Summary In this episode, Shannon Kearns interviews Shalee Mae Cole Mauleón, a freelance director and dramaturg. Shalee primarily focuses on collaborating with playwrights to produce powerful new work that interrogates the status quo. She believes in an artistic process that prioritizes artist accountability, sustainability, and collaboration. Shalee discusses her creative practice, which involves blending mixed media and using metaphor to evoke emotion in her work. She also talks about the rise of Dungeons & Dragons and its popularity in various creative fields. The importance of stage directions and the role they play in creating a theatrical experience is explored. Shalee shares her experience directing impossible stage directions and how she approaches them creatively. She also reflects on her creative life growing up and how she discovered directing and new works. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the shift in directing styles towards prioritizing actors' agency and creating collaborative rooms. They discuss collaboration with actors, getting connected to a play, working with new plays vs. established plays, starting on a script, casting and assembling the team, favorite moments in the process, leading actors to discovery, and the impact of theater on life.
Takeaways
Collaboration with playwrights can produce powerful new work that challenges the status quo.
Theatricality in theater involves blending mixed media and using metaphor to evoke emotion.
Dungeons & Dragons has gained popularity due to its accessibility and variability.
Stage directions are important in creating a theatrical experience and can provide context and tone for a scene.
Directing impossible stage directions requires creativity and a focus on the emotions and impact of the moment.
Imagination and creative play can be a retreat and coping mechanism in difficult circumstances.
Directing is a form of creating a room and prioritizing actors' agency.
There is a shift in directing styles towards creating collaborative and less exploitative environments. Collaboration is key in theater, and directors should work together with actors to create the best production.
Getting connected to a play can happen through self-producing, applying for opportunities, or building relationships with theater companies.
Directing new plays allows for a close partnership with the playwright, while directing established plays requires more interpretation and collaboration with the creative team.
Directors should approach scripts by first falling in love with the work and celebrating the craft of the writer.
Casting and assembling the team involves finding actors who embody the characters well and designers who can bring the director's vision to life.
Favorite moments in the process include the initial meeting with the playwright and leading actors to epiphanies and discoveries.
Theater skills, such as giving and receiving feedback, collaboration, and advocating for social justice, can impact other areas of life.
To find Shalee's work, visit her website shaleedirects.com or find her on Instagram @shaleecole.
For creative support and to support this podcast go to www.patreon.com/shannontlkearns
Follow us on Instagram at @livingtheprocesspod
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Shalee
01:15 Shalee's Creative Practice
05:27 The Rise of D&D and its Popularity
09:17 The Importance of Stage Directions
12:06 Directing Impossible Stage Directions
23:03 Discovering Directing and New Works
28:21 Shift in Directing Styles
32:30 Collaboration and Learning from Actors
33:27 Process and Getting Connected to a Play
38:43 Working with New Plays vs. Established Plays
43:28 Approach to Scripts and Starting on a Script
46:17 Casting and Assembling the Team
50:05 Favorite Moments in the Process
53:20 Leading Actors to Discovery
01:00:21 Impact of Theater on Life
01:03:42 Finding Shalee's Work