By way of a wrap up this year, I’m giving a shout out to the fantastic selection of theatre organizations I had the opportunity to collaborate with throughout 2024. Many of these are non-profits currently in the midst of annual appeals and other fundraisers– please do give them a look if you are interested in supporting some arts organizations at the close of the year!
An array of 2024 directing highlights
Thanks, Thanks, and Ever Thanks...
(Outside the bounds of this list is my own tiny troupe of Ladies & Fools, launched this summer, but keep an eye on our website nonetheless– we’ve got some exciting things coming your way in Spring 2025!)
Directors Lab North is a week-long directing incubator offered annually in Toronto, Canada.
I had a wonderful time participating in the Lab this past June, and look forward to continuing collaborations with the incredible artists of our cohort.
The Launchpad of American Theater, the O’Neill is the country’s preeminent organization dedicated to the development of new works and new voices for the stage.
It’s always a pleasure to return to the O’Neill, which I visited in May to dramaturg for their Young Playwrights Festival.
Expand the Canon (Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre)
Expand the Canon celebrates classic plays by women and underrepresented genders
– and is a call to action to produce them.
I worked extensively with ETC throughout the year on the Reading and Research Committees, and look forward to further dramaturgical adventures in 2025 as the Research Committee Coordinator for the new season.
FRIGID New York provides both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work and to amplify their diverse voices through the operation of an off-off-Broadway venue in the East Village.
I produced and directed Fools in the Forest at Frigid’s Little Shakespeare Festival this summer.
Gingold Theatrical Group creates theatrical programming that promotes the humanitarian ideals central to the work of activist playwright George Bernard Shaw.
I support Gingold with administrative duties throughout the year, and this fall assistant directed their off-Broadway production of The Devil’s Disciple.
Premiere the Play podcast (Dean Productions Theatre)
Premiere the Play presents audio performances of exciting new stage plays from contemporary playwrights.
I enjoyed returning to Premiere the Play to direct the Shakespeare-inspired romcom The Puck Project for Season 4.
Sour Grapes is an independent Brooklyn non-profit operating the Vino Theater, Cork Studio, and several annual festivals.
I produced and directed All the Daughters of Viola’s House at Sour Grapes’ So Many Shakespeares Festival this summer.
The Growing Stage – The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey nurtures the development of the performing arts through education and creates, produces and performs works that engage the entire family.
In addition to continuing to write and design student activity guides for each of TGS’s mainstage productions, I loved returning to their New Play-Reading Festival to direct staged readings of the finalist play Bug and Junior.
Best of the Year
And for the flip side of my annual highlights,
here are some of my favorite media and performances from 2024!
In Print
Fiction:
A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab
The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
The House Across the Lake, by Riley Sager
Plays:
The Verge, by Susan Glaspell
Soldadera, by Josefina Niggli
Mrs. Warren’s Profession, by George Bernard Shaw
On Stage
Broadway:
How to Dance in Ohio, Suffs,
Prayer for the French Republic (Manhattan Theatre Club)
Off-Broadway:
Patrick Page’s All the Devils are Here (Daryl Roth),
Pericles (Classic Stage/Fiasco), The Counter (Roundabout)
Regional:
Tick, Tick… Boom! (George Street Playhouse),
August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean (Two River Theater),
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ)
In Canada:
La Cage aux Folles (Stratford Festival), The Orphan of Chao (Shaw Festival),
A Streetcar Named Desire (Soulpepper Theatre)
And the highlight of my theatregoing year:
Macbeth (dir. Max Webster, Donmar/West End)
On Screen
Film: Wicked (dir. Jon M. Chu)
Television: My Lady Jane (Amazon/dir. Jamie Babbit & Stefan Schwartz)
And beyond: Paris Olympics & Paralympics
…and other standout experiences!
* Catching Sleep No More in its final year at the McKittrick Hotel
* Viewing the solar eclipse from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
* Interviewing with the Stage Whisper podcast
* Attending the one-of-a-kind annual Lord Mayor’s Show while in London
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