Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN
Education: B.F.A. Candidate at The New School for Drama, concentrations in Playwriting and Directing
Favorite Credits: As a Playwright: O’ Save Us, St. Sophia at ACCESS Theatre, The Ghosts in My Mirror at Left Coast Theatre. As an Actor: Claudius in Hamlet, Mr. Zyclo in Anon(ymous), Van in Dog Sees God.
Why theater?: There’s something that my first playwriting teacher I ever had told me, “If it can be made into a movie – make it a movie.” And that’s always really stuck with me. I love theatre for everything that makes it theatre – it’s not trying to get away with anything, it sort of lets the audience in on the joke. Anything that is in the theatre is (or at least should be) made specifically for a live audience, implicating them in the action, creating a conversation. I love the idea of the live audience as another character in the play, and I believe that nothing is more visceral than that.
Tell us about O’ Save Us, St. Sophia: It’s a story about trying to simultaneously learn from, and move on in the wake of someone else - someone else referring not only to another physical human being, but also a past version of yourself.
What inspired you to write O’ Save Us, St. Sophia?: I think that friendships are the hardest types of relationships to traverse. Friendship is a dangerous playground. It’s the only type of relationship where both people in it sort of aren’t getting anything from the other person other than genuinely liking the other person. I believe that all people – including myself – have had self-destructive relationships, and in my experience, sitting on the sinking ship often feels like the easier, if more violent, option.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Referencing an earlier answer – I love anything that is necessary to be a theatrical experience, anything that I could not have seen anywhere else and embraces the space and artistry of theatricality. Brecht and Williams are two of my biggest inspirations, and most recently I have fallen head-over-heels for Anne Washburn’s work.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Okay, but Anne Washburn. If you read this. Please.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: GO SEE FUN HOME. Also, Then She Fell is literally magic. Also also, it's already closed - but SeaWife was the latest Naked Angels show, and it was AMAZING. Look up the soundtrack by The Lobbyists on Spotify.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I mean, Zak Kelley is already playing myself in this play – so can I say my lead actor? Is that allowed? Because he is amazing. I think it might be called “Mikey, Stop Being an Asshole”.
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Elaine Stritch took over for Uta Hagen in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf… and I know I should probably say Uta Hagen… but c’mon.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I have seen the entire series of “The O.C.” … and it is maybe the greatest experience of my entire life, bar none. #FREEMARISSA
If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Does being a literary agent count? That’s a really boring answer coming from a writer.
What’s up next?: Currently working on an immersive horror piece that's exploring the idea of modern folklore, so that’ll be fun. More coming seen!
For more on O' Save Us, St. Sophia, visit www.osaveusstsophia.com