Director's note

When I first started to work on Anastasia, I stumbled across a poem by Andrea Gibson that truly resonated with me - as a person, and as a director: 
_______
A difficult life is not less 
worth living than a gentle one. 
Joy is simply easier to carry 
than sorrow. And your heart 
could lift a city from how long 
you’ve spent holding what’s been 
nearly impossible to hold. 

This world needs those
who know how to do that. 
Those who could find a tunnel 
that has no light at the end of it, 
and hold it up like a telescope 
​to know the darkness 
also contains truths that could 
bring the light to its knees. 

Grief astronomer, adjust the lens, 
look close, tell us what you see.
_______
 
I’ve thought about that last sentence over and over again. It has provoked many questions for me. How does grief shape our worldview? What does it allow each of us to see? Does the heaviness of grief, by its very nature, encourage us to look up? 

I find immense hope in Gibson’s words. 

This poem has ended up shaping every aspect of this production. I firmly believe that Anastasia is a grief astronomer: Her life has been full of darkness, but it is that darkness that also allows her to search for and see the light. 

I hope that we all can find the beauty in both. 

Jenn Chandler

Photos by Joe Williams and Kyra Robins. Trailer by Ashley Murphy. 
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Costume Designer: Jess Wallace Nielsen
Technical Director: Josh Patterson
Scenic Designer: Trent Bean
Sound Designer: Jake Empey

Lighting Designer: Ari Jamieson
​Music Directors: Michael Huff & Brian Stucki
​Choreographer: McKenzie Levi
​Stage Manager: Kyra Robins
​Photography: Savannah Withers