Once more, I break into your inbox with joyous and much-delayed greetings!
Much has happened since stepping back from NaNoWriMo — oh my gosh, 7 months ago?? And now I’m trying to set aside time for being creative and business-like, including getting back to blogging.
So let’s catch up!
I haven’t given much space on here to share the work that I get to do with Dandylyon Drama, an educational theatre nonprofit. Since January of ’25, I’ve taught and directed there, and last August, I was hired on as their Production Coordinator. I handle a variety of tasks every day to help teach kids theatre and bring their shows to life! It is truly my dream job, and I could not be more grateful for it.
Unfortunately, it’s not really my place to post pictures of my students here, so you’ll just have to go see them on Dandylyon’s social media. Most recently, I’ve directed the shows “Anne of Green Gables” and “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
It has been my absolute privilege to get to work with students of many ages, seeing them grow at each and every “stage” of their journey. I am so proud of them and you simply must go check out the social media because they’re ADORABLE and also, hey, I helped design some pretty cool costumes! Among other items, Belle Epoque dresses and sparkly poppy headbands are now in my repertoire of crafting possibilities.
This year also saw me engaged with two major playwriting events.
Last fall, I was a part of the Edvard Munch playwriting festival called Framing Device, at Latitude Theatre. I’m prepping a more in-depth blog post about that experience, but the long and short is that we took Munch paintings and made them into 10-minute plays. Mine, entitled “The Light from the Window, or, Where’s the Food,” won the audience’s choice for Best Translation from the painting.
Last summer, I got to attend New Threads Theatre Company’s annual writer’s retreat, and I forced myself to write out a full outline of a play. And if I haven’t mentioned THEM on a blog post yet (good gracious, how much have I missed), I get to help lead one of New Threads’ online writers’ groups. Playwrights from across the country get together a couple Saturdays every month and read each other’s work. It has been one of the best accountability factors and encouragements to keep writing, and in January, I had the honor of hearing my first solo full-length play read aloud by many of my dear colleagues.
This play is about fairies that disguise themselves as senior citizens and infiltrate a retirement home. It is one of the best things I’ve ever written, and I’m hopeful to get back into editing it in the near future.
And why am I suddenly having all this time to write?
Well, since September, I’ve been blocking off nearly every Tuesday night to attend Fundraising Management classes at the University of Washington. I am receiving my certificate in Fundraising Management next week. It has been fascinating, equipping, and exciting, and I am looking forward to applying all of this newfound knowledge to my future in the nonprofit theatre world. I intend and hope that this blog will reflect some of those lessons, but I ought to work through a handful of my intern tips first.
I just finished the course last week, and I decided that Tuesday nights would not get filled up by random things. Not work, not friends, nothing but dedicated time to personal improvement in the form of creativity. Tonight, I finished a watercolor painting, edited/posted an old draft, and wrote this entire blog entry. Huzzah!
If ALL OF THIS wasn’t enough for one school year, I just remembered that, for the first time in my life, I had a long-term professional acting gig.
If you recall from my Taproot post, I knew I would probably come back to work there in some way/shape/form. I was correct! I was brought on as an understudy for their Road Company, or RoCo, which tours to various schools in the Pacific Northwest and performs bullying prevention plays.
Let me say that I am forever thankful to Taproot for their patience. They know it’s a tough gig to be an understudy, and I essentially had to pull out this January. It was one of the funnest jobs I’ve ever had in terms of the actual work, but the logistics were challenging. I don’t believe I’ll be going back to RoCo, but I am ending this year with a sweet satisfaction of a supportive community and a job well done. Perhaps you’ll see another post about this experience too? (Gosh I am setting the expectation high for my writing goals.)
Between getting my feet under me at two new jobs, pursuing a certificate course, and writing scripts more than anything else, blogging has kind of fallen to the wayside this year. I’m honestly amazed, in this reflection, that so much has happened. How blessed I am to have made it through this absolutely insane year, with an abundance of learning and a vast increase in skills and resume. Praise God that I come back to my blog hopeful and rested, confident and currently at peace. There is so much more to learn, but I think that next school year will see Audrey with a good deal of improvement in how she manages her professional and personal life. Maybe including some more regular blog posts.
Happy summer, all!
(Oh yeah and I also went on an amazing family vacation and started dating an incredible man so that’s been taking some of my time, whoops)
Audrey A McGee 
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