Welcome to another Meet Our Team Monday, where we get to introduce you to the talented group of artists that are currently helping create an original production of The Brave Little Tailor just for you.

We hope to see you at one of our public performances of Tailor: May 10 at the Philadelphia Free Library, May 31 at Smith Memorial Playground and June 6 at Morris Arboretum.

This post features Artistic Director Jennifer Smith and Stage Manager Jamel Baker. All interviews are conducted by our Marketing Intern, Rachel Hulsart.

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Jennifer Smith: Artistic Director, Literary and Education

Rachel: Our audience primarily consists of children with a wide range of dreams of what they want to be. When you were a kid, what did you want to be?

Jennifer: A pirate…I loved “Treasure Island”…and an artist – I loved anything that had to do with creating – sometimes through drawing, papier-mâché and clay and sometimes through reading and writing stories.

Rachel: Where did you attend college and what drew you into pursuing a career as an Artistic Director, specifically the Education and Literary aspect?

Jennifer: I went to Bennington College and studied literature and writing, with an emphasis on poetry and playwriting. I also studied theater and began to get very interested in finding a way to combine all of the different aspects of the arts that I enjoyed into one career. When I met my husband, Landis Smith, we both decided to pursue our love of theater, music, puppetry and the visual arts and create a new kind of theater. So, I think I didn’t purposely pursue a career as an Artistic Director, but I became one through the pursuit of all the arts that delight me.

Rachel: What were some memorable theatrical experiences that you remember having growing up or even recently?

Jennifer: Ohh…that’s a hard one. There are so many memorable experiences that I’ve been fortunate to have. Some of these are experiences of productions that I’ve seen and some are ones that I’ve been in. Maybe the first real ‘wow’ experience of watching a play happened to me in high school when I saw an amazing production of “Hamlet” in Chicago, at an outdoor theater at Ravinia Park. The production was so intense and moving that for the first time I really got inside of Shakespeare’s words and drama and felt I was living and breathing it. Productions I’ve seen as an adult of Peter Brook’s “The Cherry Orchard,” Theatre de Complicite’s “The Chairs” and “Mnenomic” – an amazing piece combining physical, visual theater with humor, moving drama and technology – Julie Taymor’s “The Lion King” – a splendid mix of so much of what theater at its best can do, and Theatre du Soliel’s  “Tambours sur La Digue”….music, puppets, people as puppets, myth and magic! These are the experiences that pop up.

Memorable experiences that I’ve had creating theater range from my first experience with a play in third grade – creating teepees for a production about native Americans – and in “Our Town” in 8th grade; being amazed at the transformation of my fellow students as they spoke the magical words of the piece and became George and Emily. Later in our work in Enchantment Theatre, the delight of developing our own work that combined physical theater, dance, puppetry, masks and magic and sharing wonderful stories with a rapt audience. Our original production of “The Great Alexi” – a magical vaudeville piece – and “Beauty and the Beast” – in which we combined puppetry, masks and magic with great original music and stunning lighting – both of these were fantastic experiences.

I’ve also enjoyed creating pieces that combine great music, stories and magic for symphony orchestra performances – “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” “The Firebird” and “Scheherazade” are a few of my favorites.  Having the opportunity to work alongside of some of the great orchestras in North America – Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta, Baltimore and Montreal – is incredibly moving and uplifting.

Being able to create theater with an amazing group of artists – our artistic and production team and our talented young performers – is a continual privilege and delight!

Rachel: How is working with Enchantment Theatre Company different from any other company you have worked for before?

Jennifer: This is the only theater company I’ve worked for…starting in my twenties! But I think the mission and values of the Company are very important and distinguish what we’re about. Our purpose is to engage the imagination and spirit of our audience, to literally bring about a transformation, so audiences come away having shared and experienced something both delightful and meaningful that changes their perspective on themselves and their fellow humans.

Rachel: What was the first theatrical production that you saw as a child?

Jennifer: The very first I remember was a musical at our local high school when I was eight– but I remember the magic and pleasure of it rather than the title of the show!

Rachel: If you could bring to life any of your favorite fairy tales/ childhood stories that Enchantment has not yet produced, what would they be and why?

Jennifer: I loved “The Rescuers” as a child and would like to find a way to do it someday. There’s something marvelous about a motley band of mice that manage to rescue a poet from a castle that is funny, moving and fantastic – it’s a great adventure story. Margery Sharp’s writing is witty and subtle and Garth William’s illustrations have always made me want to know these mice. Introducing children to a theatrical, non-Disney version of the story would be very satisfying. Perhaps some of the pleasure in telling all of these wonderful tales is getting to metaphorically rub shoulders with some great children’s authors as well as some of the memorable characters that they’ve created. What a pleasure to spend time with Pinocchio, Sylvester and his magic pebble, Harold and his purple crayon, the Brave Little Tailor, Peter Rabbit, Scheherazade, Beauties, Beasts, dragons and sorcerers!

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Jamel Baker: Stage Manager

Rachel: Our audience primarily consists of children with a wide range of dreams about what they want to be. When you were a child, what did you want to be?

Jamel: I was one of those kids who probably changed his mind all the time when it came to what I wanted to be when I grew up. I think the main one was always that I wanted to be a teacher. Not sure why that one was always my go to, but I did always like the idea of teaching and passing on what I learned to a future generation.

Rachel: Where did you attend college and what drew you into the field of Stage Managing?

Jamel: I went to Millersville University in Lancaster. At that school there’s a small theatre program so we were allowed to do everything in the field. I was actually going to try sound or lighting design, but when I Assistant Stage Managed our production of “Little Shop of Horrors”, I fell in love with that part of theatre. I started learning everything I could about Stage Managing.

Rachel: What were some memorable theatrical experiences that you remember having growing up or even recently?

Jamel: My first was when I played the fireman in a PSA sort-of play in summer camp when I was 9. It was perhaps fifteen minutes and I didn’t have that many lines but at that time it was a huge deal for me. Another time was when I played Hud from HAIR in college. That was a huge deal because I had to learn lines, singing, and choreography. The fact that I did all of this without screwing up made me very happy, ha!

There was also my first season working with Theatre Exile in Philadelphia. To explain all my experiences with them would be long, but let’s just say that “The Rape Play” and “Lieutenant of Inishmore” are two shows that I will never forget.

Rachel: How is working with Enchantment Theatre Company different from any other company you have worked for before?

Jamel: Working for Enchantment is different because of the process they have when creating their shows. For starters, I’m always used to working on shows where the actors speak to move the story/narration along. But since Enchantment mostly focuses on movement it makes it more interesting when I go about blocking a show during rehearsal. Yes there is narration, but it’s only the unseen narrator who speaks while the actors move onstage to bring the works to life. I love the different approach because it allows me to experience working for a different type of theatre, which helps me grow as a Stage Manager.

Rachel: What was the first theatrical production that you saw as a child?

Jamel: Because I didn’t get into theatre until I was in college, I didn’t really see much theatre until then. But one of the first shows that I saw and fell in love with was Mary Martin’s version of “Peter Pan.” Granted I saw it on tape, but it was still one of the most exciting things to see as a child.

Rachel: If you could bring any of your favorite fairy tales or childhood stories to life onstage, which would you choose and why?

Jamel: I think it would be “The Boy who Cried Wolf.” That was a story I remember hearing a lot as a child and also the one story my parents would bring up if I ever lied about something. It would be nice to see that onstage.

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Thanks, Jennifer and Jamel!