directing & devising

THE ASTRONAUT

by Maythinee Washington

Directed by Jana Wilmer
Featured in THOUGHTSPEAK 
at Vegas Theatre Company

PERFORMER/DEVISER

A woman is on a solo expedition to deliver a critical package to a could-be Earth 2.0—a planet outside our galaxy that could be humanity’s last hope. But all is not as it seems as her craft is upended by a mysterious force. Can she follow through? Or does catastrophe await?

A Devil in Memphis a Black Southern Gothic

DIRECTOR/HEAD DEVISER
A DEVIL IN MEMPHIS is an immersive, multi-generational saga  inspired by Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and the history of the American South by Maythinee Washington, devised with students at the University of Memphis.

Set in a mysterious 19th century home that has served as both church and brothel—itself inspired by real life Memphis gem, Earnestine and Hazel’s—, guests take on the role of Mephisto (aka Mephistopheles), the aforementioned devil. In this 75 minute experience, they witness pivotal moments in the lives of the Marlowes, a fictional Black family navigating travails from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement. This play explores themes of race, identity, fate, and being careful what you wish for. This project questions the seductive guises of power and the Faustian bargain of benefiting one’s own community or escaping oppressive cycles.

POTUS

by Selina Fillinger

Directed by Maythinee Washington & Daz Weller

One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.

Selina Fillinger’s brilliant, all-female farce took Broadway by storm in a star-studded production that earned three 2022 Tony nominations.

BACKSTORY PASS for USHER THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR & RESIDENT DIRECTOR for The VIP Immersive Pre-Show for GRAMMY WINNER, USHER at his Las Vegas Residency at Caesar’s Palace. I was on the creative team during creation of this experience, supporting the director, serving as ad hoc dramaturg, and taking over as resident director once the show opened.  

The Medusa Project by Maythinee Washington

DIRECTOR/HEAD DEVISER
The Medusa Project is an original play featuring 16 core ensemble high school actors exploring the monsters of Greek mythology remixed with tropes of American adolescence to explore themes of insiderness vs outsiderness, us vs them, and to ask the question, “who is labeled the the villain, and who gets to be the hero?”

WHITE GIRL by Maythinee Washington

PERFORMER/DIRECTOR/DEVISER
What is beauty? What is race? How do we see ourselves and determine our identity? WHITE GIRL is an original solo show employing found text & sound with movement and pantomime telling a story of a girl exploring these questions. At times comic and poignant, the artist draws from her personal history and plays with pop culture to create a work that continues to be thought-provoking long after it has ended

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

DIRECTOR

Shakespeare’s tragedy was staged atop two tons of sand, to evoke a gladiatorial arena. Themes of revenge and violence were explored in a setting that blended contemporary and post-apocalyptic aesthetics.

The production introduced the Furies, inspired by Greco-Roman mythology, as a chorus that replaced minor characters, while playing an active role in collecting bodies and reinforcing the escalating cycle of vengeance.

Violence was rendered symbolically, using red fabric and red objects in lieu of stage blood; e.g. Lavinia’s injuries were represented by flowers for hands. The staging also leaned into dark humor, with Titus preparing a pizza pie in the infamous banquet scene.

This combination of stark imagery, symbolic violence, and unexpected elements created a striking reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s bloodiest play.

The Vegas Project #1
by Maythinee Washington

PERFORMER/DIRECTOR/DEVISER

An original, verbatim, interview-based solo show featuring the unexpected and unsung characters that make Vegas home to its locals.