CHUM
Chum is now a nationally-recognized work. Read more about the International Thespian Society honor.
CHUM premiered at the RHS Black Box Theatre on December 6, 2024.
The following is my curtain speech regarding the piece and this performance.
Chum began in fragments.
A 10-minute scene writing assignment junior year that I did not want to do, a discovery of the ouroboros symbol and a fixation on ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’.
In the beginning I fought and fought to write this, claiming “I just don’t write well, It won't be worth it.” But over the summer my perspective shifted.
Attending a workshop while at the International Thespian Festival the instructor, Daria Miyeko Marinelli, put it very simply.
“Don’t worry about writing, just tell the story.”
With this goal in mind, I was able to stop trying to make something perfect and instead make something from the heart.
From then on “Chum” almost seemed to write itself with the characters frequently running off on their own, while I traipsed behind them. During the process, I started to notice these characters were made up of the people and conversations I’d had in real life.
Bringing Teddy and the crew to life became much easier. They were no longer mysterious imaginary characters, but rather people I saw every day and “knew.”
When it came to transforming the play from page to stage, I couldn’t be happier to have Loving Igwe as its director. Loving brought so much creativity and passion to this project and I knew that my “baby” would be taken care of.
The characters and story have been in my head for so long it was very surreal to be sharing it with so many others.
It's been such a vulnerable and rewarding experience to see that something that means so much to me could also mean so much to others.
A special “Thank You” to all the readers, cast members, crew and director who made CHUM possible. YOU brought this to life.
