At Brooklyn Acting Lab, we’re speaking to past and present BAL Teaching Artists about their dreams, artistic passions, and work in the field of teaching and theatre.
Here’s former BAL Teaching Artist, Miriam Holmes!
What are you up to now?
I’m currently in Chicago working towards a masters in teaching.
What’s your favorite way to create?
I like creating collaboratively—I find that I think much better when I can bounce ideas off other people.
I like creating collaboratively—I find that I think much better when I can bounce ideas off other people.
What’s your favorite project you’ve ever worked on?
I have three favorite projects (and one of them has nothing to do with theater!). When I was a sophomore in college, I stage managed a production of The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel. I fell in love with the story, the production, and best of all, the people I worked with, some of whom became my best friends. A few years later, I co-directed a production of Redwall that a friend and I wrote together. Finally, I’m currently working on making a knit/crocheted blanket with two friends. We don’t live near each other, but they’re ultimately going to send me their squares and I’m going to put them together to make a blanket.
I have three favorite projects (and one of them has nothing to do with theater!). When I was a sophomore in college, I stage managed a production of The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel. I fell in love with the story, the production, and best of all, the people I worked with, some of whom became my best friends. A few years later, I co-directed a production of Redwall that a friend and I wrote together. Finally, I’m currently working on making a knit/crocheted blanket with two friends. We don’t live near each other, but they’re ultimately going to send me their squares and I’m going to put them together to make a blanket.
If you could talk to your ten-year-old self, what would you tell them?
I’d tell her to keep performing—don’t worry about not being super great—but also check out some of those back stage jobs. Learn tap dance if that’s a thing you want to do. And keep hanging out with little kids if that makes you happy.
What advice do you have for young artists?
I think that young artists, like all artists, should keep trying new things—when I was a kid, I didn’t think that I liked any plays except musicals. Once I got older, I thought I only liked realism and musicals. The more I learned about theater, the more I found there were things I liked; I just had to let myself try.