As an arts teacher, I am committed to progressing theatre by facilitating opportunities for historically excluded voices such as women, people of color, and artists who are differently abled. I vow to select stories that beg to be told; stories about racial inequity, LGBTQIA romance, and institutionalized sexism. I will continue to tailor new scripts to specific communities through devised theatre and give old plays new life through gender and color-conscious casting.

Diversity is intrinsic to my teaching and directing. Theatre, for me, has always been about many perspectives coming together as a unified voice. The more facets a project has, the more complex and affecting it will be. Here are a few ways I guarantee diversity in my work:

1.     I look for opportunities to challenge the expected in play selection and casting. I push boundaries for audiences by selecting stories that may be unknown to them, or by giving familiar stories a modern switch up. I cast actors contrary to expectation and often completely throw out traditional casting requirements. A good example of this when I directed Bright Star by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin in 2019. The Broadway version was criticized for an all-white cast. I chose a cast that represented the diverse community of Raleigh, North Carolina. The two leads were African American actors and the choice was embraced proudly by the community.