as playwrights. The theatre needs to embrace and foster the voice of generations to come if it hopes to revitalize and grow its audience base through those generations. In collaboration with like-minded artists, I am confident we can create a revitalizing artistic voice encouraging our community to be more socially and emotionally aware in their own lives. Sandy Meisner said, “Life beats down and crushes our soul. The theatre reminds us we have one.” A goal of which any Baptist minister would be proud.

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