Maya Lis joins us from Bennington College where they are studying Drama, Music, and Dance. They’ll be with us until February 12th. Welcome Maya!
Target Margin Theater (TMT): We know you come from an artistic family – did your parents lead you into theater? Are they the rare parents that actually support a career choice in the arts?
Maya Lis (ML): I wouldn’t say my parents led me directly to theater, but they made it a clear and possible option for my siblings and I. My brother started doing shows at Connecticut Family Theatre in my hometown when I was around five years old, his first show being Seussical. I BEGGED my parents to let me do it, but after I went in to my first audition, it was clear I was a bit too young to do the big stage productions. So, I took some of the beginner’s classes and then did my first big stage musical at 7. Now a freshman in college with the intention of pursuing a career in theater, my parents have been incredibly supportive of me, in fact encouraging me to go into this profession. They have always been honest with me, and never sugarcoat how difficult the performing arts industry is. The lack of money, the toxicity, the rejection, I saw it all first-hand with them. Seeing my parents’ experience in the industry was eye-opening and beneficial. And despite all the difficult times we experienced as a family because of the industry, they understand how your passion can be your career, and taking that path in life can bring you so much joy. They never would want to take that happiness away from me. My parents are a rare breed, and I’m so lucky and grateful for their endless support.
TMT: Can you tell us about an inspiring or seminal theater experience?
ML: I don’t remember how old I was, but a theater experience I’ll never forget was seeing The Lion King tour at the Bushnell in Hartford. I know it’s cheesy, but that whole experience really moved me as a child. I was blown away by the set, the costumes, the performers, the music, and how they all were able to bring such a beautiful story to life in front of our eyes. The entire time I was watching the show, I was thinking about how much I wanted to be up there performing, to be part of something that was so groundbreaking and artistically brilliant. Even when I was that young, that production taught me that theater was so much more than a fun time. I actually saw The Lion King on Broadway in 2019, and I started bawling the minute the show started. All the feelings I felt as a child were coming back to me, and it just felt so good.
TMT: What is your interest in experimental theater? How do you hope for difference in the way theater is made or presented or imbibed?
ML: My interest in experimental theater is still pretty fresh. I think what I love about it is how little expectation and meaning has to be tied to it. Theater doesn’t always have to be productive, or serious, or have super deep meaning. It can be fun, stupid, playful, unproductive, touching, exciting, anything but just serious things! Another aspect I love is how many things you can learn about yourself and your craft. There are certain things I would’ve never learned about myself and how I function as a performer through strict and serious conservatory training. There are just so many hidden gems about yourself you can discover through experimental theater, and I wish more people would realize that. Theater is a much broader and vague term than most people think. The pandemic has definitely shown people how restrictive the industry has made it. The restrictions that the pandemic has made for theater makers has finally allowed people to see a different shade of the theater spectrum, and I’m excited and hopeful for what comes of that.
TMT: What led you to apply for an internship at Target Margin? Why Target Margin?
ML: At Bennington College where I currently go to school, we are required to complete a Field Work Term for ~6 weeks during the winter in between semesters, or in the summer. A Field Work Term is a time where students can work in a career field there are interested in. It’s a really unique aspect Bennington education has to offer. Target Margin Theater was one of the options I found using the school’s resources. I immediately was drawn to the vibe of the company when I checked out the website, and I also liked that this was an in-person internship, since those are rare in the times of COVID. I also didn’t have experience with experimental theater, and was curious to see the artistic processes that occurred here, especially when the lights are off for almost all NYC theaters. I applied, and after I had a lovely conversation with Moe, I wanted to be hired even more! Now that I’m here, I’m learning a lot and enjoying my time thoroughly.
TMT: What do you think the theater of the future is? How does theater continue to serve / reflect / inspire younger generations, especially when there is such an inundation of media?
ML: Younger generations – mine specifically – have been thrown into a time filled with such turmoil, from Trump’s presidency, the pandemic, school shootings, mass media, and what seems to be a collective fruition of needed social justice. It is inevitable that we will turn to the arts for healing and nurturing, both for ourselves and the world. For me, I’ve always turned to theater, because it was an art form I have felt represented in, and an art form I always felt inspired by because of its purpose to be bold, loud, and inspirational. As long as theater continues to strive to reflect younger generations through healthy representation, I think it will be a successful and necessary art form. The quality of theater art that is being created and the ages of those creating seem to have an inverse relationship, and that really excites me. It makes me really excited for the future of theater. I always remind myself of the overlap of the Black Plague and the Renaissance and apply that to what we are going through now. I think some really magnificent art is going to come from the pandemic, and some stuff already has. I hope that this pandemic teaches the theater industry that it not only needs to be more accessible, but it actually can be. And there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be. We are all being starved of performing arts right now and the damage of that is really showing. When we return to what we knew before the pandemic, there will still be people who are deprived. But, I hope that there will be a change of heart for more accessibility!