Producing Possibilities
A teenager is battling crippling depression and anxiety. In a desperate flash of self-activation, they register for a Penguin production – but then try and back out as the first rehearsal looms. Working with both the teen and the parent, we convince them to give it a try. After the 6 weeks, this teen is the first to sign up for the next project, is organizing social events with other teens in the cast, is radiant, expressive, joyful.
An artist wants to tackle climate change, but it all feels so overwhelming and bleak. A playwright wants to write a play, but is overwhelmed by their own possibility. When invited to create a piece for Finding Trails, they find release in the specificity of the challenge – and reconnect with their own joy in the outdoors. Sharing this joy with others, they come away from the festival reinvigorated in their own artistry and the fight for environmental justice.
A young actor feels continually overlooked and marginalized in their school's casting choices. They are invited to describe a role that would really allow them to grow and shine – and a theme they feel is underrepresented in the theater. A professional playwright then writes their play, a professional director directs them in their role alongside their peers who are experiencing the same sense that the universe is expanding in this process of co-creation. The process reforms their understanding of what theater can be – and their own agency within the art form.
Making theater is not just about the stories we tell onstage. The stories along the journey are often even more transformational and artistically rich. The stories we tell can shift the ways in which we think about time, about purpose, about identity, history, and possibility. Stories convey the vital information we need to make informed decisions about our lives. What stories do we need now?
When we are passionate about producing possibilities, not just programming, we are more clearly about to see oppressive structures for what they are. That means we listen to our youth, our families, our teaching artists and playwrights, our directors and fellow art-instigators. We ask what kind of a future they envision – and what kinds of stories will help us get there.
I have never lived in a truly healthy, equitable, thriving society. But thanks to my fellow artists, students and teachers, leaders and teammates, I have touched moments of what it might look and feel like. Season by season, play by play, act by act – we build these foundational moments for ourselves and others.