Meet Emily Faith of Lily & Joan Theatre Company in Dallas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Faith.

Emily, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I gave my little brother his first acting job. We spent hours script writing, editing, props collecting, and rehearsing. At the top of the show, my brother decided that he no longer would be my one and only actor and my well established and completely comprehensible play closed before it even opened. I learned then and there, at the ripe age of seven, that actors are incorrigible and delightful beings that cannot be controlled and I had to be one of them. The whole, “if you can’t beat them, join them” thing really came into focus (I promise I only hit him once and not that hard, don’t tell mom, you can hit me back). So, I hung up my tenured child director hat, a hat weary with ideas and dreams and transitions involving a Barbie ballet, and took the road more traveled by to Actor Land.

Actor Land took me through years of voice and dance training and eventually landed me in a B.F.A. program in Nashville, TN. It took me to Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, and Arkansas. Sometimes I would take a break from Actor Land and go to Stage Manager Land (the rumors are true, it is color-coded), Teaching Artist Land (if you can hear me, clap once), and Assistant Director Land (bring your own paycheck!), but I never spent too long in these other lands before returning to my second love, Acting.

Moving to Dallas two years ago, I began to feel the old director stirring inside of me. About that time, my current business partner, Erika Larsen, reached out and we began discussing the makings of a female-centric theatre company. It was perfect timing mixed with well-rounded professional experience in other Lands that lead us to create Lily & Joan Theatre Company.

Has it been a smooth road?
It is really hard for me to acknowledge struggles without the fear of sounding unappreciative or negative. But, of course, there are challenges in being an artist and certainly in creating your own company. Some are personal, like the naive shock I felt when I realized that not every womxn artist that I admired in the community would be supportive of the work that I was doing, of the work that I SO believed in. But I have learned that if you keep doing good work, keep being intentional and kind, the people that are meant to be around you show up in places and ways that you cannot even imagine.

Professionally, the first six months of operation were exceptionally hard. Both Erika and I work full time and on top of that, I am pursuing a Masters in drama therapy. We are still so new and learning and trying and growing. I believe that good things take time. When the road gets bumpy I cling to something that my friend Susannah always says “If you can see the path before you, it is not your own.” With almost a year under our belts, the path is still a bit foggy, but wow, it is our own.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Lily & Joan is a nonprofit theatre company that is just under one year old. When Erika and I began the company, it was to provide more opportunities for female artists to create safely and exceptionally. Staying true to our mission of inclusivity, that idea was only the starting place. Lily & Joan is female-centric AND also intentionally includes artists of color, trans folk, genderfluid folk, folks of all size and ability. L&J is also founded on a give-back model, with half of each ticket sale going to another charity in need. We have been advised to shift this part of our mission, but it is an aspect of our operation that Erika and I are really proud of and stand behind fully.

As Lily & Joan starts on our sophomore season, we keep coming back to the idea of “slow and steady wins the race”. With a deeper understanding of our place in the community and ourselves as artists, our next season will include even more opportunities for intentional engagement and artist support. We have one show left in our first season, JOAN, a musical written by Founders Emily Faith and Erika Larsen and have three amazingly witchy shows lined up for the 2020 season which will be announced in December.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
When people ask me what I like about Dallas, I immediately say “THE PEOPLE”. I have made more adult friendships in the two years of me being here than I ever thought possible. My Dallas friends will drive to the other side of town for one another. They will watch your show in 100-degree heat. The people in Dallas SHOW UP. I have learned how to be a friend here.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.emilypfaith.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Lily & Joan Theatre Company
• Facebook: Lily & Joan Theatre Company
• Twitter: Lily & Joan Theatre Company
• Yelp: Lily & Joan Theatre Company
• Other: Lily & Joan Theatre Company

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