Artist

As an artist, I'm most interested in creating transformative experiences with my collaborators for the audiences that come to see our work. My original work tends to explore issues of gender and sexuality, and how these attributes contribute to the construction of identity. I'm also an avid fan of Shakespeare, Brecht, Shaw, Wilde, Caryl Churchill, Connie Congdon, Julie Marie Myatt, Tony Kushner, and Craig Lucas. These playwrights ask us to think as we watch. I like that.

When I direct plays, I'm focused on preserving the integrity of the playwright's work. I consider myself a "playwright's director," and I ask actors in my productions to make choices that are grounded in the clues that the playwright has provided. Play analysis and table work are an integral part of my process, and my analysis becomes the road map for my production.

I'm inspired by choreographers and directors working with movement, music, and image to create theatrical events. I admire the work of Robert Lepage, Declan Donnelan, Mary Zimmerman, Bartlett Sher, Matthew Bourne, William Forsythe, Pina Bausch, and Anne Theresa de Kaersmaeker.

I've split my own artistic work into four areas on this site: directing, playwriting, dramaturgy, and performing. I've also included a page about new projects that I'm working on. Click on the words in this paragraph or on the links in the menu bar at the left side of this page to see more detailed information about each of these areas.

If you are interested in collaborating, please contact me at js1655@nyu.edu.