The End of an Era…
Tomorrow, I’m hoping to lead my final Acting 2 Open Studio.
I started at BU at a time when so much was up in the air. So many of the acting faculty giants had moved on, and I was given the task of stepping into some very big shoes. Because there were very few remnants of prior acting training, I just jumped in and started building.
Though the time of transition may not have been ideal for any of us, I made a commitment to the Class of 2024 that I would do my best to prepare them for this crazy acting industry. I told them I had full confidence in my ability to give them reliable tools that would allow them to grow and cultivate an individual process that could make them highly competitive—if they would just trust me.
And together, we rebuilt.
When they graduated, that incredibly dark void we stepped into in Fall 2021 had transformed into something else entirely—a light at the end of the tunnel.
I will forever be proud and grateful for all the work I explored with my BU actors through the Acting 2/3 progression I created. And more than that, I am incredibly proud of the careers so many of those actors are beginning to build for themselves. It is the greatest gift.
Open Studio was an experience I started at the School of Theatre—one that every performance student engaged with from Fall 2021 through this spring. It has always been about the anti-performance:
How do we release our grasp on “performing” to allow the unknown to take over?
Can we trust that if we do the prep and script work, that living HONESTLY will always be the outcome?
That every performance of the same play is a new journey?
That RIGHT does not exist in our artistry—only THE RIGHT NOW.
Stepping down was such an incredibly hard choice—but with the new program leadership, it is necessary. I look forward to what the new program chairs will create. But what I built here over the last 5 years, together with each actor in every class, will always remain.
Endings like this don’t feel like endings. They feel like legacy. Thank you to every actor who entrusted me with their artist journey Love from Planet Patrese ❤️
In 2025 I wanted dance back in my body.
I wanted to create again.
And I did.
This began as a small idea that grew through collaboration, trust, and shared rigor — a process that reminded me why embodiment, authorship, and collective practice matter —especially when navigating spaces where racism and sexism are not abstract, but lived Everyday. #EmbodimentMatters
Nina Simone said that an artist’s responsibility is to reflect the times.
For me, that means choosing creation over erasure, and collective movement over isolated silence.
This work, created alongside a group of Black women artists and our fearless leader Yo-EL Cassell remains one of the most meaningful experiences of my creative life.
This is what it looks like to keep going. Quietly. Patiently. Brilliantly.
Credits Below ~
Movement Direction / Creation:Â @Yo -El Cassell & Cast
Lighting Design: @Alisa Saisakorn
Costume: PDM
Add’l Faculty Collaboration: @William Parsons
Performed by: Extraordinary fourth-year actresses of @sydjackss@mandy.reyy and @_kennedi.y
Deep gratitude to every artist who brought their full presence to this work đź–¤
THE #METGALASteal !!!! Please see the date on the first photo! 2015!!!! It is the day I went to the most beautiful art/photo exhibit I've ever been to. I remember the i overwhelming sense of Pride and Self Affirmation and being sheer Awe of the beauty style and grace of the Black man. This work was curated by @apshantology (featured in photos) who I JUST KNEW was a part of the MET GALA theme exploration. I was today years old when i found out not one call, inquiry, or hell even an invitation was made. yet, I see amongst the stars so many Black Artists and I wonder how? I am an artist, actor, teacher, but most of all a student of history and culture. For me, none of these could exist without the other. What happens when more and more black artists who rise to mainstream success have no knowledge or interest in the culture cartology of Black Expression??? Looks like a water downed Costume CosPlay...for me it might as well be Halloween Costumes #ShameontheMETGALA and all who participated. #DoBetter #GatekeepersgonnaGateKeep #metgala2025 I mean am I wrong?
