SCUM (xixi and ShapeShifter Lab, 2018)
SCUM is a burlesque revue and experimental theatre piece written and directed by Nathalie Ellis-Einhorn. The piece centers around two women: Carolyn Sapp, who won Miss America in 1992, and radical feminist Valerie Solanas, who shot Andy Warhol in 1968. SCUM is one of my favorite theatre pieces because it asks difficult questions about womanhood and violence in absurd and comedic ways. As a designer, I built a giant Campbell’s soup can costume and nearly three hundred Campbell’s soup for a can-can number inspired by Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s soup can prints. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to create excessive nonsense!
PETER PAN (Princeton University, 2016)
In an effort to expand children’s programming during Princeton University’s annual Reunions, I spearheaded a new children’s theater initiative with Princeton University Players. In 2016, I directed the premier production, a musical interactive workshop of Peter Pan for young children. Performed in an outdoor courtyard with an all-women cast, this production gave me the opportunity to bring one of my favorite childhood stories to life with clown, confetti, and tap-dancing!
DISCO PIGS (Princeton University, 2016)
I directed Enda Walsh’s Disco Pigs for my senior thesis in Theatre at Princeton. Disco Pigs is a rich two-person play with no stage directions, written entirely in a phonetic, fictional Irish slang. The bizarre and explosive piece follows two best friends and juvenile delinquents on their shared seventeenth birthday. Throughout my work is the desire to ask difficult questions and elevate serious issues without sacrificing whimsy, joy, and color. Disco Pigs allowed me to portray a violent and tumultuous relationship using clown, shadow puppets, and dancing stuffed animals. The two actors (Nathalie Ellis-Einhorn and Ross Baron) were trapped in a plush playroom that reflected the magic and childishness at the core of their friendship.
THE MAGIC RAINFOREST (Princeton University, 2014)
Directed by Maeli Goren and written by Jose Cruz Gonzales, The Magic Rainforest was an interactive play performed for young audiences. A child journeys through a world of puppets, music, and magical recyclables to save his village from fire and greed. I was a member of the small cast, and I quickly learned that I adored performing for children! No other audience is as willing to explore, create, and play along.