My Life as a Theatre Director, part 1
by Lauren E. Nichols I did not always want to be a theater director. Those who have known me in the past couple of decades may find that surprising. But it’s true. My aspiration as a girl was to be…
Reflections on A Peculiar People
by Lauren E. Nichols “For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.” (I Cor 7:22 NIV) It has been…
As I Promised in the Program…
Our current production of A Peculiar People by Rick Najera gives me an opportunity to recount again a curious story of the persistence of theater memory. Around the year 2010, our friend Michael Wilhelm (actor, playwright, teacher, artist) found a playbill in his…
Reflections on “Daddy Long Legs” (with spoilers)
by Lauren Nichols I have to be honest and confess that I enjoy having a break from directing, especially when I can deputize such a capable guest director as Mary Beth Frank. One thing I have appreciated with our current…
Multiple projects
As I drive to the afO office for the third time in four days, I reflect that I don’t recall the last time I was able to work on three distinct projects in such a short span of time. Over…
Understudies – to cast or not to cast?
The use of understudies in community theater is a debated topic. There are directors who prefer to have understudies available in case illness or emergency were to make the principle actors unavailable. Others feel that understudies gets short changed because…
Reflections on The Christmas Express
The cast of The Christmas Express; photo by Rachel Wilhelm Photography As the artistic director of a faith-driven theater, I often find myself walking a theological tightrope when choosing plays for our company. We are always looking for shows with…
Reflections on afO’s production of The Little Prince
by Lauren Nichols, Artistic Director Antoine de Saint-Exupery's lovely novella, The Little Prince, is a story which repays repeated visits and grows with the reader over time. I first read it in high school, many, many years ago, and was moved…
The Little Prince Artistic Director Notes
Here’s a pop quiz question for you: what is the individual book with the second-highest worldwide sales in history, according to Wikipedia’s list of verified book sales? (It’s not the Bible, because their list excludes “all books of a religious, ideological,…