2005-Now
I am a member and co-founder of Performers Exchang
e Project (PEP), a devised theater collective devoted to making original works. We are based in Virginia and North Carolina.
Founded in 2005, PEP is Martha Mendenhall, Sian Richards, Kara McLane Burke, Doreen Bechtol, and me.
PEP Productions:
A Charlottesville Wunderkammer / Zelda & Lucia’s Loony Bin Tragedy (2006)
In the summer of 2006, PEP along with The Zen Monkey Project and The Lunatic Carnival produced A Charlottesville Wunderkammer, an arts carnival extravaganza. We also created the original play Zelda and Lucia’s Loony Bin Tragedy as one of the carnival’s anchor performances.The carnival ran for three weeks in the Frank IX building, a building that has gone on to host every form of art and party the community can muster. This project received raves reviews and sell out crowds.
Shentai / Dido vs. The Squid Monster (2007)
Building on the experience of the previous summer, PEP and other individuals organized Shentai in the summer of 2007. We created an original show, Dido Vs. the Squid Monster, as one of the anchor performances of the night. Shentai received rave reviews and sold out houses for the entire run.
Our American Ann Sisters (2009-2010)
Meet the Peabody Sisters from the 19th Century. You probably haven’t heard of them. That’s the problem. This new original performance used this remarkable family of female intellectuals and artists as a springboard for a vaudevillian fantasia on being a woman, an artist, an intellectual, and an American. The world premiere took place in Charlottesville VA, in Live Arts‘ UpStage December 2009, followed by nearby performances at The Hamner Theater in Nelson County, Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, and NACL Theatre in Highland Lake, NY. More on our PEP website here.
The Convolution of Pip & Twig (2013-2017)
Epic adventure! Spills and thrills! Complicated love! Heart strings! Song and Dance! THE CONVOLUTION OF PIP AND TWIG is a story of twin sisters whose safe and routine world is blown open when one twin follows her heart into the unknown. An original work from PEP performers Kara McLane Burke and Sian Richards. Pip & Twig website.