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My husband and I are among the five founding members of this faith-based theater company which began in 1992 as a repertory group with three original scripts.  After several years of writing to order whenever we got a booking, and touring the tri-state area, we settled down in Fort Wayne and began to also produce full-length published works for general audiences.  (We continue to offer a number of the one-act plays from our repertoire, on a limited basis. for use in conferences and retreats, dinner theater and worship services.)

My college degree is in Communications, but my life experience has been varied:  teaching (piano, acting, writing) and editing, as well as public speaking and—of course—theater.  I began my association with all for One primarily as an actress/musician, but I was also doing much of the writing and discovered that it was very satisfying to direct my own work, especially as it facilitated the rewrites...I didn't have to go and confer with the author every time a change was suggested.  I still prefer to direct the initial production of my own plays.

Along the way, as I began to direct other full-length works—You Can't Take it With You was the first, in 2004—I found that directing was really the most rewarding work I was doing with all for One.  I have directed  eight productions of seven plays for our Home Stage, which is now the auditorium of the downtown Allen County Public Library, where we produce three works per season plus a “Spotlight Series” play which we bring in from elsewhere in the country to showcase other professional Christian actors.

I prefer to select the plays that I direct.  I read several dozen each year in order to find the two or three that excite me.  all for One seeks to do theater with a positive message and a Judeo-Christian world view.  We also lean toward plays which are rarely if ever seen on any other Fort Wayne stage.  Of the seven plays I've directed, at least two (American Primitive by William Gibson and Radium Girls by Claudia ) were Fort Wayne premieres.  This coming season I'll be directing the world premiere of A Christmas Key, a new  family Christmas drama by local playwright, Ruth Baker.  I will also be directing the Fort Wayne premiere of an exciting adaptation of Crime and Punishment, which has been receiving rave reviews in regional theaters around the country.

Several things tend to make me enthusiastic about a play:  strong writing, a gripping story, a thought-provoking theme, and some challenges in staging that only the director can solve.  I prefer to bring a fresh vision to the stage and avoid seeing any other production of a play I'm interested in mounting.  I love all aspects of mounting the production: set and lighting design, sound effects and incidental music, costuming.  We are blessed with a fantastic team of professional-quality designers who collaborate on each show.  All are bi-vocational, and so are giving sacrificially of their time to bring excellence to our plays. 

As to my “style”--I do prefer more abstract, non-traditional forms over the realistic unit-set type of show. Minimalism, doing more with less, puts the actors in the spotlight without distractions and challenges the audience to use more of their imagination to engage in the story.  (This season I will direct one realistic and one very stylized piece.)

 I think I direct the way I like to be directed:  lots of freedom for the actor to discover their characters, to experiment and take risks in a safe rehearsal environment.  I avoid line readings, I encourage suggestions about blocking and business, always subject to my final approval.  I will come with a vision of the “finished product” and preliminary blocking for each scene, but I expect that we will work as a team to shape the ultimate end.  all for One always seeks to create and nurture an encouraging, supportive environment. Our casts quickly become “family” and often keep in touch long after the play is over. 

At auditions, I am looking for good instincts, strong language skills, projection and energy.  We do not rent out audition scripts, or schedule specific try-out slots.  Since our plays tend to be smaller casts (generally less than 12), we have one casting call, and will hold call-backs on a subsequent night if necessary.  I prefer to hear a cold reading over a prepared one, since I don't know how (or with whom) the actor prepared. I believe I get a better feeling—in most cases—of the actor's natural ability and suitability from a cold reading from the script. This approach puts all the actors on a level playing field, seeing the script together for the first time.   I may ask an actor to read the same scene more than once, with a minimum of guidance.  I do generally give actors permission to ask to read for any role that I didn't ask them to read, even if they're not “right” for the part (in my perception). 

I will call each actor personally to tell them whether or not they were cast.  In many cases, if the play is a small cast, there will be many more willing actors than roles available.  If I was impressed with an actor but can't use them in the current play, I will always encourage them to audition again—I may even suggest which play I'd like them to try out for. 

A full rehearsal schedule will be provided at the audition. I  ask to be told of any known conflicts at the time of audition.  PLEASE BE HONEST.  It is very unfair to the other actors, and to the production's success, for you to withhold conflict information until cast.  If I have a pet peeve, that would be it.  In fact, if this happens, it's a good bet you will not be cast in the future.

I do allow an actor to miss 1 or 2 rehearsals, but any more than that would cause me to seriously re-evaluate the actor before casting. I realize that life can be unpredictable and “stuff happens.”  That said, our rehearsal schedule is quite “bare bones” compared to some companies.  At all for One, we know that actors have a “real” life: work, family, church, friends, and we don't ask you to give up every single minute of free time for months during rehearsal.  We rehearse on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings for about 6 weeks, then have one week of tech at the library before opening. 

A typical rehearsal begins at 6:30 pm with gathering, sharing our concerns with each other, and opening prayer (by me or by anyone else who is comfortable praying aloud—no one is forced to participate, but praying for one another is one way that we bond as a group). We work hard  from 7:00 to 9:30 or 10:00, typically with one short bathroom break.  We try hard not to waste anyone's time, we expect punctuality and respect for each other during the rehearsal.

Our limited rehearsal schedule requires much more of each actor in terms of individual preparation.      Therefore, our standards for being cast are rather high.   No one working with us can rely on the work that is done in group rehearsals to carry them through to a performance without quite a bit of time at home.  In particular, I feel that character development (including writing a character bio and working on subtext) and memorization are best done in private, bringing the results of your independent labor to share in rehearsal.  A less-experienced actor, or one who depends on doing all their work during the formal rehearsal, may not be as comfortable working under our conditions.  That is not to discourage an inexperienced actor from auditioning!!  “Natural ability” counts for a great deal, and can be nurtured if you're prepared to work hard.

Our productions run two weekends, with Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm, plus a second-week Thursday brush-up performance—for our photographer to shoot and for the benefit of charitable groups such as seniors, via Audiences Unlimited.