It's Good to be Back

A return to the work, the artists, and the community I love.

It’s good to be back. Not that I went anywhere. I’ve been here all along, supporting artistic creation, sometimes from the sidelines and sometimes more directly, cheering it on and getting out to see as many shows as life’s constraints allowed. But it’s good to be back in the DC arts community in the way that matters, with my whole heart.

For the last year I’ve been the Director of Development at The National Theatre. I feel lucky to be part of such a historic organization at such a pivotal moment. I played a role in helping the theatre’s Foundation purchase its iconic building. For the first time in its 190-year history, the second-oldest theatre in the country is safely in the hands of the nonprofit dedicated to its preservation and care.

It’s the third time I’ve been part of a key moment in a theatre’s physical history. When I first came to DC from Philadelphia, I helped Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company move into its home at 7th and D. Literally, by driving a rental truck of office furniture down 7th Street, and figuratively, by building the audiences for the opening and beyond. I was at Arena Stage when it moved out of its old offices to make way for the expansion that transformed it.

This is my community, and it calls to me consistently. I’ve worked outside the arts and done good things in those roles, but the arts sing to my soul.

A few weeks ago, Dito Van Reigersberg passed away. I worked with him, and like countless others, I felt his impact. The artists at Pig Iron and that whole singular community left a lasting impression on me, personally and professionally. I won’t eulogize Dito. Others have done that, and better than I could. But his passing stirred something in me, a pull to bring the artists and the art I love back to the forefront of my life.

Because the truth is, lately I’ve noticed how much of it I talk about in the past tense. I miss sitting in the auditorium at The Wilma watching Blanka direct The Invention of Love. I miss watching the Oscars with Tom Stoppard. I think about the nomadic seasons at Woolly Mammoth, performances leaping from the Kennedy Center to the DCJCC. My heart fills when I remember the artists I supported at Capital Fringe, with aerialists in the rafters, dance at the Building Museum, and twenty-four hours of Dana and Matt painting the Warehouse Theatre.

Philadelphia, DC, even Annapolis. Every one of those places formed memories that brought me to this moment. And I don’t want to keep missing them. I want to be present. I want to be an active part of this world that has given me so much joy.

So I’m going to get out even more. See shows, go to openings, connect with artists and friends and colleagues. But I know I can’t physically be everywhere, and I don’t have the time or the energy I once did. So I’m also going to write here, turning my thoughts toward the local and national arts community to scratch that itch when I can’t be there in person.

I want to write about my passion for works in process, something that’s been a through-line from the very start of my career. And I want to share my philosophies about fundraising for the arts, in the hope of helping our community build more of the work I love to be in the room for.

I look forward to making new friends and new memories. Don’t hesitate to reach out and tell me what you’re working on. And thank you, in advance, for welcoming me back.

It’s good to be in the room again, watching a show take shape.