What Happens When You Meet One of Your Idols, Diane Paulus
Gail Bello
As a thespian, I have been incredibly fortunate and grateful to have grown up around the Boston theatre scene. Though it is necessary, it saddens me that they are all currently closed due to the Corona Virus crisis. There are so many excellent companies big and small that produce outstanding work. But the one I most enjoy going back to again and again and am proud to have worked with myself is Cambridge’s American Repertory Theater (also known as the A.R.T.).
Every show I have ever seen there always has something dynamic and totally unexpected that wows me. Much of that is due to their Tony-winning artistic director Diane Paulus. What I especially admire about her is her devotion to amplifying diverse voices such as those of women, queer and trans folks, and people of color from all walks of life and making sure their hands are in every part of the creative process even for shows she herself is not directing. Commitment to intersectionality is what we need most from our leaders in the theater community right now and Paulus does this all while utilizing the versatility of the Loeb Drama Center and other stages to craft immersive and unforgettable theatrical experiences that complement each distinct story.
During her tenure, Paulus has directed several stage musicals including the newer original works of Finding Neverland, Waitress and Jagged Little Pill as well as revivals of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Hair, Pippin (for which she won the 2013 Tony award for Best Director of a Musical) and the now postponed 1776.
Other projects she has directed haven included Eve Ensler’s In the Body of the World, Second Stage’s Witness Uganda, Oberon Productions such as Prometheus Bound and The Donkey Show among many others. She has even extended her talents to the Opera and Cirque du Soleil. She also holds a position as a Professor of the Practice of Theater in Harvard University’s English Department and in 2014, she was named to TIME Magazine’s TIME 100, Variety’s “Trailblazing Women in Entertainment” and Boston Magazine’s “50 Thought Leaders.” As a young woman with my sights on making my way in the Theatre industry, it is a resume I am in awe of.
In 2013, I was able to add an A.R.T. production to my own resume. I had the great opportunity of being selected for the first-ever Proclamation Project, a now annual program for Boston area high school students that is hosted and produced by the A.R.T. in which the young ensemble creates a devised performance piece inspired by a social-political theme.
This was the first time I saw Diane Paulus in person. It was one of the early days of production and we were having a snack break when she calmly walked into the rehearsal room to greet us. I will tell you, my friends, I have never swallowed a granola bar faster in my entire life! I was immediately struck by her presence having only prior to this, seen her in photos. I can still feel my seventeen-year-old self attempting to adjust my body into some professional seeming posture as the oats and mini chocolate chips trudged down my throat.
But as soon as she appeared, she was gone. Back to doing her daily work elsewhere in the theater offices. I saw her two other times during those four weeks of the project: on her birthday when the entire staff gathered in a meeting room to sing to her and the day of our final live performance where she congratulated us on our work. I truly hope we were able to give her and all of our audiences a memorable experience.
After that, I had only seen her over the years at various opening nights at the A.R.T. where she took command of the room to thank everyone involved in the show for their roles in the creative process before being enveloped back into the crowd featuring other theatre greats.
Late last year in the before times, I attended the 2020 A.R.T. season preview event where Diane and others gave insight into the upcoming shows. At the end of it, I had the chance to go reintroduce myself to her, but I chickened out and kicked myself for it after. But eventually, I just let the regret dissolve from my mind as there was nothing I could do.
But then, there was Black Light.
Black Light was a stunning show written and performed by David Alexander Jones. It was a drag, cabaret-style performance that took place at The Oberon; a second stage owned by the A.R.T. that has a more nightlife club-like atmosphere with everything from tables and chairs, a bar and a disco ball. My mother and I were seated at a large rectangular table in the balcony section and for a good amount of time before the show began there was no one seated across from us. Then, down on the ground level across the room, we saw her: Diane Paulus.
My mom and I looked at each other and joked “wouldn’t it be funny if…”
And then it happened. Diane Paulus was seated directly across from me! I couldn’t believe it was actually happening! I was able to enjoy and engage with the show but the idea that she was right there was in the back of my mind throughout as I tried to keep my cool and sip my drink at a normal pace (I had learned my lesson from the granola bar). Then, like every A.R.T. show, the extraordinary happened. Jones, as his character Jomama Jones, asked everyone to hold hands and stare into the eyes of their neighbor for the duration of the next song. I shifted myself towards Diane trying to not appear over-eager as we joined hands (don’t you miss when we could do that?).
The song was about supernovas and we were prompted to stare into each other’s galaxies. All I could think in that suspended moment in time were that my hands were touching hands that touched Tony’s. The galaxy in her eyes holding their glint as they spin on their axis attached to the mount with engravings of her name and show titles carved into the black like constellations. Circus acrobats, hippies, waitresses, Peter Pan, and the Lost Boys and others dancing among them through confetti and glitter.
And then the song ended, and our hands smoothly slipped apart.
When the show was over, I took the moment to reintroduce myself as I had wanted to before. I told her how I was in the first Proclamation Project and thanked her for all of the incredible experiences I have had at the A.R.T since then and expressed my excitement for her take on the now delayed 1776.
Today, I still cannot get over how cool a night that was. It is a memory I will never forget. All I really have left to say is
Diane, if you are reading this, I hope I haven’t come across too creepy. It was a joy and an honor to share galaxies with you. I hope you saw something good in mine. I cannot wait for this virus crisis to be over and return once again to the American Repertory Theater and hear your gorgeous cast of 1776 sing of our country’s founding as it finds itself again.