Act One/Scene One

"This directing thing just sort of fell my way and landed in my lap."
-Charles S. Dutton

When I was in high school, it never entered into my mind that I could be a director. I always thought the only way to do theatre was to act...which is something that I'm terrified of (go figure). I thought that maybe some day I would grow out of being shy. And then I got to college and guess what? I'm still terrified.

It wasn't until I took my first Directing class that I realized that this is what I really enjoy doing. I mean, it makes sense...I don't have to be onstage to create art. In fact, the director is the one who creates the art...the actors are just the tools. So take that!

It really just donned on me one day that I enjoy putting together and telling stories.

When I was younger I used to have to go to the airport and ride the plane back and forth in between my mom's house and father's house. Hours and hours in the airport and on the plane is not the best thing in the world for a kid but I entertained myself by making up stories about the people waiting in the terminal or sitting next to me on the plane. I made up intricate, detailed stories about where these people were coming from and where they were going and what they were going to do when they got there...also, what their clothes and luggage and hairstyle and the way they walked said about their life/lifestyle. A couple of times, when I had time to spare before boarding the plane, I rode the tram several times around the airport by myself just to see how many different types of stories I could create. It was all completely made up but for some reason it felt so real to me.

(I guess I wasn't afraid of being kidnapped)

I still make up these stories whenever I go somewhere where there are a lot of people...grocery stores, at school (there are about 50,000 students and teachers at UT, for goodness sake), libraries, malls, etc. I don't frequent airports anymore so I've had to find alternatives.

It's funny how children spend a lot of their "growing up" years wondering and wondering and hoping and thinking about what they will be when they grow up. A rockstar! An astronaut! (or in my case: A princess!) And then one day, you just know. This epiphany may come at any point in one's life, but inevitably, you just know.

It's what you believe, it's what you're passionate about, it's what you would do even if no one paid you to do it.