I was born in a little town outside of Detroit, Michigan and moved to Traverse City, Michigan the summer before my eighth grade year. In Traverse City I fell in love with theatre through the Old Town Playhouse, Traverse City West Senior High School and the City Opera House. Next year I’ll be moving to Chicago to continue my acting career, but this year I’m spending my time living in Grand Rapids and attending school at Grand Valley State University studying Journalism and The

Warning - This blog contains spoilers for Pigeon Creek’s production of “King Lear.” Over the last month or so, I’ve had multiple conversations that have gone more or less like this: Them: So what play are you working on right now? Me: King Lear Them: Ooh a tragedy! What character are you playing? Me: The Duke of Cornwall Them: *blank stare* Me: How familiar are you with the play? Them: Uh, a little bit, I guess. Me: Well, there’s a character that has his eyes gouged out on st

When I started preparing for this role, the most important factor I considered was summed up by a quote from George R.R. Martin: “Nobody is a villain in their own story. We're all the heroes of our own story.” It was important to me that Regan believes she’s doing what’s right. She’s not plotting her course to power in a dungeon lair while cackling and torturing kittens. She certainly does horrible things and makes terrible choices, but playing her as someone who was evil fro

Where are you from? How did you get involved with Pigeon Creek? I am from Holland, Michigan (though between college and now, have lived in Colorado, Utah and Germany!). I ended up auditioning for Pigeon Creek because I had a really strong urge to get back in to acting, after being away from theatre for seven years. Where did you study acting? I do not have a degree in theatre, nor have I ever studied acting. Ask me later, and my answer might change! I do hold a B.A. in Religi

The word “nothing” appears in King Lear 34 times and is said by nearly every major character in the play except Goneril, Regan and Cornwall. It is also one of the most important themes of the play. The first time we hear it is in Act I, Scene I. Lear asks his youngest daughter, Cordelia, what she can say to win land more valuable than that which her sisters received. Cordelia’s response of “nothing” sets the wheels in motion for Lear’s ultimate demise, and it is spit back at

LISTS OF GRIEVANCES AGAINST MY BROTHER EDGAR Idiot Un-ironic hackey sack ownership Constantly doing stupid voices, thinks he’s SOOOO funny Seriously will take any opportunity to remove his shirt on the slightest provocation Unnecessarily tall Thinks it’s cute to mess with my hair Handwriting is surprisingly difficult to mimic What does he DO all day? Literally nothing Thinks everyone likes him (they do, but still…) I’m not making this up he actually just took his shirt off wh

I grew up in the Detroit area and, as such, started going up to Stratford, Ont. in the late 50’s until 1968 before moving out of Michigan. It was a continually staggering theatrical experience at Stratford and, I, of course, had an opportunity to attend many of Shakespeare’s works staged dazzlingly in the wonderful Festival Theatre. This continued at university and subsequently at the Goodman School of Drama. I got to study and act in a number of the bard’s works and loved e

The question of music in modern Shakespeare performances turns out to be a pretty contentious one. Strong opinions are often expressed about the kind of music one “should” hear associated with the Bard’s works. The proponents of using modern topical pop music argue that it is more accessible to a modern audience whose musical sensibilities are already attuned to it. They regard with a certain degree of impatience those who insist that Shakespeare’s plays should be performe