I wish I was a Jellyfish: Reflections on Artistic Leadership and Directing Jawbone

Abstract

This artist statement accompanies the Fall 2020 production of Meghan Greeley’s Jawbone at the University of Calgary’s University Theatre. The show was produced by the University of Calgary Drama Division in the School of Creative and Performing Arts and was supervised by Christine Brubaker. This document outlines the creative process of Jawbone as well as the development of my directorial and leadership skills. Chapter One outlines how I was drawn to Jawbone, as well as the artistic questions that I was pursuing inside of it. The second chapter documents my research leading up to the creative process of Jawbone, including interviews that were conducted with artistic leaders across Canada, as well as the artistic core values that I held before entering into the Jawbone process. In Chapter Three, I focus on the conceptual journey and the resulting design process for Jawbone. This chapter examines the skills that I gained throughout the design process and interrogates whether my pre-existing core values served me or not. In Chapter Four, I discuss the process from auditioning up until opening night. This chapter explores working with the actor, directorial challenges and resulting discoveries. Chapters Five and Six outline my major takeaways and learnings from the process overall. In Chapter Six, I discuss how my core artistic values have changed and developed.