DirectorSpeak is a website
that holds the interviews I’ve done with some of New York City’s best Indie directors. These are long, wine-fueled interviews where we discuss training, philosophy, working in NYC, and what they look for in collaborators. Here are some of the interviewees. Click on a name to be taken to the full interview.
Daniel Talbott
Rising Phoenix Rep
Daniel Talbott: “I think theater is a conquering of fear. Well, you can never CONQUER fear, but it’s almost like holding hands with fear and walking forward. That’s what it’s like for me, in an active way. And walking forward is action. And if you walk forward with fear, then fear can become an ally in a strange way.”
Ludovica Villar-Hauser
Ludovica Villar-Hauser: “I love the fact that I always find that working in New York, you’re competing against yourself. You want to do better. And I like that. Maybe it’s the same everywhere, maybe it’s just part of life’s journey, but I find it very specific in New York.”
Heather Cohn
Flux Theatre Ensemble
Heather Cohn: “I feel like we have such an opportunity in theatre to be more magical. You have to create it in a theatrical way – using the imagination of the audience. And audiences can imagine a LOT, and will go with you if they have the freedom to imagine. I have so much fun discovering those magical moments.”
Mark Finley
TOSOS
Mark Finley: On the joys of directing in NYC: “If you have a “hit” -you know that you really communicated it, and you can feel that it connected- knowing that you did that HERE, in a theatre town, is really rewarding. To hear about your work from other people, people who “get” theatre. That’s special.”
Samuel Buggeln
Samuel Buggeln: “One of the great things about directing is virtually everything you do can feed the job. You get fed by everything and you belch it back out into a play. So, to keep with the metaphor – keep eating! Be voracious, be hungry, be non-choosey – just eat and eat and eat all the culture and imagery and language and art that you can. Because it’s all grist for the mill.”
Glory Kadigan
Glory Kadigan: “I’m usually very connected to whatever the piece is, whatever the energy of the piece is. So if the energy is fun, comedy, sexy, light – then that’s going to create an incredibly different process for me than something which is dark, restrictive, a different kind of energy.”
Akia
Rising Sun Performance
Akia: “I think being a director means being a strong leader, and I think being a collaborator is also a huge part of it. I think that ideally a director needs to be someone that can put the puzzle together in many different layers – not only to have a strong artistic sense onstage, but having a really good idea and perspective about what everyone’s bringing to the table.”
Tim Errickson
Boomerang Theatre Company
