(Joseph Kesselring, 2025, Buchwald Theater)
For my MFA in Theater Directing at Brooklyn College, I staged Arsenic and Old Lace as the culminating production of my thesis, Modern Humor: Contemporizing Comedy in the American Theater. AOL was an exploration of how classic American comedies can be reimagined for today’s audiences, transforming a 1941 murder farce into a lively, full-scale production. The result was a production that honored the play’s history while making it feel active, present, and alive for a modern audience.
Arsenic and Old Lace
The Bear
(Anton Chekhov, 2024, New Workshop Theater)
Earlier in my time at Brooklyn College, I directed Anton Chekhov’s 1885 comic one-act The Bear for the One Act Festival. This educational adaptation reimagined the play with gender-flipped roles, featuring Greta Stefania Smirnova (Nairoby Otero), Yuriy Ivanov Popóv (Evan Moore-Coll), and Natalia Soto as Luka. The project allowed me to explore comedy through a classic text while experimenting with casting choices that shifted dynamics and refreshed the humor for contemporary audiences.
