What is your current job?
Producing Artistic Director, Chester Theatre Company
Associate Professor of Directing and Acting, Smith College
Why did you choose this profession?
I love the way that directing and reaching allow me to bring together analytical and empathetic engagement--with scripts, with my artistic collaborators, and with my students. Many years ago, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore had a student run summer theatre, and that gave me my first experience of working in theatre.
What more do you wish to accomplish in your professional career?
I've just recently become Producing Artistic Director of Chester Theatre Company. I'm looking forward to expanding and deepening the work of that theatre (a professional summer company in the foothills of the Berkshires), and developing my skills as an artistic leader.
Tell us about a decision or change you made that turned out to be a positive career move.
In 1998, I left both academia and theatre for an extended period, having lost my excitement about the work. Stepping away was absolutely the right choice for me at the time. I ended up returning gradually, starting about five years later, and built up both my directing and teaching career again. Because I was ready to dive back in, I got further than I had the first time round, and feel far more engaged with and by the work I do than I did before.
How has Haverford influenced your professional career?
Haverford provided both the intellectual and ethical base for all of my future study and work.