Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth V. Newman.
Hi Elizabeth, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve lived in Austin for almost ten years (by way of Los Angeles and Toronto) but was born and raised in New York City. I’m so grateful to have grown in a place where I had access to the performing arts from a very young age. I think it set me on my professional course very early on. I went on to double-major in History of Art and Theatre Studies (Performance) at Yale and to earn my MFA in Film Production at Boston University (Directing).
After graduate school, I worked freelance in the film industry in New York and Los Angeles while creating my own film projects as a writer/director and cutting my teeth as an independent theatre producer. Some favorite productions were co-producing with Origin Theatre Company the American Premiere of Samuel Adamson’s CLOCKS & WHISTLES in New York and producing the West Coast Premiere of Rinne Groff’s ORANGE LEMON EGG CANARY in Los Angeles. I treasure having had the chance to form communities of friends and colleagues in these different cities and to experience, first-hand, the ups and downs and nitty-gritty of independent theatre and film production in different locales.
The concept of starting a theatre company that had, at it core, a seasonal structure of Past, Present and Future connected by a unifying theme began to take hold, not as a ‘gimmick’ or marketing/branding trick, but as a lens through which to explore deeper connections between works for the audiences and for the theatre-makers alike.
I savor the chance to consider a work of art not only in and of itself, but in the context of other works: to what was this piece created in response? to what is it referencing? We appreciate and understand, more profoundly, any particular work of art when we view it in context with or in comparison to other works. I wanted audiences to have a chance to explore the deeper connections between the shows each season.
The word ‘Filigree’ came to mind because I’ve always admired the delicacy and beauty of metal filigree work and marveled at how something so ornate and seemingly fragile, was, in fact, comprised of material that is, in reality, quite strong.
I delved deeper into the etymology of the word, ‘Filigree’ and, nerd that I am, I was excited to learn that it came from Latin words for ‘seed’ and ‘thread’ as that was exactly my dual goal for the theatre company: a) to grow creative projects in my new hometown of Austin and b) to connect these creative works, and Austin collaborators, to a broader theatre community.
Along with Stephanie Moore (who served as co-Managing Director for the first two seasons) I launched Filigree with the Los Angeles premiere of ANY NIGHT by Daniel Arnold & Medina Hahn, taking the production of ANY NIGHT that we had staged in Austin to Los Angeles audiences. Happily it was extremely well-received by LA critics.
We returned to Austin to stage Filigree’s Season One Fall Production of BETRAYAL by Harold Pinter (included in The Austin American Statesman’s Ten Most Memorable Productions of 2017’) a few months later.
‘To Filigree’ means ‘to make by hand and with much skill.’
Now in its Fourth Season of critically-acclaimed work, Filigree remains committed to artistic excellence, to community-building within Austin and to creating collaborations between Austin-based artists and those residing in other cities. Growing these fine, strong connecting threads lies at the heart of Filigree’s mission.
Our Annual Season is structured to connect the Past, Present & Future of theatre through a shared Theme that runs throughout the season, comprised of:
- FALL (Past) A play that is from the theatre cannon
- WINTER (Present) A play that is the work of a playwright living/working today
- SPRING (Future) A play that is a new work or world premiere
As Filigree’s Producing Artistic Director, the balance of my creative work is directing and producing independent theatre. I continue to work as a filmmaker as well and was founding co-President of Women In Film & Television (Austin), and have twice served as a panelist for Austin Film Festival.
Whether creating work for the stage or for film, I dearly love collaborating closely with designers, actors and writers to create distinct, unique environments in which the story, the emotional journey unfolds, be it a surrealist nightmare dreamscape in ANY NIGHT, a Victorian candle-lit ghost-world in THE TURN OF THE SCREW, or a chic Art Deco 1930’s environ in FEFU AND HER FRIENDS. I enjoy creating work in traditional black-box theatre or in site-specific locations – as the piece requires.
My goal when I direct for the stage – often creating work with small casts in intimate spaces – is to draw the audience in close to the unfolding of the drama: to allow them to hear the whispers, feel the breath of the actors and to witness subtle, nuanced performances close up. Creating work that is that intimate requires precision and unified vision and coordination of all of the production, design and performance elements. With the audience watching so closely, there’s nowhere to hide. It is an exciting challenge each time!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Each production and each season bring with it new obstacles, new challenges. I’ve learned that the key is (to try) to bring a sense of fun and joy to being nimble and finding a creative solution to whatever may come our way!
Like many companies creating live theatre, Filigree went on a two-year hiatus in March 2020. We retuned to live performance to complete Season Three with our World Premiere of Charlie Thurston’s LIFTED in April 2022. Set in a backyard of a house in a dystopian near-future, our production adapted (for Covid Safety reasons) to being outdoors and site-specific. I think the change from going up in a more traditional theatre space to a gritty outdoor location had the unexpected benefit of lending the environment a richness that might not have been present we done it indoors in April 2020 as originally intended.
With our Fall Production for Season Four (Ibsen’s THE LADY FROM THE SEA) we likewise opted for a (mostly) outdoors site-specific production in the gardens of the beautiful Neill-Cochran House Museum.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Making anything new is equally terrifying and exhilarating. There is something that is so thrilling about creating a new company, a new production or creative piece – and then sharing it with the world. It definitely takes some audacity to believe that something is going to actually happen and is going to be successful.
The real work, however, the most important part is actual ‘doing of it’ – working hard to make whatever it is one has dreamt up a reality. And then doing it again and again!
Contact Info:
- Website: FiligreeTheatre.com
- Instagram: filigreetheatreaustin
- Facebook: TheFiligreeTheatre
- Other: elizabethVnewman.com
Image Credits
Steve Rogers Photography (for LIFTED, MISS JULIE, TURN OF THE SCREW, FEFU, 100 PLANES)
EVN Photo (for CHILD OF LIGHT set photo, TRIO, ANY NIGHT)
