The Storyteller Studio 22-23 Cohort Portfolio
Elisabetta Bracer-Berrie
About Me
Elisabetta is a 2022 graduate from Montclair State University, holding two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Theatre Studies and English. As of June 2023, she works as a teaching artist at Porch Light Productions, a children's theatre company in Glen Rock, NJ! When she's not teaching acting lessons or directing a production, Elisabetta is found with an iced coffee and her laptop writing away. She's had her plays performed at MSU and in the Latea Theatre in NYC, and hopes to continue her dramaturgical work and writing with her students and onstage.
Q+A
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
As an artist, I enjoy bridging the gap between different theatrical artforms. Dance and traditional stage work and live performance art- it's all thrilling seeing it all come together and breathe the same air. Life isn't a straight play, so why should my writing be? Along with this, having in depth conversation about people and the world around characters gives me the same joy I felt getting an A on a paper when I was a kid. I people watch to gather material, and it's exciting creating these worlds within my own mind. Now, it's just time to get it out for other people to join the party!
How have you grown during your time in the Storyteller Studio?
I've loved nothing more than to hear the wonderful news from my fellow cohort members. Seeing artist thrive in their own special way, or seeing them talk about their 9-5 job and how they write on the side. Just getting to know these individuals and seeing us all come together to support one another, strangers, has been nothing short of a heartwarming experience.
What does it mean to you to be an artist in our current moment?
Being an artist right now means having a view of the world that is nothing but pure fascination. In our ever-changing climate and what it means to be an artist, a true artist looks at the world without rose colored glasses. It means speaking up for ourselves and others who cannot. It means finding love and experiencing heartache, loving and laughing and dealing with the pain and burden of the world on your shoulders. There's nothing more disheartening than to be an artist in this moment. But there's nothing more thrilling and fulfilling than being an artist right now. To never shut up and be shut down.
How has this program shaped your understanding of dramaturgy and collaboration?
It's made me more certain that this is the profession for me. Being in such an open and collaborative space has been so beautiful, sharing personal struggles in our writing and our day-to-day life. I want to do this forever, be apart of a community like this for as long as I am on this earth.
What's next for you?
I'm getting published in a the Pirandello Society of America journal for my adaption of the Italian Dramatist Luigi Pirandello's piece "War, Quando si comprende". Otherwise, I'll continue teaching the new generation of theatre makers and writing!
I Don't Remember Dee, Vee, and Me
Content warning: discussions of sexual assault
I Don’t Remember Dee, Vee and Me was my first attempt at a full length play with no intermission. What I want with my writing is to tell stories of real people, and the first person I could really write about with in depth knowledge, was myself. I’ve written about past romantic ventures and the trauma that took place, but I had never openly talked about the friends I met in college. What college was like for me. Some say the best years of their life were in college- I say the opposite. Not that I had a terrible time, but it wasn’t this dreamy experience. There were lots of ups, and rock bottom was hit on multiple fronts for me. Talking about my bisexuality and how it was viewed in the eyes of people I had been friends with, I had shared a piece of my life with- I didn’t know how to talk about it. So instead, I wrote about it. This is one of my most experimental pieces. The plot isn’t totally linear, there’s performance art mixed in with traditional theatre (inspired by my time in the Scotland performing arts scene), and overall, it’s based on real conversations and moments I had with two pivotal people in my life. Vee taught me to be a gentle person, taught me to be a better person. Dee let alcohol take both of us down and let their lack of morale take advantage of me. An individual being sexually assaulted by someone that didn’t identify as a man- those stories, I had never heard of. I was terrified to admit that I was assaulted by someone I trusted my life with at one point, let alone by someone that wasn’t a man. How could I? Would I get the same “you asked for it”? Would I get looks, asked if I tempted Dee and lead them on?
I Don’t Remember Dee, Vee and Me is my story of riding the wave until they got too big. It’s my story of life and friends and what love means. It’s my story of how I became the person I am today. And my story isn’t about the assault per se - the majority of my time with the real Vee and Dee was spent laughing and enjoying life. We loved and laughed and experienced our early young adulthood together. There are times I look back fondly at those memories, and others I must turn away from and never look back on. This isn’t a survival story. It just happened. It exists. It’s nothing more than memories now.