“Why do you only have a backdrop of Broadway flats and black boxes for your shows?”

This is a common question I get from some of my students.

“Why can’t we wear costumes?”

This one too.

“We had this one set in the past that was amazing. It even had a zip line.”

This is a frequent comment.

If I can paraphrase a colleague of mine, who, by the way, happens to be a world class musician, many people want spectacle – shiny things to look at. I might say this: many people want to look at a Ferrari even if it has a cardboard engine under the hood.

Spectacle is fine. There’s a place for it. Superficial, light-hearted, simple entertainment is fine. There’s a place for it.

But its not what I want for my shows.

One of the best compliments I ever had was by a former colleague who told me that what I want to do it real drama – real theatre – not spectacle.

Thank you. He got it.

And I know what I do will never satisfy everyone, and that’s fine. As an author, I’ve learned to shake-off poor reviews. My goal is to produce well-told stories which have substance, and so I love to produce minimalistic, black-box, ensemble productions. Where the words, the movement, and the lights tell the story. We use ensemble black shirts – everyone dressed the same – and we use black drama cubes for everything, and I mean everything.

We put themed, short plays together in a fast-paced manner that makes the audience feel like they are on an emotional roller coaster.

It’s the type of  show which forces the actors to grow in their craft – to play more than one type of character in one night.

If you can’t tell already, I’m passionate about it cause I’ve seen what it can do for the actors and the audience.

You don’t need big shiny things to drama people in. (or at least not everyone) Humans love well-told stories even if the set lacks a zip line.

I’m going to keep telling those stories. I hope you enjoy.