Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Heather LaForge.
Hi Dr. LaForge, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Theatre has always been a part of my life. When I was young, my siblings and I would spend our summers building sets, piecing together costumes, and performing shows for our parents and neighbors. I remember vividly adding dialogue to Swan Lake and rushing back and forth from the record player to the “stage” in order to cue the music just right for my dying swan variation. Even then, as a young, shy ballerina, I was fostering my love for directing and storytelling.
After dedicating most of my childhood to classical ballet, I made the switch to theatre. Majoring in Theatre Arts at the University of Puget Sound, I was lucky to have professors who saw my passion for directing and encouraged me in this specialty. With their guidance, along with the belief from my parents, I applied to Ph.D. programs and landed at UC San Diego in 2003, ready to learn more about this field. At UCSD, I met other artists who loved the work as I did. We challenged and supported one another, and, after 5 years, I graduated with a Ph.D., a husband (who received his Ph.D. in Physics), and a baby!
Since 2008, I have held many positions in various theatre organizations: Director, Teacher, Dramaturg, Choreographer, Director of Education, Curriculum Developer, Mentor, and more. In every role I learned from my students and cast members, only now to realize these experiences were helping me clarify my own passion and path.
In 2019, my business partner, Katrina DeRoche, and I founded Groundworks Theatre, a training organization dedicated to foundational theatre education, where I work as the Artistic Director. Our focus is to train artists for a solid foundation in theatre by developing core skills, enriching drama education, and encouraging exploration of stories. We believe fervently that stories connect people and promote understanding. It is our goal for our students to use these skills to find their own voice so they may impact their communities in whatever medium they pursue.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has definitely not been smooth. Starting a theatre business in the summer of 2019 proved a challenge when just seven months later, the world would shut down. In truth, making the switch on online classes helped us clarify our niche in this rich San Diego theatre community. Very early on during the pandemic, we found our students were craving intense dialogue surrounding theatrical texts. One of our talented educators, Dr. Summer Moshy, taught The Diary of Anne Frank to our middle schoolers and was left in tears as the students began discussing the isolation they felt during COVID. During the same session, I taught a class to our high schoolers on The Laramie Project and The Freedom of the City, two plays dealing with civil rights activism, and my students used these texts as launching points to discuss George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. Our students are smart and curious and were craving a place to examine how theatre responds to and helps navigate through important historical moments.
As the world began slowly opening up, Groundworks Theatre has been challenged to reimagine itself. Our students have been asking for productions and we’ve responded. Our goal has always been to train up young artists, so we are mindful of selecting plays where we can challenge our performers and crew members to engage in the stories and use the rehearsal room as a training space. Additionally, we aim to make theatre accessible to all students, so we offer scholarships for individuals from untapped, socially excluded communities and for students with financial needs. Theatre is an expensive endeavor, and we are grateful to be able to be able to offer these opportunities.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Theatre Artist. My work with actors is grounded in education. I always aim to teach students not just what to do, but why to do it, so that they gain confidence in their own choices as performers. I am passionate about students never feeling like they are too much. The theatre industry is full of incredible, diverse artists, and we want our performers to be uniquely themselves. We have a saying at Groundworks, “we love a bold choice.” We encourage our actors to be brave and to use the rehearsal room to play and explore.
My own background, beyond my passion for education, is specifically in theatre that responds to historical moments. My graduate research was on the representation of women in contemporary Irish theatre. I am currently using my research as I partner with New Village Arts, as they produce The Ferryman, a play set in 1980s Northern Ireland. Additionally, I love working on female-driven stories and finding ways to connect theatre to our current world.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
There is a much-needed shift happening in the theatre industry towards inclusion and amplification. For so long artists of color and disabled artists were not afforded their rightful space. Directors are learning to step aside on projects that are not their stories to tell. It is the responsibility of all theatre artists to ask for varied voices and perspectives to fill our stages.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.groundworkstheatrearts.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/groundworks_theatre_arts/
Image Credits
Scotti Taylor
Katrina DeRoche
Erin Kelly
