Chalkboard Theatre Project

For the 24 hour experiment in Winter of 2013, I had the opportunity to work with Steve Norris as a writer. I was the Director, and Hanz and Jahbria were the actors. When I look back at that 24 hour experience, what made it truly exhilarating, creative, and worthwhile from start to finish, was the demand for trust. When you’re throwing down with three other people from scratch, with an intentionally crazy deadline, and a live audience at the end of that crazy deadline…you ha

To me, CTP starts with a pair of scissors and clippers. For the past few years that I have done Chalkboard Theatre Project, I radically cut my hair to drastically contrast the usual comb over. I consider this ritual as a physical expression of the CTP mentality: Trust what is unknown and unfamiliar. Constantly we fall into these boxes when it comes to the arts. Restraints that don’t allow us to simply grow. In a room of potential strangers, there is always the chance to try

I am what you would consider a veteran of the Chalkboard Theatre Project, participating in every Eastern University experiment from the very first year we started. It’s hard to put into words the magic that happens over the course of a CTP experiment, though I can easily say have been some of the most rewarding collaborative experiences of my artistic life. Of course, when you take part in an annual event, you grow accustomed to the pattern of things: how we always gather as

I groggily grab my phone to stop my alarm. It's 8 am, and the sun is pouring through the classroom windows. With 3 hours of sleep under my belt, I stumble to the public bathroom and brush my teeth, cursing over my bloodshot eyes and waiting for my second wind to kick in. I'm emotional, frustrated, excited, anxious, exhausted… I'm having the best time of my life. Chalkboard Theatre Project is a beast that needs a full 24 hours to be tamed. And in those hours, you balance a tee

I’ve participated in two new play experiments, and I was a director both times. I also write and act—and am much more experienced with both of those—so when I found out I was directing I was simultaneously relieved (How on earth could I write a play in 24 hours, or even memorize all those lines?) and disappointed. I felt like the role of director meant “being the boss,” and I don’t like being the boss. I thought a good director needed to be a visionary, big ideas person,and I

This weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in the Chalkboard Theatre Project, and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Being put in a room with two actors, a writer, and a director, and take on the task of creating a play in 24 hours, isn't something a lot of people would decide to do. Thankfully, I did. I got to interact with people that normally, I wouldn't interact with. Better yet, I got to learn about who they are. What they enjoy, what they are pa