I have always loved creating worlds. I enjoy coming up with ways to visually bring something to life so that other people can experience it and take it further. As a result, I love helping design, construct, and execute the world (the set) that will transport the actors and the audience to another time and place, taking everyone involved on a journey.
I developed this love affair in my freshman year of high school. Throughout my four years, I, along with five of my close friends, built and struck the set of every play and musical that my school put on. Yes, it was gratifying to see my work on stage and yes, the six of us that worked in the shop became incredibly close – helping each other with everything, academic and personal – but it was more than that. What was truly magical was the bond I forged with the set. From the moment my first screw disappeared into the wood, I was all in. The more work I did on a show, the more I became invested in the project and this feeling, the feeling that I was part of it, that my soul was in the wood, the paint, and everything in between, was like a drug. That being said, strike was always a time filled with sadness and mild trepidation, but honestly, that feeling never lasted too long. I was quickly overcome by the cathartic experience of taking apart what had caused me endless frustration and bruising.
I know realize that this love has followed me to college. Everything I felt when building the sets in high school is exactly what I felt working in the shop with Sonya and many other Vanya-ites and I could not be more excited to rekindle this passion.