The Production that First Captured a Piece of my Heart
Directing A Piece of My Heart as a student teacher was an unexpected gift.
It shaped not only my directing style, but my identity as a theater educator. I thought I’d be spending that semester supporting from backstage or in the classroom, so when I was trusted with a full mainstage production, I was stunned. Scared. Excited. It was the kind of challenge that forced me to grow into the role I had only recently realized I wanted.
It’s a powerful piece about women, war, and resilience. The themes of strength and vulnerability resonated with me deeply, especially as I stepped into the unfamiliar territory of budgeting, rights, costume fittings, prop sourcing, and scheduling. Until then, I had only ever performed. I learned how to be a leader by directing this production . Not just leading artistically, but emotionally. It meant a lot to be trusted with something this big at such a young age.
And I’ve carried that trust forward ever since. Because someone believed in me early on, I made it a cornerstone of my process to believe in my teams. To give them real responsibility and the space to rise to the moment. And they always do.
