Directing

With Sock & Buskin Theatre Company

  • Stefanie Austin’s Do Not Resuscitate
  • F.J. Hartland’s “For the Record…” and TK Tansey’s “The Next Thing”
  • Michael McKeever’s Suite Surrender
  • Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap

Stefanie Austin’s Do Not Resuscitate

Do Not Resuscitate Promotional Poster

In Nov. 2025, I directed the world premier of Stefanie Austin’s new murder mystery comedy Do Not Resuscitate. Set in a CPR class in a small town, the instructor Terry Morton gets everyone real upset–as Little Joey puts it–because he’s trying to hide a big secret. When one of the characters dies, it seems that everyone has some motive to have committed the crime, and Sheriff Edwards asks the audience to join the investigation by questioning the suspects.

Food for the dinner theatre was served by Allow Kitchen and drinks from Mad MacIntosh Cidery, both in Titan Hollow in Bellefonte, PA.

The DNR cast murdering Terry Morton. Image courtesy of Jeremy Rock, J. Rock Photographs, jrockphotographs.com, jeremy__rock on Instagram
Cast, crew, directors, and author of DNR. Image courtesy of Jeremy Rock, J. Rock Photographs, jrockphotographs.com, jeremy__rock on Instagram.
Meet the Cast promotional video for DNR (created by me)
Fun promotional video for DNR (created by me)

F.J. Hartland’s “For the Record…” and TK Tansey’s “The Next Thing”

For Sock & Buskin’s “Beginnings” short play showcase, I am directing two 10-15 minute plays: F.J. Hartland’s “For the Record…” and TK Tansey’s “The Next Thing.”

“For the Record…” tells the story of an estranged father and son who reconnect through their mutual love of their wife/mother.

The cast and director of “For the Record…,” from left to right: Mercer Bristow as Arlo, Brandon Smith as Spencer, and me as director
Arlo (Mercer Bristow) surprises his estranged son Spencer (Brandon Smith) by arriving after a show
Spencer (Brandon Smith) recalls feeling like he never lived up to Arlo’s (Mercer Bristow) expectations as a son
Arlo (Mercer Bristow) shares memories with Spencer (Brandon Smith)

“The Next Thing” explores big questions about the afterlife, death, existence, meaning, etc. as a recently deceased character moves through the afterlife’s waiting room.

Cast, director, and playwright of “The Next Thing,” from left to right: TK Tansey the playwright, Tara Caimi as Jaime, me as Gene and the director, and Rod Egan as Morgan
Morgan (Rod Egan) trying to orient Jaime (Tara Caimi) to her new existence
Jaime (Tara Caimi) trying to work out what’s going on, with Morgan (Rod Egan) in the background
Gene (me) explains his philosophy to Jaime (Tara Campbell), with Morgan (Rod Egan) in the background

Michael McKeever’s Suite Surrender

Poster for Suite Surrender

In the spring of 2024, I directed Michael McKeever’s Suite Surrender with Sock & Buskin. Our amazing cast put on three excellent shows, with live singing, choreographed fight scenes, and a lot of laughs.

Cast photo from Suite Surrender
In this video, the cast and I discuss the show.

I wrote dramaturg’s notes for Suite Surrender, available here:

suite-surrender-dramaturgs-notesDownload

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap

Poster for The Mousetrap

My directorial debut was with Sock & Buskin Theatre Company, a community theatre in central Pennsylvania. In Sept. 2023, we put on Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap for three sold out shows. We had an extremely successful run, with amazing performances by the actors. Part of my process for drawing out these great performances was identifying and building on the actors’ strengths as performers. Whenever possible, I let the actors build the characters the way they saw fit—adding interesting little touches that I could praise and encourage them to keep for the show itself.

The Mousetrap cast and director

In this video, the cast and I introduce ourselves and talk about the show.

Following production meetings, casting, and rehearsals, I filmed short reflections on my experience, which I then spliced together as “Director’s Cut.”

Additional Mousetrap Work

I also recorded the three Voice on the Radio parts, which were played during the show:

Voice on the Radio 1, Voice on the Radio 2, Voice on the Radio 3

And I wrote up dramaturg’s notes for the show, available here:

the-mousetrap-dramaturgs-notesDownload