Estefanía Fadul is a Colombia-born, New Hampshire-raised, New York City-based director and producer making her WAM Theatre debut directing our June 19 Fresh Takes Play Reading of The Oregon Trail by Bekah Brunstetter. Estefanía is the founding artistic director of Pleiades Productions, a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab, and a New Georges Affiliated Artist. She holds a B.A. in Drama and French from Vassar College, where she co-founded the all-women’s collective Idlewild Theater Ensemble. As a senior, she was awarded a Kazan Memorial Prize for distinction in the theatre arts for her thesis production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Estefanía also holds a certificate in filmmaking from the Prague Film School. Her original short film BEAUTY MARK was accepted into the 2011 Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner, and she directed Sonnet #55 at the 9/11 Memorial for New York Shakespeare Exchange’s Sonnet Project. Estefanía was a 2015 Fall Fellow of the Drama League Directors Project, and a 2014-15 Van Lier Fellow at Repertorio Español. She is passionate about developing new plays and re-examining the classics, and aims to connect diverse communities through inventive, visceral, and socially-conscious storytelling.
WAM Theatre: How did you first learn about WAM Theatre?
Estefanía Fadul: I learned about WAM through artistic director Kristen van Ginhoven, when we both participated in the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in the summer of 2013. She spoke with great passion about the work she did with WAM and I was immediately intrigued!
WAM: What made you want to work with WAM?
Estefanía: First, I am thrilled for the opportunity to finally work with Kristen! I also strongly believe in WAM’s mission to support the work of women artists in the theatre. My own work is very focused on women’s stories or plays that feature three-dimensional, complex female characters. Companies like WAM are integral to supporting female voices and making our stories – which have traditionally been underrepresented on stage – accessible to an audience of women and men alike.
WAM: What appealed to you about our Fresh Takes Play Reading Series?
Estefanía: I love that Fresh Takes provides an opportunity for new collaborators to come together, dive into a play for a day, and share it with the local audience in an intimate, relaxed setting. I personally have a hard time reading plays to myself- they don’t come to life for me until I hear them out loud with actors who give voice and nuance to the story. Fresh Takes invites the audience to experience the work of some of today’s most exciting rising voices in the American theatre in the way that they are meant to be experienced- off the page.
WAM: What appealed to you specifically about The Oregon Trail by Bekah Brunstetter?
Estefanía: This play is so wonderfully quirky- in the language, the characters, and even the structure. The playwright has created a unique world that is at once real and imaginary, human and technological. Although it seems light on the surface, underneath it all is a complex, multi-layered character going through some serious growing pains and trying her best to make her way in the world. I think anyone who’s been through the awkward stages of middle and high school can relate to her struggles. She is a deeply flawed character and yet we can’t help but empathize and root for her – which to me is one of the signs of a really great play. (It also doesn’t hurt that I loved playing “The Oregon Trail” computer game growing up!)
WAM: We know you grew up in New Hampshire, is this your first time working in the Berkshires?
Estefanía: I was up in the Berkshires last summer for a directing retreat, and it was a truly magical place to do creative work. The area is so beautiful and relaxing and inspiring. And the views, the smells, the architecture all remind me of home! It’s very comforting.
WAM: What drew you into a career in theatre?
Estefanía: I’ve been doing theatre since I was very little. I think I was partly drawn to it because I loved films from a very young age and I would get sucked into the stories to the point of really wanting to be part of them myself. And when I saw theatre as a kid it was like a rush – I always left not just wanting to part of it, but also exhilarated to have shared the experience with so many other people. So very early on, I declared I wanted to be an actress, but by high school, after participating in plays as an actor, a producer, stage manager, and eventually a director, I realized that directing and producing were really my favorite things. I’m very thankful to get to collaborate with brilliant actors instead!
WAM: What kind of project appeals to you the most?
Estefanía: Most of my work features women protagonists, has some sort of social and/or political relevance (without necessarily being a “political” play), and often integrates music into the storytelling (ideally live). Lately I’ve also been very drawn to pieces with movement and ensemble work. I love strong visuals and poetic design elements, and my favorite processes involve deep collaborations with a design team to discover and define the world of the play. I love work that brings the audience into the world from the moment they walk in the door, if not before, and considers how the audience relates to the space and to the story.
WAM: What’s next for you this summer?
Estefanía: I’m workshopping a couple new plays with some awesome collaborators, directing a short film, and producing a play at the NYC Fringe Festival!
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