James T. Washburn,
DIRECTOR

 

My mission as a director is to empower members of the queer community by reclaiming the classics, queering the canon, and using familiar stories and mediums to start difficult conversations. I achieve this by practicing unorthodox, but conscious, casting - finding the narratives within existing stories that can be drawn out or highlighted by embracing the identity or background of an individual performer. This opens the door to casting historically excluded communities, moving toward equity and inviting audiences to empathize with perspectives they may never have considered before.​

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As a disabled person, I also prioritize making rehearsal spaces accessible to all bodies and minds - theatre is for everyone, and "accommodations" are often merely another  aspect that can lead to truly dynamic staging and design choices.