What was your approach when you were tasked with Trojan Barbie?
“One of the nice things is that I actually chose Trojan Barbie rather than have it assigned to me. I knew I wanted to direct a Greek piece. And I was thinking about another piece actually, but it didn’t end up working out for a number of reasons. Dr. Susanne Shawyer and I then started reading a lot of Greek plays — and I really am committed to finding adaptations by underrepresented playwrights, so we were reading a lot of female playwright adaptations of Greek plays. Fortuitously, in the midst of that, someone mentioned Trojan Barbie, and immediately I thought, ‘That sounds fantastic!’ So I went online and was able to get the first twenty pages of the script through Samuel French. I ordered it and started reading the play. By the time I got to page ten, I told Dr. Shawyer, ‘We’re doing Trojan Barbie.’”
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I believe the Greeks are a really wonderful conduit to connect us to that deep experience of life because they’re experiencing everything at such a heightened state. But then the gift of the Greeks is that we also have this beautiful language to go along with it." This play is not a play about living in fear; it's about hope. That was always the intention from the beginning. You could watch this show ten different times in ten different seats and uncover different aspects each time. There are so many hidden treasures, and I loved seeing the process develop. It has been a truly unforgettable experience." |
Any last words you’d like to share about Trojan Barbie and this production?
“I think what I’m most encouraged by about Trojan Barbie is the collaboration that happens in the room — having a team of dramaturgs, having really gifted assistant directors, having a fantastic stage management team, and having a choreographer like Rachel Linsky. So much of what I thought I wanted to do with this has been exceeded in this process. It’s really wonderful just to get together with a group of theatre artists and be wildly creative with something, and I hope that people will respond to it the way I’m responding to it.”