I’m a 35-year-old professional theatre director from Kansas City, Missouri, who lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. I have a Bachelor of Arts in directing and producing from Avila University (2000-2004) and a Master of Fine Arts in directing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2008-2011), where I was trained as a collaborative leader with a strong sense for language and a passion for experimentation and new play development. My work focuses on two areas of specialisation: re-imagining text-based theatre through experimentation with theatrical styles and developing new musical theatre productions in the genre of Spoken Word, done in collaboration with performance poets, musicians, and dancers. I am the founder and Artistic Director of Down the Rabbit Hole Theatre, and thereby the Local Artistic Director of the House of International Theatre; and I am the founder and Co-Artistic Director of Teater Ord/Blindt.

My philosophy
Theatre is passion, tension, a deeply felt emotional connection that weaves itself in and out of our collective consciousness, it is poetry. The basis of every story can and should be found already embroidered in the inner lining of our hearts, and the connective tissue that links our hearts to the primal portions of our brains. Theatre is a dance between words, ideas, expressions and the inner workings of the mind. It evokes, plays on the senses, in order to enrich, enlighten, and give release. It is the dance, which is personal, intimate, passionate that is expressed through the poetry of visual images, language, and music working together to enchant the mind and open doorways, lighting the corridors of eternal darkness. In order to express this poetry, theatre has to be multi-dimensional, crossing genres, textures, mixing visual and auditory imagery, to create the spark that is imagination.

My work focuses on creating multi-textural environments as the basis for storytelling and blending styles and genres, in order to spark new theatrical forms. In creating these environments, I always start with the text and work outwards. Nothing is arbitrary. I start by looking deep within the text for a seed of inspiration, and then I express this idea in as many different ways needed to both emotionally and intellectually experience the plays core themes. In this way, I consider myself a minimalist, where I use only the forms of expression necessary to spark the audiences imagination, as the imagination can create far more and stronger images than can ever be created on stage in any given evening.

I am always looking for new projects and new ways to tell stories. If you are interested in working together please feel free to contact me through the contact page at the bottom of this website.

Down the Rabbit Hole Theatre (DRHT)
DRHT is Copenhagen’s newest English-speaking theatre company. We aim to produce professional theatre of the highest quality, that is multi-disciplined and multi-textural with a high level of artistic ambition. We believe there is room in Copenhagen for an English-speaking theatre that dares to challenge the audience with something new and innovative; which dares to experiment beyond the traditional framework, and which dares to speak directly to the audience on their terms. We consider ourselves an English+ theatre, where we are open to the use of all languages in our productions along side English. We aim to strengthen the Danish theatre scene, by being both an international player in the world market as well as develop a more diverse theatre community here at home and help to bring more cultural activities to all citizens. Our first production was Elsie and Norm’s ‘Macbeth’ (Touch of Vintage, May 4-27; Jersey, UK, Sept. 16-17, 2016; Roskilde Libraries, Nov. 11, 2016). We have also collaborated with Manusarts on Sex and Betrayal (Husets-KBH, Oct. 9-10; MAF, Malmø, SE, Oct. 11; Monsun Theatre, Hamburg, DE Oct. 12-13, 2016)

House of International Theatre (HIT)
HIT is a new platform for International English-speaking theatre in Copenhagen. DRHT has joined together with the Hamburg-based theatre company Manusarts, to bring the city of Copenhagen this unique platform, which will be located in Huset-KBH’s 4th floor venue LOFT. The platform will premiere in February 2017.

Teater Ord/Blindt (Word/Blind)
I am founder and co-artistic director, along with spoken word artist Rasmus Rhode. Teater Ord/Blindt was originally conceived as the Spoken Word Project, developed under the auspices of theatre company MedVenligHilsen. The project started as a workshop titled WORD (Republique, July, 2013), which then led to the productions Jeg Ville Sgu Gerne Ha’ Lyttet Lidt (Copenhagen’s Music Theatre, Dec. 7-9, 2013) and OrdBlindt (HautScene, Feb. 12-15, 2015). Spoken Word Project also developed Pop, in collaboration with Blackbox Pangea (Teaterøen, June 11-13, 2014 and AACT Festival, USA, June 19, 2014), which was awarded Best Performance Art, Best Innovation in Design and Best Vocal Performances; Journeys, in collaboration with Copenhagen Theatre Circle (Krudttønden, Mar. 7-8, 2015); and Secrets, in collaboration with Why Not Theatre Company (Halmlageret, Sept. 11-26, 2015). The artistic leadership then decided to develop Spoken Word Project as its own organization in the summer of 2016 and formed Teater Ord/Blindt. Since then, the theatre has created the performance Den Skandinaviske Hyggestue for “Instant Spkrbox 3” (Spkrbox Festival, Oslo, Sept. 10, 2016) and Drømmens Faner “Banners of Dreams” (Copenhagen Music Theatre, Nov. 3 to 23, 2016).

What is Spoken Word
Spoken Word is a genre which encompasses all forms of oral literature: from hip hop to performance poetry, from prose to storytelling. That is to say, it is literature that is to be performed. Its main facets are the artistic aesthetics of orality, including storytelling and word-play, where there is a particular focus on the words themselves, repetition, rhythm and dynamics of tone, gesture etc.; and originality, where artists write and perform their own texts based upon personal experiences. Spoken Word is often combined with other performance styles, such as: dance, music and theatre. The genre originated in the US in the 60’s from the African American poets in Harlem and includes such artists as Amiri Baraka, Gil Scott Heron, Hedwig Gorski, and Spalding Gray, among many others; and has since spread around the world with large appeal in Germany, Britain and France. Due to its personal, subjective and political nature, Spoken Word is often used as a way to open up discussion on taboo subjects.