San Diego–based stage manager Evangeline Whitlock provides an insider’s glimpse into a bridge-building theatre project in the Dominican Republic (page 52), and in the process comes to understand how her role—often limited to script-organizing and cue-calling—can be far more central to the artistic process. “This project had a profound impact on my work and on my life in general,” she testifies. “Working in the realm of social justice has shown me that facilitating the creative process and helping artists fully realize their visions on stage are essential parts of my job.”

Arts reporter Christopher Kompanek has been aware for many years of designer Donyale Werle’s work (about which he writes here) without even realizing it. “I remember walking into Ars Nova in 2008 and being struck immediately by the homemade brilliance of the sets for Jollyship the Whiz-Bang,” he recounts. “Later came Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Peter and the Starcatcher, but I didn’t put a name to those designs until I was assigned this profile. Talking with Werle gave me a deeper appreciation for the vivid worlds she fashions from found objects, and how her creativity is propelled and enhanced by her activism.”