Okay, I’m a few weeks late with this note, but that’s okay. Flexibility is vital, and grace is imperative. I hope you're able to adapt when needed. These are tricky times.
Act One, is it that social?
I am immensely grateful to all of you who came to see the readings of Intimate Surveillance at Northern Stage and Dartmouth College last month. Theatre is a conversation—from the moment of inspiration, when a playwright is communicating with only themselves, to the moment strangers chat about a play they’ve just seen while waiting in line for the restroom before their drive home. And then just think of all the conversations that happen in between, sparked by the act of making theatre.
From a single idea in my mind, Intimate Surveillance has now engaged hundreds of people, and the process of it becoming a fully produced play is only just beginning. I love that my art brings people together—physically, emotionally, intellectually, and perhaps even ideologically, though that’s never my intention.
This reflection on the magic of theatre leads me to say: as part of this project, I’m creating new ways to engage with its ideas and themes. Through workbooks, workshops, and interactive sessions, we will use the play as a springboard to examine how technology shapes our lives.
And you, my dear newsletter reader, get a sneak peek at the first of these engagements: a social media audit workbook that you can download for free! In 2015, I left Facebook. In 2020, I left Instagram. On the whole, I don’t use social media in either my personal or professional life. Now, I’m not saying you’ll come to the same conclusion, but this ten-step guide is filled with prompts to help you reflect on how you want to integrate this form of technology into your life in a way that aligns with your values.
Act Two, is it that powerful?
The students of Coe-Brown Northwood Academy’s Theatre Company are working feverishly to stage Let The Youth Be Heard, a co-written play based on the 21 youth plaintiffs who have spent the last decade suing the U.S. government over inaction on climate change. This after-school residency, funded by the NH State Council on the Arts’ Artist in Residence Grant, has been deeply nourishing for everyone involved.
I recently shared this anecdote with the Arts Council staff to express my gratitude for their work in making vital arts experiences accessible to all Granite Staters:
"Since December, this residency has been nothing but a creative delight. This is my first in-school residency since 2019, and I feel like I have returned to myself by coming back to this kind of work.
Several weeks ago, a teen was having a tough day—they arrived at rehearsal feeling a little shaky but sat in on our discussion about hopes for a more just climate future. We talked about our love for the ocean and the mountaintops. As they worked on their scene—using real accounts from the 21 youth plaintiffs—I watched their face light up with laughter, their body relax. Later, they expressed pride in the collaborative writing they had done.
In short, they found their way back to themselves through theatre. And it wasn’t just them—each of us could tell a similar story about these two hours we spend together, connecting to ourselves and each other through creativity."
You can see this play on March 29th at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, which will be hosting this region’s NHETG One-Act Festival.
And if you’d like to bring me to your school or community, the deadline for proposals for both the Artist in Residence and Youth Arts Project grants is in April. We have plenty of time to develop a compelling project together! These grants offer an opportunity to explore your community’s most pressing topics through co-created theatre that examines an issue from multiple perspectives.
Interested? Let’s talk!
Act Three, is it that long-lasting?
As part of my work with UNH’s Powerplay Interactive Development— which uses professional actors and Applied Theatre techniques to address personal, professional, and institutional development—I recently attended another meeting of the Piscataqua Region Estuary Partnership.
This cross-sector, collaborative-driven local organization and National Estuary Program works with towns, researchers, and local organizations to offer scientifically informed solutions to improve the health of our waters.
I attended the meeting listening for the human emotions behind the work of grant funding, process facilitation, collaborative workshop development, and habitat restoration. Ultimately, this research will become a play and an applied theatre process, connecting individuals through a region-wide collaboration that tackles major clean water challenges. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation.
I am delighted to continue to write plays and films on how we partner with each other and the waterways in this region. It all began with the creative commission I was given by the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, in partnership with local Indigenous leaders, to create a short film about the removal of the Mill Pond Dam in Durham, ahead of a town vote in March 2022.
The resulting film, Swimming Upstream, is still making its way into the world and will be screened at the Green Acre Bahá'í Center in Eliot, Maine, on Saturday, March 22nd, at 6:30 PM. I’ll be there with some of my collaborators to talk about the project and the lasting impact of arts-integrated community experiences on public policy.
I’d love to see you there—come say hello if you make it!
