A New Endeavor

Cristy Altamirano '15 is a senior theater major who directed Maria Irene Fornes' 'Mud' during this past winter term.

Last term, in the dead of Hanover's winter, I was set on fire every other night.

Metaphorically, of course.

I directed a production of Maria Irene Fornes' Mud, which served as a sort of culmination of all of the work I have done in the Theater Department. It was the first time I had directed a show and it destroyed me rather completely, but not without also rebuilding and re-conceiving me. I came into each rehearsal with a vague idea of what I wanted to accomplish and left each night with a crushed soul, wholly ready to be rebuilt and do it all again the next night. It was a rather de-stabilizing period in my life, but never had the bitter winter mornings tasted so sweet.

I owe a lot of that growth to the environment that Dartmouth Theater Department allowed me. Having a team of designers that I trusted, a cast that was willing and excited to tackle this challenging text, and a number of faculty advisers that were wholly invested in my growth really created a process where I was free to fail and succeed in whichever way was best for me.

Ultimately, directing Mud revealed a lot of the holes that I have in my process and the way I think about theater, but now I have a better understanding of how I am going to fill those holes and continue to grow as a theater maker and I couldn't be more grateful.

Photo by Rob Strong