The Story So Far: or how I spent the last 15 years in professional theatre
Today is my last day at Troika. It is also my last day of work for a while. Most of you know by now, but for those who don’t: I love to write. I rarely have the time to put that focused lens on my own work, but that era is ending. Today, I’m writing about my career. It’s long, but I hope you’ll read it. I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin 15 years ago this week. As a student lighting designer and electrician, I received the tremendous honor of getting picked up by the followspots—called lovingly for me on com--as I crossed the stage at Bass concert hall to receive my BFA. I still get the chills every time I stand on deck and look out into the house during focus. How vibrant and alive everything feels, but just out of view. It’s too bright to see clearly, but you get used to it. My parents are Longhorns too. Both of my grandfathers were engineers. We have a few famous opera singers on the Italian side. We’re all blue-eyed. We’re all really fucking stubborn....