About

I am a writer, director, and theatre educator.  I've taught classes and workshops, to children and adults, from actors to "non-actors." I've been most influenced by the epic theatre of Bertolt Brecht, the Poor Theatre of Jerzy Grotowski, the Forum Theatre of Augusto Boal, and the intersection of the personal and political in the art of witnessing, as described by Carolyn Forche. 

As an educator as well as a practitioner, I am dedicated to the unity of theory and practice in the theatre.  My research into theatre history, theory and literature informs my work as a director and dramaturg, just as my practice enriches the classroom.  The central theme of my research and production work has been the examination of people-often artists-during social and political upheaval.  My directing projects have approached topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the 1944 prisoner revolt in Auschwitz, South African Apartheid, and the founding of Australia as a prison colony.

The research in my dissertation assessed the significance of theatrical performances in Nazi concentration camps during WWII.  It examined the empowerment performances granted prisoners symbolically and practically, allowing inmates to criticize the Nazi regime, gather information about the war, or barter for better rations and work assignments. Because the focus of this study was the impact of performances upon prisoners, Holocaust survivor testimony featured prominently.  This research was possible through access to, and a grant from, The University of Southern California's Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, founded by Steven Spielberg.    

When I'm not engaged with theatre, I'm reading, hiking, geocaching, or wrangling my two sons.