Megan Sandberg-Zakian
Hometown?
Seattle, WA.
Where are you now?
Boston, MA. What's your current project? I'm currently writing a book (gulp...) called There Must Be Happy Endings: On a Theatre of Optimism and Honesty which will be coming out in 2020 from The 3rd Thing Press. It's ten essays about the ethics of making hopeful art in an unjust and chaotic world, drawing on both my personal and professional experience -- I've been calling it "a coming of artistic age story." Why and how did you get into theatre? My dad is a playwright and theater teacher, and an amazing director, so I grew up sitting in his classes and rehearsal rooms, which I loved from an early age. It was both exciting and natural for me. And I always felt, "I should be here! this is where I belong!" This is where my molecular biologist mother likes to point out that I also grew up hanging out in her lab, but I didn't become a molecular biologist... What is your directing dream project? Hopefully this doesn't sound offputtingly earnest, but I feel like I've gotten to do so many projects that are even beyond my wildest dreams! Most recently, getting to helm the world premiere of Madhuri Shekar's House of Joy at Cal Shakes this summer was a dream come true for me. The play is set in a harem in Mughal India, and centers on the moral dilemma of a female bodyguard, so there were all these super cool fight sequences (choreographed by the delightful Dave Maier), gorgeous costumes (designed by the peerless Oana Boetz), an ensemble of total badass actors and crew, it was just so much fun - and so meaningful to do a play about women of color that centers power and joy, rather than trauma. And Cal Shakes is the most inclusive, generous, and intentional place I've ever worked; it was inspiring to be around the leadership and staff. Finally, working in Cal Shakes' stunning outdoor space, The Bruns, made me feel so close to the origins of theater-making -- being really present with the natural world, feeling its rhythms and movement, and understanding the connection to something much much bigger than ourselves. What kind of theatre excites you? Theatre that is sincere without being patronizing, that treats me like I'm smart while also extending a genuine invitation to me, that is deeply attentive to the material it's working with (text, actor bodies, audiences), and that feels irrevocably live. I also go to the theater to seek out pure beauty and joy, a teary sense of connection and togetherness, what Jill Dolan calls a "utopian performative" -- performances that allow us to practice and experience, in the temporary community of a theater audience, the kind of human social interactions and compassionate citizenry we would like to see in our real communities. What do you want to change about theatre today?
I'd love to see us move towards a 5-day rehearsal week and reducing the number of 10/12's, or eliminating them altogether. The way we have things structured now is built on pushing people past their physical limits, and it's not healthy. I think it takes the biggest toll on designers and tech staff. We need to take better care of our people. Also... I'd love it if more theaters made it a priority to interrogate their environmental footprint and make some changes. More and more I feel that the resources used to put up a show at a major regional theater are hard for me to defend, even to myself. What is your opinion on getting a directing MFA?
When I was deciding about grad school, I decided to go to the place where I felt I could actually LEARN the most, and learn what I felt like I really needed to learn to be the kind of artist I wanted to be. So rather than a directing MFA, I chose to get an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College in Vermont. It was an amazing, transformative, sometimes frustrating experience. I'm always open to talking to those who are considering going an alternative route like Goddard. It was a really good decision for me. Who are your theatrical heroes?
My dad, R.N. Sandberg, who shaped all my values around directing and has shaped countless other young theater-makers through his mentorship of students at Cornish College of the Arts and Princeton University. Stacy Wolf and Jill Dolan, for modeling how rigorous thinking and writing about theater can be paired with passionate enthusiasm for theater. I'm incredibly inspired by my colleagues in the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia) theater community -- amazing activists, playwrights, theater leaders, and especially the three other Middle Eastern directors I work with in the consulting group, Maia Directors: Pirronne Yousefzadeh, Evren Odcikin and Kareem Fahmy. Directors whose work I admire, who are also helming organizations that lead with love and respect for artists: Eric Ting, Michelle Hensley, Melia Bensussen, Sean Daniels, Marissa Wolf, Nataki Garrett, and there are more every day!
Any advice for directors just starting out?
Hold on to what you love about making theater. There are hard parts that we have to get through, and there are huge problems that we must call out, and there are horrifying abuses that we must not tolerate. But amongst all this, it is doubly important to keep finding opportunities to be delighted. Fierce love and rigorous analysis are compatible! Plugs! Buy my book! And check out Maia Directors. We offer casting, production and creative consulting to artists and projects engaging with stories from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
