Introduction

I had a hard time choosing an avatar, but ended up going with a picture that captured both myself and two of my passions--theatre and LGBTQ activism. The image is of an enormous puppet I created as part of my internship this past summer, with The Theater Offensive in Boston. The organization is a nonprofit theatre company dedicated to work by and for the LGBTQ/POC community. I had known about TTO for some time, as the executive director is the uncle of a close friend of mine, and I was ecstatic when I was accepted into their summer internship program. 

I've been doing theatre in some capacity since the third grade, and my focus has gradually shifted to technical theatre in the "theatre for social justice" realm. This past June, I was given the opportunity to work at TTO as a Programs Intern, and one of my major projects was a puppet build for the Boston Pride Parade. The experience was incredible, and I came out of it with plenty of great pictures. This photo shows the puppet being carried down the street by my fellow puppeteers (including my girlfriend, Alyssa), outside of the Back Bay T Station. Working in Boston and diving into projects that directly affected the community I spent 18 years growing up in was unbelievable, and exactly what I can see myself doing years down the road. 

But beyond the hobbies that this photo represents, it brings me back to a time just a number of months ago, when I found myself in an environment where I was incredibly comfortable and myself. Working amongst a group of like-minded individuals—many with similar coming out experiences to myself—all of whom shared one, big but very specific goal, I found myself in my element. I have always been this way; I always had a hard time filling out personality surveys or “get to know you” questionnaires because when it came to working alone or in a group, I felt I thrived right in the middle—in the space where my own personal work on one piece of a project would eventually fit into the giant puzzle the group was working on. I love to do things my own way in order to be compatible with a greater whole, rather than simply mimicking the actions of others.