very MIDSUMMER madness

Dear friends,

Well, a lot can happen in three months. Here I am, six days away from the end of my time here in San Diego — a sweaty, invigorating summer of new friends and new challenges drawing to a close — and I have a few important announcements to make...

First... I co-founded a theater company.

It was only ever a matter of time, really. I've been dreaming of bringing the people and the stories I love together in some meaningful way for a long time, and it seems the moment has come. Now, with my beloved co-founders and collaborators Rachel Carpman and Josephine Stewart, I give you TILTYARD! This is truly a big and wild new adventure, and I look forward to all that it might bring.

And ONE thing it's bringing is happening SOON, so mark your calendars! Our first production, MIDSUMMER, goes up this October in New York City and tickets are on sale now! MIDSUMMER, which had its premiere production last summer at the Yale Summer Cabaret, is a radical de-/re-construction of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, created by myself and Rachel Carpman. This is NOT the Midsummer you think you know. Come join us in the forest and find out exactly what we've done with the play — and with the whole of Shakespeare's canon while we're at it. (I was also really lucky this summer to get to do a workshop of the piece with some wonderful actors from the Old Globe's MFA program. The play is still a living thing, and it was lovely to make changes and discoveries with them.)

Meanwhile, the Love's Labor's Lost that I've been assistant directing for the absolutely lovely Kathleen Marshall has just gone into previews at the Old Globe. It's seriously funny and features some truly stunning design. If you're in/around San Diego, come check it out!

That's me for the moment.

Three months. Goodness. Time is a wily beast.

--s