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Directing Gallery

"[Comedy of Errors] was beautifully staged (top-notch composition), the pacing was right on, the students knew what they were saying and communicated the story very well, and . . . best of all, it was HIGHLY inventive." 
Shilarna Stokes, Professor

I love the puzzle of directing—fitting the show to the company, the message to the audience, and the concept to the resources available. In navigating those creative constraints, I'm particularly drawn to low-tech spectacle and ensemble storytelling. The productions I direct feature lively action, bold language, high stakes, precise pacing, and often puppets! Whenever possible, I cast the audience as judge, jury, or sympathetic ear, creating another relationship for actors to explore and another reason for audiences to engage.

For additional production photographs and supporting materials, see my Davis & Elkins Gallery.

Selected Directing

      2026                     Burial at Thebes. Davis & Elkins College. (In Progress).

      2026                     Cinderella. Davis & Elkins College.

      2025                     Peter and the Starcatcher. Davis & Elkins College.

      2023                     The Tempest. Davis & Elkins College.

      2023                     Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. Davis & Elkins College.

      2022                     She Kills MonstersDavis & Elkins College.

      2022                     Failure: A Love StoryDavis & Elkins College.

      2022                     The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeDavis & Elkins College.

      2020                     Dear Elizabeth. An Experiment in the Zoom-a-Verse.

      2017                      Comedy of Errors. The Ohio State University School Tour. Co-Director Eric Brinkman.

      2016                      Urinetown. Illini Student Musicals. Co-Director Katie Burke.

      2015                      Eleemosynary. Armory Free Theatre.

      2014                      Settling. Staged Reading. Stockyards Theater Company.

      2014                      Drifting. The Royal NonSuch Theatre Company.

 

Selected Assistant Directing

 

      2015                      The Guardsman. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Dir. Bonnie J. Monte.*

      2015                      Titus Andronicus. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey: Summer Professional Training Program. Dir. Brian B. Crowe

      2014                      Jacob. Provision Theater Company. Dir. Timothy Gregory and Lia Mortenson.

      2013                      A Christmas Memory and the Thanksgiving Visitor. Provision Theater Company. Dir. Timothy Gregory.

*Assistant to the Director

Devising Gallery

"Aubrey is the kind of collaborator who reminds me why I love devising. The joy, openness, and sense of exploration she brings into the rehearsal room are balanced with her challenging and insightful questions. She has a keen eye for where the work wants to go and a variety and flexibility in her methods that help get it there. Even when we are not working together on a project, I trust Aubrey to offer an honest and constructive 'outside eye' to all of my works-in-progress." 

Nicolas Shannon Savard, Collaborator 

 

Influenced by the physical theatre of both Jacques Lecoq and SITI Company, I embrace constructive limitations and physical freedom in all my devising.  Agreeing on the creative sandbox so to speak, allows for greater play and unexpected meanings.

Selected Devising

 

      2019                      As You Like It???. The Lab Series. Dir. Aubrey Helene , Eric Brinkman, Julianne Nogar, and Shannon Savard.

      2018                      Master Mimes. Independent. Dir. Ensemble

      2017                      Hello It’s Me. The Lab Series. Dir. Ensemble.

      2014                      Stories from the Edge. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dir. Aubrey Helene.

      2012                      Show Your Faces. Lawrence University. Dir. Kathy Privatt.

      2009                      In/Bed/Dead. Carleton College. Dir. Barbara Berlovitz.

Acting Gallery

"Five talented women bring these troubled characters to life, did I mention within coughing distance? Yeah, because that’s an extra layer of talent right there. Starting with their appearances, brunette Allie Wessel and blonde Aubrey Helene balanced each other effortlessly as tumultuous Ruth and innocent Tillie. Ms. Helene was especially notable for how believably she played the marvel and wonder whenever she got excited about science, I could tell these concepts truly filled the character with hope and awe."

Rebecca Knaur of Smile Politely, Champagne-Urbana's Culture Magazine

Selected Acting

      2024                      A Play, a Pie, and a Pint: The Chimes at Midnight, William Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 2 (Doll Tearsheet/John of

                                    Lancaster/Ensemble). The Rustic Mechanicals. Dir. Jim Warren.

      2023                      A Play, a Pie, and a Pint: Othello (Desdemona). Script-in-hand performance. The Rustic Mechanicals. Dir. Jim Warren.

      2020                      Violent. Beautiful. Things. (Sandy).  The Lab Series.  Dir. Sean Brennan Naughton.

      2019                      Love for Love (Mrs. Foresight).  Staged Reading.  The Actors’ Theatre Presents: The Shakespeare Underground.  Dir.

                                    Jason Speicher.

      2015                      The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds (Tillie).

                                    The Station Theater. Dir. Latrelle Bright.

      2014                      Breaking and Entering (Crawford). The Red Barn Summer Theatre. Dir. Michael Taylor.

      2014                      One Slight Hitch (Delia). The Red Barn Summer Theatre. Dir. Stephen L. Henderson.

      2013                      Black Comedy (Carol). The Red Barn Summer Theatre. Dir. Michael Taylor.

      2013                      The Swan Song (Olivia). The Red Barn Summer Theatre. Dir. Martin Henderson.

      2012                      A Christmas Carol (Miss Susan). Children’s Theatre of Madison.  Dir. Roseann Sheridan.

      2011                      Timon of Athens (Ensemble). The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.  Dir. Brian B. Crowe.

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