The Invention That Changed Documentary Theatre Forever
Imagine walking into a theatre in 1936. There's no playbill with a neat synopsis. No curtain speech explaining what you're about to see. You take your seat – probably for free, or maybe you paid a quarter – and the lights go down.
Suddenly: Projections flash across the stage. Headlines. Photographs. Government statistics made enormous. Voices shout from every direction. Actors embody data, become witnesses, and transform into the machinery of policy itself. You're watching the news become visceral, immediate, felt.
Welcome to the Living Newspaper. And in 1936, it was unlike anything American audiences had ever experienced.
Leading with Heart: When Passion Becomes Smart Business
I've always been told I have tons of passion. Makes sense - IVP started as a passion project but then grew into a business. And it's there that I've wondered: am I too much passion and not enough business?
I choose people and projects because my heart is affected by both - and because I trust the artists who bring their hearts into the work alongside me. But my brain reminds me to be cautious. To go with the project that brings in more funds. But IVP's biggest project began with a gut feeling and collaborators who came into it with tons of...you guessed it - heart.
Winding Down (or some approximation thereof)
Maybe this is the beauty of existing in a creative field. The winding down of one thing is the birth and generation of another. It’s something I’ve learned during pregnancy: to create something new requires constant attention and energy. I might not always be conscious of it, but my body is directing all of its resources to developing this new human being. I think as artists, we must do the same. Because to cease is counter to the processes of life.
Nine Years Later: Why Their Stories Still Matter
It’s been nearly a decade since I first sat across from those five remarkable women who served in Vietnam: Ann, Judy, Jeanne "Sam," Lily, and Lucki. I had no idea how profoundly their stories would affect me. Each brought a different perspective: Ann as a Special Services Librarian, Judy in Special Services Recreation, Jeanne "Sam" with the Red Cross as a "Donut Dollie," Lily as an Army Nurse, and Lucki as an Army Intelligence Specialist. Their stories have lived with me ever since, growing and evolving as we’ve found new ways to share them with audiences around the world.