Artistic Director | Theater Artist | Educator
Over the course of my career, I've come to view my work through the lens of Applied Theatre. As an actor and director, I strive to break down barriers—between actor and character, audience and performance, venue and community—to create theatre that is both exciting and in dialogue with its community. Whether at a major Shakespeare festival before thousands, or in an intimate nontraditional space with a new play, I believe theatre has the power to transform. I know this because I experienced it myself.
I grew up in eastern Connecticut surrounded by poverty and addiction, and was eventually taken into the foster care system. Theatre showed me worlds beyond the one I had known. That discovery is why my work has always been committed to equity, access, and opportunity—the conditions that allow theatre to achieve true artistic excellence.
As an artistic director, professor, and educational leader, I’ve built programs and companies that reflect those values—from revitalizing a college theatre program nearly shuttered in the wake of the pandemic, to founding New England Studio Theatre to explore sustainable models for producing exceptional work. My through-line is simple: to build communities where artists and audiences feel at home, and where theatre continues to play a vital civic role.
