Sometimes, the best way to understand the world is through its sounds. This idea is precisely what inspired Andrea Dipa, one of the managers of the famous Turin-based RKH Studio, to team up with the well-known music producer Jack Sapienza to set off and discover the different sounds cities around the world had to offer.
This adventure is recorded in their docu-series, Sampling World, where we follow the two friends in monthly episodes as they make their way through Moscow and Paris to Hong Kong and Reykjavik. Characterised by its uniqueness, the documentary not only frames beautiful landscapes and cultures but allows a unique understanding of the places the duo visits through an unusual medium: sound.
Here, Schön! presents the series first episode, shot in Iceland, and exclusively discusses the origins of the project with the duo, and how it helped them grow as both individuals and artists.
How did you guys meet and why did you decide to collaborate on this project together?
Jack: The collaboration between me and Andrea Dipa was born way before the Sampling World project. We met for the first time in late 2010, in a rehearsal room in our city. From the beginning it was clear that we would work together, our affinity was palpable, especially in the strange and pretentious need for “movement,” in all its forms. We have always felt the need to create, to move and above all to learn. Sampling World is a direct consequence of the years we spent together consolidating our working relationship.
How did the idea for Sampling World first come about?
J: We had already started trying to produce a documentary the year before, based on amateur sports events around the world and one of the constants of that project was the striking images captured by Andrea and imagined on the music produced specifically for the occasion. After a few trips we were forced to abandon our documentary, it was probably too distracting. A few months later, I was travelling alone for work and a girl, passionate about music, made me listen to artists who, had it not been for her, I would never have discovered. I sampled one of those songs and I felt, for the first time after a period of dissatisfaction from a creative point of view, a chance for growth. I returned to Turin and I simply proposed to Andrea to start from where we left off, simply by eliminating the “sport” variable.
In Sampling World, you travel the world to discover music and local sounds. Have you always been travellers yourselves?
J: I love travelling. I believe that one of the mistakes that we often make when we try to “grow” from a professional point of view is to imagine a vertical path: going up, accessing higher levels, higher-level people. Almost as if it did not depend on us but on chance, imagining we could only climb the pyramid of our ambition if someone of the “upper level” holds out his hand to reserve a place for us. Andrea and I, instead, are betting on a sort of horizontal path. Travelling to discover worlds that we did not think could exist, interviewing artists to store knowledge that we could not have accessed without moving, without putting ourselves on the line. The point is not to expect someone to help us level up, but rather — and forgive me if it sounds a bit trivial — build a small solid ladder capable of accompanying us to a higher degree of artistic awareness. The key concept of this project is contamination.
Jack, what drew you to music and production in the first place?
J: I have always obsessively searched for my personal form of communication. Not necessarily to tell something to the listener but to memorise whole portions of my life. If I look back, I realise that one of the purest and most ethereal memorisation mechanisms for my personal way of remembering is music. This is also true for the music I listen to for the first time, to imagine something I have never experienced is a beautiful creative experiment.
Similarly, Andrea, how did you get started in filmmaking? Why did you feel compelled to take on music as the main subject of a film project?
Andrea: I have always appreciated alternative forms of communication such as music, cinema or the world of music videos. When I met Jack, I was about 15 years old and it was thanks to him that I was lucky enough to be able to appreciate everything even more. The shared passion has led us to find the right affinity to be able to coordinate ourselves in a common project. I think the real victory is precisely having found a meeting point between the two languages, and this is precisely what makes me feel personally complete.
You have been to Reykjavik, Paris, Hong-Kong, and Moscow so far in the series — which we’ll be seeing soon on Schön!. What common points have you found that unite the music scenes of all these places?
J: One of the things that struck me most about this project was a speech undertaken during the interview with Sin Fang, in Iceland. I think it can summarize a common point of view to all the other experiences lived up to now. We were talking about Sigur Rós and Björk in particular, and we both argued that what artists like them were able to do for their country could in no way be replicated by any national tourism agency, by any kind of politics and investment to spread Icelandic culture around the world. Every sound, every word, every song, tells us a story and the number of stories, beautiful or ugly, interesting or boring, are the only thing that never fails when travelling.
On the other hand, what separates these cities musically?
J: Every country I have been to so far preserves deep-rooted sounds and musical influences. In Hong Kong, for example, they speak Cantonese, a very complicated tonal language, in a nutshell, the same word takes on completely different meanings depending on the note with which it is pronounced, obviously this has rather important implications in choosing the key of the song which one decides to compose. The chord progression of the Cantonese songs is very heterogeneous.
How do you go about choosing what areas to visit for Sampling World?
J: We do not have a real defined method to choose the next step. Sometimes we discover interesting artists, we try to contact them to be able to arrange interviews and organise the trip accordingly.
Are there any cities, in particular, that you are looking forward to the most?
J: In this period, personally, I feel rather attracted to oriental culture — Japan, Korea… These are countries that increasingly manage to influence our aesthetic taste and I would like to learn more about it and try to learn something. I won’t deny that if I had the chance I would probably also think about trying to move there for a while.
How has your own understanding of music and production evolved (or changed) as the production of the project is going on?
J: Undoubtedly the concept of “sampling” is becoming a fundamental prerogative of my work. I’m trying to extend the possibilities as much as possible. A few years ago I often sampled portions of songs to try and insert them into the production I was working on. Lately, on the contrary, I realised that sampling can be applied to a broader concept, anything can be sampled, one of the most interesting sounds I’ve “stolen” this year is the sound of the doors of the Paris subway that warns you before they close. Which, in case someone is wondering, they play in FA, slightly increasing. Transposed into a note and inserted into a sampler, it sounds quite interesting, if you concentrate you can also hear the buzz of people under the sound, a detail that makes it absolutely unique, inimitable. Let me explain better, we live in a “musical world” in which the digital sounds we can easily access are inflated, boring, already heard and resentful, to say the least. Using particular sounds, new, even if imperfect, allows me to take real pieces of the cities I visit and to make my work deeply original.
Wow. What are the main difficulties you’ve found in doing such an ambitious project?
J: There are essentially two problems and they are closely related. Time and cost. Our project is entirely self-financed, so we cannot afford to travel every month, which we would rather do. So we are forced to delay content and travel less than we would like.
What about the best parts?
J: The best part of dealing with a project of this kind is undoubtedly the number of stimuli to which you are irreparably exposed. You can’t even allow yourself to pause your thoughts for a second. You have to stay focused all the time, open up to every kind of influence, listen to any sound: the fryer in a fast food [joint], the sound of rain, the sound of a traffic light when it turns red… Everything can and must become music.
What is the main thing that you have learnt since starting Sampling World?
J: One of the most interesting things is the music that the artists I interviewed suggested to me. Music that without their help I would never have discovered and which, in my opinion, really describes the musical essence of the places I visited.
What do you hope to explore in the future of the series? Do you see ever it evolving into something even bigger?
J: The only thing I really hope for is to be able to continue following this project, learning, experimenting and having fun with music. The main objective of this project, both for me and for Andrea, has always been this, to give us the opportunity to grow by putting ourselves on the line, imagining music and videomaking in a transversal sense.
Make sure to follow Andrea Dipa and Jack Sapienza on their Instagram and their website. Stay tuned for the following instalments of “Sampling World.”
The celestial Nao brought her otherworldly sound to London’s O2 Academy Brixton on 12 March. The British R&B singer released her latest album Jupiter in February and began her international tour shortly after. Centred around growth and optimism, Nao brought the transcendent essence of her album to the stage with dreamlike set design, warm lighting and magnetic charm. Her ethereal vocals and radiant presence truly brought Jupiter to life. Relive her show captured by Schön!
top. Skims
bandeau. Tank Air
shorts. Skims
ballet flats. Sneshana Nekh
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bandeau. Tank Air
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bandeau. Tank Air
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ballet flats. Sneshana Nekh
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It’s a New York minute with Maria Baza as she walks the streets of the Big Apple with photographer Anastasiia Lisenko wearing looks by The Lioness, Oniks Jewelry, Skims and others, with make up by artist Emily Adams.
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
Credits
top. Skims
bandeau. Tank Air
shorts. Skims
ballet flats. Sneshana Nekh
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
top. Skims
bandeau. Tank Air
shorts. Skims
ballet flats. Sneshana Nekh
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
Credits
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
Credits
top. Skims
bandeau. Tank Air
shorts. Skims
opposite
top. Skims
bandeau. Tank Air
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bandeau. Tank Air
shorts. Skims
opposite
top. Skims
bandeau. Tank Air
Credits
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
Credits
t-shirt. Maison Rapito
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long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
t-shirt. Maison Rapito
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
Credits
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
heels. Escada
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
ring. 8000 Atelier
Credits
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
Credits
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
ring. 8000 Atelier
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
micro shorts. Urban Outfitters
ring. 8000 Atelier
opposite
long sleeves. Skims
cropped top. The Lioness
pendant. Oniks Jewelry
Even on a slightly blurry Zoom call, Tala Ashe’s passion is wholly captivating. Yet, it’s her rich tapestry of experiences that truly informs and enriches her performances, allowing her to form deep connections with her characters and audience alike.
The Iranian-American actress first discovered her love for acting through literature. “I always loved reading,” she expresses, “but to realise that I could step into the shoes of these people who had been living in my books was the real magical thing to me.” Earning a BFA in Acting from Boston University and training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles, Ashe’s most notable work includes playing Zari in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Still, Ashe has always preferred theatre, saying, “What I so appreciate about theatre is that no one is editing your performance. What happens on that night is what happens on that night, for better or worse, it’s yours.”
Ashe has just reprised her role as Elham on Broadway three years later in English, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play navigating language and identity within a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) classroom in Iran. The play – while it’s inherently funny – implores audience members to change their perception of people speaking English as their second or third language. On the impact of the play, Ashe shares, “I’ve received some messages from audience members who say they are changed for the better and that it’s never occurred to them to think about what someone gives up – what parts of them they give up – when they are speaking a language that is not their mother tongue.”
Sitting down with Schön!, Ashe details reworking her role in English for the Broadway stage, learning more about herself through her character, and what she hopes audiences will take away from the play.
cape. J Berushi
dress. Tania Orellana
earrings. Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise
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dress. Melitta Baumeister
shoes. Charles & Keith
cape. J Berushi
dress. Tania Orellana
earrings. Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise
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dress. Melitta Baumeister
shoes. Charles & Keith
Credits
Firstly, I want to congratulate you on English on Broadway! How does it feel to reprise your role three years later on Broadway?
It’s so exciting to be having a Broadway debut, but to be having it with this play – that was so meaningful the first time I did it – now feels, in some ways, heavier because of world events in the last three years, but also more important. It’s been a real joy to do it on Broadway with the original cast and creative team.
For those who haven’t heard of the play, can you explain what it’s about?
It takes place in a TOEFL classroom in Iran – TOEFL is the English as a foreign language test. It’s a bunch of adult learners in that class, I am one of them, and we essentially see them navigating language and communicating with each other; struggling with that language. The way the playwright has written the play, you hear the play in English, but when we’re speaking Persian (Farsi), we’re speaking in unaccented English. It really allows accessibility for the audience. You’re never getting subtitles, you’re actually hearing the entire show in English and when they’re speaking their mother tongue, there’s even less of a barrier because you’re hearing unaccented English. It’s hard to explain. [Laughs]
It’s an exciting concept because, as an audience member, it makes you realise when someone is speaking in a second language, it’s not completely truthful to who they are. When you are speaking in English as if you were speaking Farsi, it makes sense for it to be seamless.
It gives you a sense of interiority which you normally wouldn’t get if there was a different language you were hearing or if you were hearing someone speak accented English. That’s one of the major themes of the play, and it lures you in. The play is very funny, and at the beginning, you can feel the audience laughing, and they should be laughing in some ways at the accents. As the play goes on, it’s asking you, “What are you actually laughing at? Are you laughing at their accents? Why?” It starts to – in an artful and subtle way – question how we perceive people speaking languages as a second or third language.
Can you tell me a bit about your character, Elham, and what drew you to the role?
I love her so much. She’s a very unapologetic, tenacious character who has a clear goal set in her mind. She has to pass this test – she has not successfully passed this test five times – and it is what will allow her to go and continue her studies. She wants to become a doctor. This is someone who is very academically inclined and used to excelling, used to being the best person in the class, and she suddenly finds herself in this classroom where she’s not good at English. She doesn’t feel like herself, as you said earlier, and she starts to butt heads with the teacher who has this love of English that Elham doesn’t understand. She perceives it as a rejection of her Iranian culture and the Persian language. That sets up these opposing forces and they really come to verbal blows as they navigate what both characters want.
What have you discovered in the play or within your character now you’re reprising the role that you hadn’t uncovered the first time around?
It’s not as intimate of a space [on Broadway] and my body as an actor knows that. I have found that I’ve had to make, specifically, a lot of physical choices that are different. Again, my actor body understands I’m now performing for 700 people versus 150 people. I need to make the story and the intentions clear to the person in the very back row, so I’ve created a roadmap for myself that is a little less subtle.
As I mentioned, in the intervening three years, specifically in Iran, the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has happened, and that has affected my conscious and subconscious so much. That has entered the play and Elham, to me, has become a kind of representation. The play was set in 2007/2008, so she was already representative of the women in the Green Movement that happened in Iran, but even more so, the bravery we’ve seen from the women in Iran in the last three years. That’s just a part of the play now. I’m an Iranian who was born in Iran and grew up here – so I in no way can represent an Iranian who has grown up in Iran – but I do feel the weight of that representation in depicting these characters who are in Iran. And, in some way, I think of Elham as an alternate avatar of myself had I not left Iran, and that really messes with your mind in some ways. There’s this sliding doors version of myself with me on stage every night which is a gift, but also very strange.
It’s fascinating to hear you describe that and how it feeds into your performance. Playing a role like this, there’s a lot, emotionally and beyond, going on, so what is the most exciting part and what scared you the most?
The Broadway schedule is very gruelling and there are days when I think, “I don’t know how I’m going to get through this.” [Laughs] The play is so incredible, that if you get on the ride, it’ll take you. I find, inevitably, if I just commit and submit to the play, it’s an exciting journey. Elham’s journey is so extreme in some ways – I think more than any of the other characters, she changes the most in the play. I can’t pinpoint a particular moment, but when I think of her in the first and last scenes, it’s so exciting to know I’m going on the journey of what happens in between.
I don’t know if it’s scary, but what’s so important to me as an actor is being truthful. As I previously discussed, the stakes here feel so high, and my love for the play and respect for Sanaz [Toossi] who wrote the play is so great. I feel the weight of not only Iranian representation but of anyone who feels othered. It’s not so much scary, but there is an aspirational pressure every night to truthfully tell the story to represent people whose voices have often, certainly not, been heard on Broadway.
With that being said, how did the role challenge you and help you to evolve as an actor?
In a lot of ways, I feel more confident in my ability to story tell, which is the goal. The number one thing – and what’s so refreshing about this part in particular – is that Elham is not a character who is primarily seeking approval from others. She’s messy in a way which is refreshing for me. As women in general, we’re asked to play a part and be pretty about it, and Elham is not that. The way she sounds when she speaks English is not beautiful or elegant, she’s screaming in the play in a guttural way about winning a ball game. These are not things I’ve ever been able to do in a part before, and it’s so freeing. But, for me, Tala, it’s just a reminder that I don’t need to care so much about what people think. I’m not here to please people, that’s not the definition of good work or good art, and the most important thing as a person and as an actor is to be true to yourself. Certainly to be kind to everyone around you, but not primarily be seeking their approval. Coming from my background of being an Iranian who grew up in Ohio, I feel so much of my life has been about assimilation, fitting in, and, “Oh my God, is someone looking at me weird because I look like this or talk like this or because my parents have an accent?” There’s something that Elham and this part have taught me, both as an actor and person that I hope I can carry forward in my work about being unapologetic about who you are.
That’s such a beautiful message, not only for your character and for yourself, but having the space to reflect that to the audience. I think everyone can relate to that in various ways, so it is universal.
Exactly, and that’s what’s so brilliant about the play. Yes, it is set in Iran, yes we’re in a TOEFL classroom, but there’s a universality to it. There are so many ways into the play, whether you’ve tried to learn a language before, or you have a complicated relationship with your parents, or you’re someone who is trying to pass a test.
From that, what is one thing you hope the audience takes away from the play?
I’ve received some messages from audience members who say they are changed for the better and that it’s never occurred to them to think about what someone gives up – what parts of them they give up – when they are speaking a language that is not their mother tongue. It’s a small thing, but it’s a big thing. The next time that an audience member encounters someone in the world who has an accent or is struggling with English in this case, if there can be more humanity ascribed to that person and an understanding that there’s an interiority there that they may not have access to, that would be an important takeaway.
You’ve also been in off-Broadway productions of The Profane, The Who & The What, and Urge for Going. Do you prefer acting onstage or on screen? How do they differ?
My first love will always be theatre. What I so appreciate about theatre is that no one is editing your performance. What happens on that night is what happens on that night, for better or worse, it’s yours. You have some degree of control over that and that’s so exciting. I love that anything can happen. I especially love it when you’re acting opposite someone who is also invested in being in the moment. That’s the best feeling in the world because both of you are listening so deeply that you don’t know what’s going to happen and you don’t know how you’re going to respond. Not to say that can’t happen on film, but there’s often less time to do it and there’s not necessarily that depth built with someone through rehearsal. When I started to do more television, that was a big transition. I realised, “Oh, I have to prepare all of this work on my own beforehand and come in and be flexible and in the moment with someone else who has also done that work.” Sometimes that goes really well and sometimes it feels like, “Oh gosh, I’m being too stagnant in my choices or the other person is;” that can be challenging. Then, of course, with television – it’s not an actor’s medium, it’s a director’s and editor’s medium – they will craft the performance you will ultimately see. In doing television, I’ve been able to separate myself from the end product because it’s just so deeply out of my hands, you know? [Laughs] I love television, so I’m very grateful whenever I can be a part of a project that is fun and rich in that way. But, I think theatre will always be my first love, and it’s what I feel most capable of doing.
It’s interesting hearing you say that because as a viewer, I’m never really thinking about the process of how you would be preparing for theatre versus on screen.
Often, I don’t like coming into a theatre rehearsal even having my lines memorized. I find that if I do that, I’ve made choices already. I like to make choices in the room with another human being, and you can’t do that with TV. You just don’t have the time. At least, I haven’t been privy to a process that allows that kind of rehearsal beforehand.
Looking back on your childhood, is there something specific event – a film, person, or event – that made you want to pursue acting?
I had a teacher in high school – my English teacher, but I went to a very small school, so he was also my drama teacher – and he nurtured me… I was one of those students who was more concerned about getting an A than learning in some ways. I think that’s part of being an immigrant – although my parents weren’t particularly concerned – I felt like, “I have to get an A, I have to get 100%.” But, I did All My Sons in high school and it expanded my understanding of what it is to learn and absorb something and to see other human beings reflected in work. I always loved reading, so the blueprint was there, but to realise that I could step into the shoes of these people who had been living in my books was the real magical thing to me.
Back to your question about what I’ve learned from Elham, I think there’s something about communion with yourself that I’ve learned as an actor. Those first times I did a scene or a play in high school, I realised that I needed to become friends with myself, to create an intimacy with myself that is so different from that front-facing person who wants to fit in, who is just trying to get validation from others. The other side of it requires a vulnerability with yourself, and even though that’s scary and I’ve fought against it, it’s a fight I’m willing to take on for my life because I know it’s a worthy one. I think it makes me kinder, a better person, and a better partner in the world.
It is that journey of self-discovery that is crucial to anyone, in any career, knowing who you are and being able to sit with yourself and be comfortable.
You start to realise that you don’t want to be derivative. There’s only so much you can do before you’re like, “No, I need to look inside me for there to be an output that is genuine and authentic and feels satisfying to myself.”
We talked a bit about representation on stage, but for five years, you played Zari in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the first Muslim-American superhero on television. What does it mean to be a part of that on-screen representation?
It was incredible. It was the first time I felt like I was in an ensemble and a community and supported by the showrunner, producers, and network. They were interested in hearing my opinions on her journey and her representation. That evolved, and we went on an odyssey for five years. I feel proud of the work that we all did together and I think Zari was, in some ways, really revolutionary. I still hear from people who had never seen themselves represented on screen in that way. And yes, she was Muslim, but that wasn’t the number one thing about her identity. She was a person, she was three-dimensional, she was nuanced, she was questioning, she was changing, she was complex. That was the first time that I had an opportunity to do something so important representationally and also have the time to develop it in tandem with people who were interested in doing that work.
You also use your digital platform to spread your activism work, why is this so important for you to do?
I say I have the chronic disease of caring. I can’t help but care. I always have. I grew up going to Amnesty International meetings with my mum when I was eight years old. To some degree, it’s in my blood and the ethos of my family that it is imperative to stand up for those who don’t have a voice or cannot stand up for themselves.
Social media is a very flawed system of communication, but it’s really important for me to balance both my own mental health and bandwidth for these things with speaking up when I am able for things I feel strongly about. I don’t think I’ll ever stop doing that, even in the face of perhaps losing work. More and more people are getting blacklisted and cancelled, that’s the culture we’re moving towards unfortunately – and I don’t think social media is a place to be having conversations – but it is my platform, and I get to speak up for the things that matter to me there.
That’s a tough balance to strike between looking out for your well-being and knowing that you have a platform that you can use to spread awareness, so I applaud you for that.
Thank you.
Lastly, what’s next for you and your career?
I would say that doing English on Broadway gives me a lot of hope, both in terms of representation and being involved with art that reaches people on the level that this play is. To be totally honest, it has set the bar very very high and I’m a little worried about my own mental health coming off of this project. [Laughs] Mostly, I feel so grateful that I know it’s possible to be a part of something that feels so rich. I think anyone who sees this play experientially understands that we can tell stories about people who are different from us that are universal and that are objectively good. It is just good storytelling, and that can happen across all mediums. In a wide-scale way, I hope the impact of this show reverberates into the future, not just for me, but for generations of theatre artists and other people making art in these mediums. In a lovely way, it sets the bar high for projects that I’m looking forward to in the future. I’m excited about what might be coming down the pipeline.
