Philip Hickman

Philip Hickman on the nature of theater

"Theater (writing, directing, acting) is a relational story-telling process. When I’m writing, I like to soak in influences - music, books, conversations - and let them steep. They all blend together and percolate until the story comes out."

"I recharge (or get hungrier) by taking in excellent work in other media. A walk through a museum. My wife’s jewellery. Powerful poetry. It helps to get out of the way of myself. And I refine by learning to fail better. As my best theater teacher once told me: 'I don’t care if you make mistakes. But make new mistakes."

"I love rehearsal. I love being able to work and rework a scene, a moment, to bring out different flavors and nuances. There is so much energy when people are working together like that. It’s the promise of what we can give to the audience."

"In the twenty years that I’ve been working in Columbus, I’ve seen it grow from a city with pockets of artists to a city where artists are moved by and supported by artists outside of their own craft. Sculptors and poets and actors and painters are informed and transformed by one another."

"The most important thing I’ve learned is that when I try to show myself off, things go poorly. When I try to show others off, I love what I do."

"I began my ‘film-making’ career when I was five years old (34 years ago) with my grandfather’s VHS camcorder, a slice of American cheese and my brother’s forbearance. I tried to make a commercial for cheese - let the record show my perfectionistic temper-tantrum. I began learning the craft of theater in high school; I’ve been working as an actor, director, writer and artistic director in Columbus since 1996."

"The best advice I can give? Read. And be on time."