Name: Emily Moler
Class year: 2015
Major: Theater, Art History Minor
Hometown: Westford, MA
HC: How did you get involved with directing theater?
Emily: I was really involved in theater as an actor in high school. My junior year I was selected to Assistant Direct a production of Arthur Kopit’s, Chamber Music. Something really clicked for me when I worked on that show as an AD. I realized that I am much more inclined to think about how best to tell the story as a whole, rather than from the perspective of one particular character. Since then, I’ve known that I want to direct.
HC: What made you choose The Penelopiad as the blackbox?
Emily: I chose The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, for a few reasons. The play grapples with images of misogyny, sexual assault, and victim blaming, among many other relevant issues. I’ve felt the presence of misogyny in the Skidmore community and was not surprised to learn that the members of the cast felt similarly. During my college career, I have often felt as if I’ve not been taken seriously or I’ve been dismissed because of my gender, and many of my friends have expressed discomfort due to unwanted male attention and have cited specific sexism-laden events to me in the past. This play allowed me to put issues that are so important to me as a woman on stage, and let me tackle them as an artist. It was an exciting challenge. The play is also a celebration of femininity. During my time here at Skidmore I’ve been exposed to strong female role models, both in my peers and in the faculty. I am grateful to say that these interactions outnumbered my experiences with misogyny. In some ways this play is also a love letter to the strong, funny, passionate, driven women in my life. Lastly, I think that the play capitalizes on the current Skidmore Theater Department’s greatest resources, female actors. We are primarily a department of smart, creative, capable, and passionate young women, who would be thrilled to sink their teeth into a play like The Penelopiad, and that’s exactly what we did.
HC: What were some of the challenges to working with an all female cast? What were the benefits?
Emily: Working with an all female cast had no downside. Because this play deals so intimately with women’s issues, we were able to talk freely and openly about our own experiences at Skidmore and beyond. It was amazing to see how those discussions translated themselves and were able to manifest on the stage.
HC: Tell us about what it’s been like to take on such a big task as directing the black box, as a student.
Emily: Directing the black box has been a dream of mine since freshman year. It was certainly daunting at first. I think the most nervous I was during this process was on the first day of rehearsal, but reading through the piece for the first time reminded me of how lucky I was to have the opportunity, and how excited everyone was to begin the process. I worked with such amazing collaborators. Everyone from designers, stage management, run crew, to the actors, were all incredible.
HC: Do you have any advice for aspiring directors here at Skidmore?
Emily: Try to Assistant Stage Manage at least once.
Get into the rehearsal room and observe as many directors as you can.
Take the time to learn about every aspect of theater. Working with a team becomes much more effective when you all share a vocabulary, and you can appreciate the hard work everyone puts in if you’ve done it too.
Take Art History classes! It’ll broaden your knowledge of composition and style.
Go abroad and see as much insane theater as you can.
Work hard. Know that you always have room to grow.
Be undeniable.