Jacqueline E. Lawton
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact

XX PlayLab Festival - Director Interview: Megan Sandberg-Zakian

3/19/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
JACQUELINE LAWTON: What was the first play that you ever directed? What did you learn from that experience that remains with you today? 
MEGAN SANDBERG-ZAKIAN: 
The first plays I ever directed were epic holiday pageants in the living room. I learned that when your little cousin gets stage fright and you have to call in your dad as an understudy, you may be surprised at how much more effective the replacement casting is. It turns out that dad wearing a scarf over his head and talking in a high voice is always a hit. Seriously, though - as the great Erik Ehn says, theater is hospitality. I always try to carry something of that living room feeling with me.

JL: Why did you decide to get into theatre? Was there someone or a particular show that inspired you?
MSZ:
 In fourth grade I was home sick from school and started to watch a movie called “The Dollmaker.” In the first ten minutes, a little deaf girl is playing on the train tracks, is hit by a train, and dies. I cried my eyes out. And I thought, “I want to make people feel as much as I feel right now.” It sounds terrible, but I think that was the initial impulse. Hopefully now it’s moved beyond wanting to make people cry! To this day I haven’t seen the rest of that movie.

JL: What kind of work do you do to pay the bills? How do you balance this work with your work as a director?
MSZ:
 I’ve been extremely fortunate have a series of producorial jobs at arts organizations I love, from The 52nd Street Project youth theater in NYC, to the Black Rep in Providence, RI, and now Underground Railway Theater in Cambridge, MA. I’m just as passionate about nurturing institutions as I am about nurturing plays, so it has worked out really well so far.

JL: Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts about working in Boston. Finish this sentence ...
  • Boston audiences are curious, passionate, and really smart.
  • Boston actors, designers and directors are the reason I want to make this my artistic home.
  • Boston playwrights are ambitious, generous, and visible! I see playwrights everywhere here and I love it.
  • Boston critics are... inconsistent, but always evolving.

JL: How do you feel the Boston theatre community has addressed the issues of race and gender parity? How has this particular issue impacted you and your ability to get your work produced on the main stages?
MSZ:
 I’ve only lived here for about a year, but I’ve been heartened by the dialogue that’s been taking place in our community during that time. In particular, there is a strong group of young female directors that works frequently on the large and mid-size stages in the greater Boston area, which I find very encouraging. Non-white directors and, in particular, designers, are less well represented - but there has been some good movement around shifting these paradigms.

JL: Tell us about the play you’re working on and what excites you about it.
MSZ:
 Rehearsing Natalia’s play, Old Ship of Zion, is like sitting around on a Sunday afternoon with your seven most fun friends, alternating between hilarious jokes and heartbreaking personal stories, breaking out into beautiful song every so often... I hope watching the play feels that way too. It’s a unique combination of accessible and poetic.

JL: Why should audiences attend the XX Playlab Festival?
MSZ:
 Natalia is definitely the next big thing. You’ll want to say “I saw her there first!” Plus, it’s free.

JL: What advice do you have for up-and-coming directors?
MSZ:
Almost all the mid-career and established directors in the field I've met are open, generous, and responsive. People are busy, so sometimes you have to be persistent, but contact directors whose work you admire, tell them why, and begin to build collegial relationships. Sometimes those turn into mentorships or assistantships, but even just having a collegial conversation with a more established colleague can be transformative. 
 
JL: What's next for you as a director? Where can we keep up with your work?
MSZ:
 I’m one of the co-founders of a group called The Cabaret Series which is producing an evening of all-new music called “Homebrew” at Central Square Theater on March 11th; more info on that and other upcoming projects at www.cabaretseries.com. And I’m at megansz.com.  

Picture
The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is a nonprofit performing and visual arts complex located in Boston’s South End, the largest historic district in the United States. As a creative home for artists and an arts destination for audiences, the BCA builds a connection between the arts and the city’s diverse community.
Picture
Company One is a resident company at the Boston Center for the Arts. 

Our mission is to change the face of Boston theatre by uniting the city’s diverse communities through innovative, socially provocative performance and the development of civically engaged artists.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    My Blog

    Picture
    I'm a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. It is here where you'll find my queries and musings on life, theater and the world. My posts advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the American Theatre and updates on my own work. Please enjoy!
    Tweets by @dulcia25

    Categories

    All
    Advocates For Youth
    ARDEO
    Blackbirds
    Dance Exchange
    Dc Theatre
    Diversity And Inclusion
    Dramatist Guild
    Gender Parity
    Intelligence
    Lions Of Industry
    LoTT
    Love Brothers Serenade
    Mothers Of Invention
    Musings
    Nnpn
    Noms De Guerre
    Nso
    Our Man Beverly Snow
    Plays For Two
    TCG
    Theatre Education
    Theatre For Social Change
    The Hampton Years
    The Inferior Sex
    Triangle Theatre
    Wizard Of Oz
    Women Artistic Directors
    Women Directors
    Women Dramaturgs
    Women Playwrights
    Women Stage Managers
    Women Theatre Critics
    Xx Playlab Festival

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012

    Reading List
    2am Theatre
    American Theatre Wing

    Americans for the Arts
    The Atlantic
    Black Girl Dangerous
    Colorlines
    Feminist Crunk Collective
    Feminist Spectator

    The Good Men Project
    Guardian: Theatre
    Guernica
    HowlRound
    Media Diversified
    The Nation
    NEA Art Works
    NPR Arts and Life
    NYTimes: Arts

    Opine Season
    The New Yorker
    The Paris Review

    Salon
    Theater Talks
    Think Progress
    WaPo: Theatre
    Works by Women

    Vox

  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact