The Storyteller Studio 22-23 Cohort Portfolio
Alison O'Brien
About Me
Alison O’Brien is a “multi-hat” theatre artist who graduated Drew University in 2019 with a BA in Theatre Arts. After completing a production internship at the American Shakespeare Center, Alison went on to co-create and produce the web-series Hive. Recently, she worked with elementary school children on devising and producing an original piece over the course of seven weeks returning to her focus on new play development through the directorial and dramaturgical lens. Her work is often inspired by the small, quiet moments that give a sense of magic and wonder in our day-to-day lives.
Q+A
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
For me being an artist is always about exploration and reflection. Currently that has me reflecting on escapism, love, and the growing pains of your mid to late twenties. Being an artist requires nothing but the urge to create for me, the quality can change but the stories within us deserve the space to exist somewhere outside of us.
How have you grown during your time in the Storyteller Studio?
This being my second time in this wonderful program I found myself being able to engage with my writing more deeply knowing I had a community of creatives supporting me. The guest artist gave such inspiring insight into what it means to work as an artist and navigate the field while holding on to the importance of building a life for yourself. Their words really stayed with me as I started to navigate a new chapter in my career as an artist.
What does it mean to you to be an artist in our current moment?
Right now being an artist means looking around you and seeing what within you needs to be let out, seen, or shaken off. I also hope that art continues to be a means of connection for us all as we navigate what comes next.
How has this program shaped your understanding of dramaturgy and collaboration?
This program felt like a grounding place for me to remember why coming together and discussing new work is so important to me. I love seeing pieces start to take shape and watching these incredible writers take risks because they know they can. It reminds me that collaboration and creativity need a space to exist together if anything is going to happen.
What's next for you?
I want my work to be what I need in the moment and something I enjoy and cherish first before it goes out into the world. So for now that means finishing the first full draft of “Trees in the Forest” to see where the story goes and exploring the depth of the characters that have been running around my head for about two years now.
Trees in the Forest
Cast: Kate Fulton-John (Bea), Genevieve Windbiel (Hazel), Emily Rosales (Alexandria), Talia Smith (Nora/Lulu), Marley Mathias (Mother/Pine), Brandon Vita (Father/Arthur), and Emily Dzioba (Merlin)
I have loved being a part of this program for a second time and it is here where Trees in the Forest continues to find its roots.
When I first started writing Trees in the Forest, this program was a few months old, I was working at an Escape Room, annotating a romantic comedy book for my best friend because we had not been able to see each other in two years. I felt myself adrift and lost in a world that looked very different than the one I had imagined for myself. So much of what I had promised a younger version of myself was gone because of things outside of my control. A feeling, I’m told, is very much one of being in your mid-twenties. And it terrified me.
However, I was seeing the incredible creativity and perseverance of these other early career artists and hearing how they overcame their own fears and it brought me back to a place where I could start to create again. Like Bea, Trees in the Forest is my escape and also my reflection on what it means to get a little lost in the world.
A year or so later, Trees in the Forest feels more like a reflection and less of a stream of consciousness and it was with the support of this cohort I was able to build the conflict and challenge both myself and the characters to dig deeper and say what it is we are trying to say. Getting scenes back in front of people and working through the middle of the play has re-engaged me in the work and reminded me what it is I love about the world of play.
I am less terrified of looking forward now and being able to share the world I created is endlessly fulfilling. I did not get to this point alone; it is because of the time, vulnerability, commitment and insight of the Storyteller Studio members that I have been able to create for the joy of creating again. And for that I am extremely grateful.