October is for Incubating!

As things get chillier (and much WETTER) around the Puget Sound, it’s a great time to turn indoors and inwards as we gestate and incubate new ideas, new projects and new great works! Exactly what our Incubator/Mentor program is working on. These seeds will germinate and be born in the spring, culminating in our One-Act Festival of new work written and directed by this season’s cohort of writers and directors in the spring. Read on for all things brewing with our current cohort, previous cohort and associate artists now - Artistry (note the capital “A”) abounds this fall!!!

From the Artistic Director…

The 2023-2024 Incubator/Mentor Cohort has been meeting since July and is beginning to build important relationships for their future careers. September and October are centered around skills workshops that try to answer the hard questions: “What does it mean to be an anti-racist professional in theater?”; “How do I collaborate with a group of designers?”; and “How do we navigate the playwright/director relationship?”.

We’ve been privileged to have local theatre artists coming into the studio with us, including Kathy Hsieh, one of the founders of SIS Productions and of Theatre Puget Sound and the Racial Equity in Grantmaking Strategist for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. Kathy also appeared on the stage with The Shattered Glass Project in Want by Barbara Lindsay in August 2022. It was wonderful getting to talk with her for 3 hours about what we can do as theatre artists to make other people feel seen and heard in a way that builds respectful human relationships.

The cohort has also walked through a foundations of playwriting workshop with playwright mentor Rachel Atkins; engaged in discussion with a panel of local costume, lighting, properties and scenic designers; and gotten on their feet with director mentor Annie Lareau to explore the principles of directing a new script. Next up I’m really looking forward to a conversation with a panel of playwrights and directors, including TSGP directing alum Maureen Hawkins; Sound Theatre co-artistic director Shermona Mitchell; directors Desdemona Chiang and John Langs (ACT artistic director); and playwrights Claire Zaslov and Yussef El Guindi.

Our cohort is really involved in the local theatre community; not just as directors and playwrights but as box office patron support staff, actors, development professionals, and all kinds of other roles. Please go see their work. TSGP’s next performances will be in December, but you can support live theatre in many ways. And if you are interested in helping amplify the voices of women, non-binary and trans theatre artists, share this email with family and friends and invite them to join our mailing list.

(Check out the new Theatre Puget Sound membership for Patrons and take advantage of industry discounts on theatre tickets for TPS members.)

1.) What have you enjoyed the most (so far) in your I-M journey?

What I’ve enjoyed the most is the program’s comprehensive approach. It covers a wide range of topics and features various facilitators. As a director, I particularly appreciated the opportunity to delve into playwriting, which unexpectedly sparked a new passion in me. Additionally, I find great enjoyment in the readings and being a student.

2.) What things (so far) do you see yourself carrying away from the program?

I see myself carrying away different relationships with other theatre makers in Seattle.

3.) What would you like to do when you’re done?

I would love to document my learnings and my experiences with the program so I can always look back to it.

1.) What have you enjoyed the most (so far) in your I-M journey?

We've just got started with the program in earnest. September is when we put it in high gear and start moving past getting to know each other and start in with guests and also deadlines for writing. What I have enjoyed thus far is getting to know my fellow cohort members and also our three wonderful leads. The program is very well organized so I feel very secure moving forward. I am very excited for what's to come.

2.) What things (so far) do you see yourself carrying away from the program?

At this point, I am a storyteller who can convey this through writing. I have a few festivals where my plays have been presented under my belt at this point. I however, do not have the knowledge, expertise or experience to execute collaborations with set designers, lighting, nor how to engage producers for my plays. As well, though I have been able to work with a couple of wonderful directors, I am still a neophyte when it comes to utilizing the full breath of these interactions. I look forward to learning about all of these and more.

3.) What would you like to do when you’re done?

When I am done with the program, I would like to be able to find the right home for all four of my plays. I look forward to the collaboration aspects associated with this as well.

1.) What are you teaching at SGP?

I was asked to lead a workshop on "What does it mean to be a culturally competent, anti-racist professional in the theatre?

2.) Why is this topic important for you to share?

The evolution of my life and work has been about how to create more human centered spaces that support the well-being of everyone involved having a greater possibility of being able to engage to their fullest potential. For me, the foundation of being anti-racist is about being more human-centered.

3.) A little bit about your background (especially as it relates to what you’re teaching)

As a woman of color, born in America to immigrant parents, I don't think it's possible (yet) to not experience racism. We always have choices when experiencing inequity in life - either hide and avoid it, confront and fight it, or learn to understand why it happens and how to address it. I have chosen the third option as much as possible. In my career as a theatre artist and as a government grant maker, I have specifically taken on roles and work to observe and be in community with people so that I can continuously learn how to do better and then strive to inspire others to do the same while finding ways to actually change what hasn't worked so that we can all do better together.

4.) Have you worked for SGP in another capacity, and if so what was your favorite thing about that?

I had the opportunity to be in the original Zoom reading and then later perform as Ruby in the world premiere of Want by Barbara Lindsay and directed by Maureen Hawkins. My favorite part of doing that production was the chance to do a play by Babs because I have always admired her work as a playwright and to work with Maureen who is a true actor's director. I felt so blessed that they both trusted me to take on such a tough role, especially one that is so diametrically opposite from who I am in real life and so different from the types of roles I usually get cast in. It was a huge leap of faith, especially for me, to get the chance to sink my teeth into such a gritty role.