Interview with Elizabeth Edgeworth Sickerman, director for Over the River and Through the Woods
TC: Describe Over the River in 3 words.
EES: Lively, Poignant, Human
TC: Welcome to the TC family! What shows or theatres have you recently been a part of?
EES: As an instructor at Central Piedmont Community College, I recently directed a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and served as the fight choreographer for Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters. I also worked as a dramaturg on BNS Production’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson earlier this year. You may have even seen me sharing my love of folklore in Uptown Charlotte as a year-round guide with Carolina History & Haunts. I’m excited to collaborate with the phenomenal team at Theatre Charlotte for the first time on this production.
TC: What about this show makes you excited to direct it?
EES: "Over the River and Through the Woods" is a character-driven play and every role is complex. There’s a lot to unpack. I look forward to seeing what the actors bring to the stage.
TC: Is there a particular character, scene, or song that you are most excited to see come to life?
EES: Oof. That’s tough. There are so many good moments. Without giving too much away, I’d say that the Trivial Pursuit scene is pure magic!
TC: What should audiences know about this show?
EES: How do we define 'home'? Is it where we're from? Does it live in the recipes we make, the music we play, or the accents we carry with us? Perhaps it’s the neighborhood we grew up in, the memories that ground us, and the grocery store we could navigate in a blindfold. Or maybe, 'home' is the place where we finally find ourselves. The spaces and relationships we shape independantly and unprompted. For some of us, part of it will always live in those first relationships – the family that shaped us. "Over the River and Through the Woods" explores the concept of 'home' with humor, compassion, and complexity. Like a hug good-bye, DiPietro's play lives in the sharp and easy pivot between a laugh and sob.
TC: Anything else you’d like to share?
EES: Specifically, "Over the River and Through the Woods" is a play about an Italian-American family in the 1990s. While holding the unique history of that struggle, there’s something in the broader diversity of the experiences shared that has the chance to resonate with nearly all of us, from the brilliantly joyful to the bitingly personal. At some point, we all leave home in some form or other.
TC: Other than this one, what show are you most looking forward to in Season 98?
EES: I plan to see them all! Though I have to admit, I'm especially looking forward to The Color Purple.