Our 12 Chairs Directors:

​Join us in getting to know the directors for our fall production of 12 Chairs & their unique vision for this original production.
And for more insight on each director's vision, check out Henrik Eger's article with Phindie:
​"Six Questions for Six Directors: John O’Hara’s 12 CHAIRS gets a revamped production"

Director: Jess Otterbine

ReVamp: What vision are you bringing to your production reading of 12 Chairs?

Jess Otterbine: I see the play as a series of circularly moving parts, all rotating around the central nucleus of the familial relationship. I am really interested in approaching the staging with this in mind.

ReVamp: What does the relationship between a mother and a daughter mean to you?
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Jess Otterbine: I lost my mother when I was twenty-two, so I recognize the mother-daughter relationship as one that is mysterious but long lasting. The impact your mother has on your life as a young woman is intense and never quite leaves you.

Director: Zuhairah McGill

ReVamp: What drew you to direct 12 Chairs?

Zuhairah McGill: What drew me to "12 Chairs" is the fact that mothers and daughters are so different, but yet the same in each other, and I want to see how that's going to play out!

ReVamp: What does the relationship between a mother and a daughter mean to you?

Zuhairah McGill: A Mother and Daughter relationship to me means one word "Complex"

Director: Michelle Pauls

ReVamp: What vision are you bringing to your production reading of 12 Chairs?

Michelle Pauls: My vision is aligned somewhat with ReVamp's vision of providing opportunity to everyone and making theatre more diverse. Because there would be 5 other casts of very talented, but mostly white actresses, I knew I needed to do something different. I have worked with the actresses Christina May and Meryl Lynn Brown before. Both are extremely creative, inventive and have boundless energy--things I think you need to play in 12 Chairs. I am so looking forward to carving out our own little world of 12 Chairs together.

ReVamp: What does the relationship between a mother and a daughter mean to you?

Michelle Pauls: Mother and daughter is a complicated thing! I have a mother, and I have a daughter. I can hear my mother in some things I hear myself saying to my daughter. Things I thought would never come out of my mouth. I think everyone's mother does the best she can in raising her children. I know I do, and I think there is always more I could do. I want to raise my daughter to think for herself, to stand by her convictions, and to know it's OK to try to make the world a better place than what you started with.

Director: Iraisa Ann Reilly

ReVamp: What vision are you bringing to your production reading of 12 Chairs?

Iraisa Ann Reilly: My rendition is going to play with ages - I am not sticking to the age suggestions for the actresses- I don't think you need to. everyone plays different ages at some point or another, and I think age is more mental than physical. (I may not feel that way in 10 years, but let's bring this conversation back up in 2026). I'm also intrigued by the idea of the chairs, and would like to create something visually appealing around the chairs that are filled and those that are empty. This may be the Elijah play. 

ReVamp: What does the relationship between a mother and a daughter mean to you?

Iraisa Ann Reilly: Phew- everything. As I get older, sometimes I will look in the mirror and see my mom, or I will hear something come out of my mouth, think "where have I heard that before?" and realize it is either my mother or grandmother. I was raised by some very strong-willed women, and I definitely learned by their example. I have come to realize that throughout my life I've really been following their example, and anything I've ever achieved is because of them. I realize not everyone is fortunate enough to have that relationship with their mother, and I feel incredibly fortunate.

Director: Amanda Coffin

ReVamp: What vision are you bringing to your production reading of 12 Chairs?

Amanda Coffin: This is a show that spans decades, so I spent a lot of time thinking about how we mark time in our lives. Music is something that is really iconic era to era. Different styles of music transport us to specific time periods, and I wanted to explore that. I want the audience to be immersed in the story of these women, and I think music is one more element that can help do that. 

ReVamp: What does the relationship between a mother and a daughter mean to you?

Amanda Coffin: My parents divorced when I was twelve and I have two sisters, so I spent a good portion of my life in an all-female household. I lived through and observed three different mother-daughter relationships in my immediate family alone. Not to mention watching the mother-daughter relationships of my female cousins and their mothers (my aunts) and even my grandmother and her daughters. My life really has been dominated by strong female figures, and I know I'm who I am today because of all of these women. So for me the mother-daughter relationship is intense--in both the good sense of the word and the bad.​

Director: Randi Alexis Hickey

ReVamp: What vision are you bringing to your production reading of 12 Chairs?

Randi Alexis Hickey: As far as the vision I'm bringing to this production, there isn't any grand or glorious concept behind it. It's simply committing with my full self to Louise and Ann's earnest attempts to make it work. When you put two powerful women onstage with 12 Chairs and little else, humanity is going to shine through, and that's what I want to share with audiences with this play. 

ReVamp: What does the relationship between a mother and a daughter mean to you?

Randi Alexis Hickey: The mother/daughter dynamic is incredibly complicated. Everyone's experience with it is wildly different. Personally, I believe a lot in found family. Not that I don't love my blood relations, because I do. But I'm very interested in this notion that we have an obligation to our bloodline, which is something that's clearly present in 12 Chairs. Louise and Ann are like two tin cans attached by a string. They keep calling out to each other, hoping one day it might work out.