We look to the past to shape our future. Who are you? Where are you going from here?

I was raised by a conservative family in the heart of San Francisco, so I’ve always been a bit of a maverick. My first memory of myself acting is of 7-year old Henry standing on the coffee table, putting on a vintage Terminator 2: Judgement Day hand/glove/gun/thingy, and presenting it as my own creation to my older siblings and their friends, riffing as I went along. Eventually the toy would actually “eat” my arm and I would cry for help in the highest falsetto my little body could muster and then collapse. I would then repeat this process as many times as I could. And I had the room in tears. I did this for years and take it from me, it was an absolute goddamned hit.

What most excites you about being a part of TAM’s (R)evolutionary Redux Season?

I love my adopted-home state of Maine dearly and I am humbled by the opportunity to bring art to the communities near and far. Most of all I’m thrilled to remind the world COVID-19 didn’t kill Theatre.

We’re all about making old things new and new things classic. Why are you drawn to Classic Theatre? How do you shake it up?

I’m mostly drawn to the Classics because it’s (usually) masterfully written. I particularly enjoy challenging the audience and company members alike to analyze the play with today’s lens as well as the author’s historically-relevant lens. It is, of course, important to critique works of the past — it’s our obligation to take certain elements from the previous generation’s teachings and improve upon them; however, it is equally as important to rationally identify which elements do, in fact, still work. In today’s endlessly complicated world, it’s easy to forget we’re standing on the shoulders of giants, for better and for worse. In short: Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

From what sources do you draw your inspiration?

Old films, Japanese anime, and my closest friends.

You can have dinner with any three influential people. Who are your dream guests, why them, and what is the topic of conversation?

Dwayne Johnson: This man is unstoppable. I most wish to ask him how he balances his incredibly challenging schedule full of hard physical work, entrepreneurial innovation, and massive expectations with the time spent with his wife and daughters.

Ancel Keys: In the mid-20th Century, this man single-handedly altered the trajectory of health & nutrition in the Western world, very much for the worse. I’d like to discuss consequences for one’s actions, scientific integrity, and receiving funds from Kellog’s and/or the federal government.

Jo Ann Crisler: I never got to meet my mother’s mother… She had a very challenging life, but somehow managed to raise the strongest woman I’ve ever met. I should like to ask her about damn-near everything.

George Müller: Dubbed “The Father of a Thousand Orphans”, George Müller took in 10,024 children and raised them to rise above their station (in a time of much less social mobility) and established 117 schools. A man devoted to God and helping those in need, I’d love to hear how he found himself in possession of such astounding strength of character.

What recent revolutionary acts are you most proud of?

My mother going back to school for a Masters in Mental Health and Wellness with a Faith-based focus. She aims particularly to help children in need.

What’s your super power?

I strive to see each person as the complex, multi-faceted, and often paradoxical individual they are before labeling them with their first few most obvious signifiers. Be they on Skid Row or in a 1983 Mercedes 280 SL; in tattered and soiled clothes, or a three-piece suit. Each of us has to contend with hardship on any given level–granted, some more obvious than others–which means each of us has the capacity to find common ground with one another.