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Guests: N. Emil Thomas and Karen Kessler

Join John and Alex for Episode 4 of Lying Awake! In this episode, we talk to a panel of directors who discuss the ins and outs of the directing world! 

Bios:

N. Emil Thomas is a director, designer, producer, and playwright based in Georgia where he is the Executive Artistic Director of Marietta's New Theatre in the Square. He holds a degree in directing from Ball State University, where he studied under the leadership of Karen Kessler.
In 2016, Emil was invited to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for directorial work in Region III. With the support of his family, Emil reopened Marietta’s Theatre in the Square with one goal in mind: to create theatre for the 21st century that is inclusive of all. In the fall of 2016, Emil reached out to graduating colleagues with an opportunity to create their own theatre company, and at last Actors Theatre of Georgia was born. Emil and his team have created seasons that embody theatre for all, from a Gender-Swapped Hamlet to his adaption of O’Henry’s classic tale, The Gift of the Magi 2.0, set in Atlanta during the 1950’s Atlanta streetcar strike. This 2017 production was nominated for 5 Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre Awards. He’s directed the Southeast regional premieres of Carmen Rivera’s La Gringa, Tanya Barfield’s Bright Half Life, and Nambi E. Kelly’s Native Son, which featured an appearance from Nambi herself and won Atlanta’s BroadwayWorld Best Play and Director for 2017. In summer 2018, Emil relocated to Chicago to further develop his craft of directing. He currently studies at The Theatre School at DePaul University to receive his Master’s in Directing. His most recent production, Partners: A Stage Play, is one that he wrote, directed, designed, and produced himself in June 2020. It was a two-person modern romance performed and streamed live each night.

Karen Kessler is has been an ensemble member at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago since 2007, where she most notably directed the world premiere of Brett Neveu’s The Opponent in 2012 which she later moved to the Off-Broadway theatre, 59E59, in 2014. She also directed numerous other Chicago premieres at Red Orchid such as Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, Zinnie Harris’s Solstice, Paul Mullin’s Louis Slotin Sonata, and the US premiere of Gagarin’s Way by Scottish playwright Gregory Burke. She has directed all around Chicago for venues such as Backstage Theatre Company, Seanachi Theatre Company, the Midwest premiere of Sam Shepherd’s The God of Hell at Next Theatre in Evanston, the Goodman Theatre’s world-renowned New Play Series, and the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace at the theatre company she co-founded, the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. She is also the former Artistic Director of Famous Door Theatre in Chicago which became defunct in 2005, where she directed several more US and world premieres such as Early and Often, A Going Concern, This Lime Tree Brower, Remembrance, and Mislaid Heaven, which won a Jeff Award for Best New Work. She also has numerous credits all around the country at the Notre Dame and Illinois Shakespeare festivals and even a production of Glengarry Glen Ross for the Northern Stage Ensemble in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. She is a founder of the directorial program at Ball State University where she is a full professor of Directing and Shakespeare.