Ragtime the Musical - Florida Children's Theatre - March 2018
Philosophy:
Cesar Cruz says art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. This has always struck me as deeply true and fundamental to what I hope my work as a theatre maker does.
I'm preoccupied with inheritance and legacy. What do we get from those who came before us? What do we leave behind?
The plays asks an audience to work together towards examining this: where we've been and where our current actions will lead us in the future. I want the audience to build together. To watch and to listen. The play, is a gesture towards building community. Building a new kind of legacy.
Equal opportunity. No one is safe. We all need a mirror to fix our hair. I'm also obsessed with the American experiment. How we can use art to expose how imperfect this place is, in an effort to make it more perfect. "A more perfect union." One play at a time...amiright!
Finally, if it's not entertaining why the hell are we doing it. Make'm Laugh. Make'm Cry. Make'm call their Senator. But by any means necessary. Make'm do something. Can't change anybody's mind if they're asleep.
Annie the Musical - Florida Children's Theatre - Dec. 2017