CREATIVE APPROACH:

An American Poem challenged students to examine America’s past, present, and future while using their artistic practices to advocate for change.

Inspired by poet, educator, and politician Ras Baraka’s “I Want to Hear an American Poem,” the showcase explored subjects including addiction, housing insecurity, immigration, colorism, mental health, and generational trauma. The goal was to create a cohesive platform that honored the students’ individual perspectives while allowing their collective work to function as a larger artistic response.

To translate that concept into a clear performance framework, I organized each of the three programs into a three-act structure: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Each program functioned as a complete, standalone performance while also contributing to a larger conversation across all three shows. Together, the performances allowed ideas, questions, and perspectives to build upon one another, creating a broader artistic examination of American identity and experience.

PRODUCTION RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Artistic Direction: Developed the showcase’s creative framework, shaped the audience experience, and guided the presentation of student work across three distinct performance programs and a gallery environment

• Scheduling & Rehearsal Direction: Created the production and rehearsal schedules, ran rehearsals, tracked the development of individual pieces, and prepared approximately 85 student artists for live performance

• Multidisciplinary Coordination: Organized work spanning performance and visual art while communicating across students, faculty members, artistic disciplines, and production needs

• Live Production: Managed performance flow, transitions, staging, scenic elements, student readiness, and onsite execution across all three programs

• Gallery Production: Planned the presentation of sculptures, paintings, and other physical artworks as an integrated part of the overall showcase experience

KEY PRODUCTION CHALLENGE:

The showcase needed to present the work of 85 graduating seniors across multiple artistic disciplines while giving each student’s work appropriate space and attention. Three separate performance programs and a visual-art gallery had to feel distinct, yet remain connected by one central idea.

The production also had to accommodate varied creative processes, rehearsal needs, student experience levels, academic responsibilities, and a fixed performance timeline.

THE SOLUTION:

I created a centralized production structure that divided the project into clear phases of development, rehearsal, refinement, and execution. Detailed schedules, consistent communication, and structured rehearsals allowed multiple pieces and disciplines to progress simultaneously.

By establishing a shared thematic framework while preserving room for individual expression, I was able to connect the three performances and gallery exhibition without flattening the students’ distinct artistic voices.

OUTCOME:

The production gave graduating students a platform to present their work publicly, explore urgent social and personal subjects, and complete their time in the magnet through a shared artistic experience. It also established a framework for an interdisciplinary senior showcase that could bring performance, visual art, research, and advocacy together within one cohesive production.

LESSONS LEARNED:

The project reinforced that artistic direction is as much about building the conditions for other people’s ideas to flourish as it is about shaping the final work.

Leading An American Poem required me to balance creative ambition with structure, clarity, flexibility, and care. It demonstrated how thoughtful production systems can unite many individual voices without diminishing what makes each one distinct.