The hardest text I’ve ever directed… (Hollywood Fringe 2023)

I don’t yet have the words for this one, but that’s okay because the play was wordy enough!

This was the most challenging piece of text I’ve directed. It’s a long-form essay without a point; which makes sense given that it’s post-dramatic theatre. I first encountered the piece while studying theatre abroad in Berlin. I was obsessed with the radical portrayal of the First Lady, and loved that it came from the unexpected source of an Austrian playwright whose only relation to the character was through glimpses on the TV on another side of the world.

What I came to know about this piece is that it’s about one of the most public figures ever written by an agoraphobe who doesn’t leave the house. The result is a meditation and an excavation on “public” and “private” selves, of one exists at all.

The text is sparse in terms of stage directions and setting, and the dramatic event of the play is very much authored by the director. We set the play in a version of Jackie’s closet, with her changing clothes constantly as she tries on different attitudes towards selfhood and existence cycling through some of her most famous looks.

This was a rewarding experience to have so much control, but it was hard. I really pushed against my logical self and all my American theatre training to find “action” in all moments. Of course, we found our own idea of action, but when the point is to go beyond “drama,” beyond plot, figuring out what to do next becomes tough.

It was also my first time participating in any Fringe festival. That in itself had a learning curve I wasn’t expecting. The amount of shows competing for attention is overwhelming. Of course, it creates community and audience, but also becomes a deluge of comparison. I wasn’t always the most confident in the show, for aforementioned reasons, and found it tough to connect to everybody. But I did find a network of really generous and smart artists, and I was so glad to see their work and share mine with them.

The creative team I’m building out here in LA also got more practice putting on cabarets, as we held a fundraiser for the show called A Springtime Affair. So many talented singers and event planners took part in creating a beautiful experience. I’m finding it’s more than a way to raise money, but also build community around the show.

All in all, a challenging but worthy venture! I’m proud.

And all love to Everleigh - she is a rockstar!!!