Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Education: Yale University
Favorite Credits: The Private Sector with Less Than Rent, Animals in Ars Nova's ANT Fest, Ugly People and Lulz at Yale.
Why theater?: Because I like telling stories in public and theater is the most direct and uncomplicated way to do so
Tell us about Brenda: BRENDA is a play about a young man who's run away from his chaotic Kentucky family to create a new, lonely life in Denver. He misses his mother's funeral and the beginning of the play, an event the triggers a series of bizarre supernatural transformations in his life. Soon he and two friends are launched into an increasingly surreal cross-country road trip.It is, I hope, a taut, funny, occasionally lyrical, always-surprising 90-minute play.
What inspired you to create Brenda?: It's an idea that I've been developing for around a year with my director, Ashley Rodbro. We started with only a general interest in the concept of Identity and some bits of stray paperwork from an actual physical-therapy-school exam. We've come a long way.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Stuff that's gripping, unpredictable, and restrained. I've been on a big Caryl Churchill kick for about three years now.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Can I say R. Kelly?
What show have you recommended to your friends?: "Chopped" on the Food Network. Also anything the Wooster Group does.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Tom Cruise; "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol."
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Televised basketball -- go Knicks!
If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Making more money than I am now!!
What’s up next?: I'm diving back into one of my first plays, The Private Sector at the Icicle Creek Theater Festival in Leavenworth, WA, and at ACT Theater, Seattle.
For more on Brenda, visit http://www.brendatheplay.com/
