Hello!

 

My name is Audrey Molina (they/them), and I am a trans nonbinary theatre-maker. I grew up in Miami, Florida but went to high school in Stamford, Connecticut. From there, I received a full merit scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Throughout both high school and college, my love of theatre grew and grew. I performed in various shows before I finally discovered directing, and I knew immediately that I had found my passion.

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I am an enthusiastic artist dedicated to innovation, equity, and excellence both on and off stage. I believe that live theatre can be a medium for truly meaningful and transformative storytelling. With that in mind, the stories I aim to tell are those which highlight the complexity of human life while rendering that complexity plain. Any notion of strict duality- good and evil, right and wrong, masculine and feminine, etc.- will be critiqued in the work I generate. To put my artistic goals in terms of queer theory, I believe that there is a non-binary quality to all truth. That which is true is never black and white. We as humans like to make boxes and put everything in one or another; I hope to challenge audiences’ notions of the box entirely.

 

I have directed three full-length productions comprised of one play and two musicals (see my portfolio for more details and production images). In 2019, I was awarded Best Direction at the Connecticut Drama Association Festival for my production of A Voice in the Dark by Elizabeth Downing. As the Artistic Director of Vanderbilt Off-Broadway, I developed our season plans and directed two musicals, Lizzie in 2021 and 9 to 5 the Musical in 2023, involving teams of over 60 people each. These two very different projects helped me develop my leadership skills and directorial vision. I have also assistant-directed productions of Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown, and Sweat by Lynn Nottage, the latter of which was directed by Chuck Smith, resident director of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. My work with Mr. Smith helped me refine my theatrical skills, particularly in the genre of realism, and observe directing practices from a true expert in the field. I am currently assistant-directing Little Shop of Horrors at Florida Studio Theatre, directed by Sean Daniels. 

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During my undergraduate career, I triple-majored in Theatre, English Literature, and Education Studies. To my surprise and delight, these three disciplines complimented each other remarkably well. In particular, my work as an educator greatly influenced my work as a director, and vice versa. The pedagogies of critical care developed by Nel Noddings informed my approach to creative leadership and teambuilding. My classwork in Classroom Ecology helped me understand the rehearsal space as a living, breathing organism in need of careful cultivation. I believe that my passion for equitable education strongly influences my style as a director. While I aim to avoid overly-didactic storytelling, I also understand theatre as a medium for meaningful teaching and learning about the human condition, both from within the process and as an audience member.

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I view theatre as the practice of disciplined play. Each of these elements- play and discipline- must exist in exact harmony to create an ideal working environment for theatre practitioners. One of my aims as a director is to cultivate such an environment. Professionally, I intend to become a full-time director, and eventually Artistic Director of a theatre organization. I am currently working as an Artistic Apprentice at Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

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