Interview: Elizabeth V. Newman of TIDE at The Filigree Theatre

Elizabeth V. Newman moved with her family from New York City to Austin ten years ago. A single working mom, she is now in her 4th season at The Filigree Theatre as an artistic director and is thrilled to have found an extended family in the Austin theatre community. The Filigree Theatre company delivers each season with a theme that ties together unique and wonderful stories, that include famous traditional playwrights as well as contemporary, new works.

I started a very candid conversation with Elizabeth V. Newman discussing the overarching theme of Season 4 "By The Sea". I asked her what the sea meant to her and how she selected the season's theme.

"I have always felt a connection with the sea" Elizabeth started, "during COVID we felt isolated, land lock in a way. After talking to people about the need to escape and break free [from the COVID lockdown], I drew a parallel to the feeling of freedom one can get from the vastness of the ocean". She continues her rationale behind this season's theme, "earlier in the season, The Filigree Theatre did The Lady from the Sea by Henrik Ibsen - a play that I read years ago." This is a play that tells us that the sea has "a vastness and a depth that are unfathomable. It is something before which we stand in awe, and sometimes in fear". The season as a whole explores the characters' connection to the sea and how it can represent freedom, hope, and new beginnings and on the other hand, it digs deep into the undercurrent message that there are devastating and terrifying truths and feelings that we can only overcome if we face them heads on if we hold on to each other to jump in.

I shared with her that I like plays that come together in the end - don't we all? - and that she did a great job at bringing it the audience along through the character's journey in Tide.

I noticed that she works with a lot of women in her cast and crew and that her playwrights are mostly female. I was curious as to her position on the main challenges for women in the industry and what she can share with upcoming women artists in this industry.

Elizabeth recommends women be honest with themselves and their co-workers about their boundaries and expectations. "Be upfront about your commitment to the job and your boundaries with working hours, priorities, etc.". She is a single mom, working full time, and leads The Filigree Theatre by example. She uses empathy and respect for other people's personal lives when scheduling rehearsals, attending design and tech meetings, etc. She believes that this applies to all, not just women, and strives to create a work environment that is pleasant for all so that those people that work with her can "achieve their greatest potential". She laughs and says, "At Filigree, where I have my little sphere of influence, I make sure that we all have a space where we understand that we are all humans, that we all have different things that we carry with us, and we make it work together."

Next, we talked about her next project with The Filigree Theatre.

"Our 5th Season starts in the Fall; we haven't announced it yet, but it will start in September-October." She also confirmed that the company is having a fundraising event on May 11th - the theme of the Gala is "Gold and Silver By The Sea" at Pease Park and it is open to the public. Ticket information can be found on the company's website here.

Non-theatre related, Elizabeth is directing a short film in collaboration with Christine Hoang, a fantastic, strong, brave woman artist with whom she has worked in the past.

Elizabeth likes to collaborate with playwrights - when possible as some of her chosen pieces were written a long time ago or they are pieces that are well-established. She usually picks new and contemporary plays for the Spring show, which allows her to collaborate with playwrights who may be able to travel to Austin to work in person with cast and crew making the Spring show a "living and breathing piece of work".

I close our conversation by asking her if there was anything that she wants to audience to take with them when they live the theatre.

"The darkness that comes with trauma can be really strong and hard or feel unsurmountable." For her, the most essential message is that we can carry each other through the overwhelming feelings that are left after any traumatic situation (like COVID was for our society). We can hold and help each other heal to overcome the darkness and find the light.

It was a great pleasure to meet Elizabeth V. Newman and see her work on stage. I look forward to following her journey into Season 5 next fall.

 

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