I can’t believe it’s getting toward the end of May already! We finished up the Faith Formation year at church on Sunday which means we shift from our weekly classes to a more laid back summer schedule of families worshipping together interspersed with some trips and summer camps. I am looking forward to a bit of time to reflect and to play well for the new year. We also just finished a wonderfully grueling three days of auditions and callbacks…

A sermon based on Acts 17:22-31 The other week I attended a performance at the Pillsbury House Theatre. It was part of their youth programming; a project called the Chicago Avenue Project. For the Spring portion of the program they choose eight children actors between the ages of 8 and 13. They pair them with an adult playwright who writes a short play for them to be featured in. Then the children act in that play with an adult actor…

A couple of months ago I went out for coffee with a new friend and fellow theatre artist. As this is my year of Turning Pro, I’ve started to ask fellow theatre people who I should know. Who should I be paying attention to? Who’s work should I be checking out? Who else should I go out for coffee with? It’s about being curious and paying attention to the fellow artists in my sphere. He asked me if I would…

Picture a roller coaster, speeding along the track. It takes some amazing curves, does a couple of loops, and then starts powering up another hill so that it can drop and head toward the finish. Except, instead of powering up that hill and going over it starts to lose momentum and then it just… stops. Friends, I am that rollercoaster. Things were going really well. I felt like I was hitting my stride with writing and posting regularly. I wrote…

Let’s talk about entitlement, shall we? I’m sitting at a booth in my favorite brewery. I got there shortly after they open because I had a meeting and wanted to get a comfortable spot. After my meeting I stayed on to do some work. The space is filling up; a group of people have set up several tables for a party they are hosting, others are hanging out post work. I am happily writing away in my journal. A white,…

There once was a man named Jack Pearson. He was famous for wearing plaid shirts and brightly colored suspenders (his favorite were yellow). He was also famous for the songs he wrote for children. But mostly he was famous for his kindness and his love. Jack died in January at only 63 years old. It feels immensely unfair that this beautiful man is no longer with us; that he left us so ridiculously soon. His memorial service was on Saturday…

At the beginning of the year I declared that this would be my year of “Turning Pro.” I set a goal to apply to ten writing related things by the end of the year. At this point in the year I have already hit my goal of ten applications. On top of that I applied for two grants for Uprising and a speaking opportunity for Uprising and one for QueerTheology. I went into these applications with low expectations. I know…

waves Uh, hi! Sorry I disappeared for a bit there. I was trucking along, writing regularly, and then all of the sudden I wasn’t anymore. It’s amazing how easy it is to stop and how hard it is to start/keep going. I know that part of it is finding myself at a crossroads with this space. As more of my energy goes into playwriting and theatre, I find myself not knowing what to write here. What stories do I have…

I have a complicated relationship with the military. I remember on the night that war was declared in the Gulf gathering in a huge worship service and belting out Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” with tears in my eyes and fear in my heart. I was ten and terrified that we were going to be at war. But I was also proud of my country and the people who were serving in the military. As my politics and theology…

Every time I tell my story in front of a religious group the question comes up. I know it’s coming. I dread its coming. Because I still haven’t come up with a good answer. What is the question? “If God doesn’t make mistakes, then why are you transgender?” Ooooof, right? I mean, where do you even start? On the one hand, I kind of want to say, “Don’t know. Don’t care.” Mostly because the question never quite feels genuine. Or…