First test post

Hard to believe ten years have passed since Studio Connections, once a vibrant hub for young artists, closed its doors. Since then, I spent four years on ‘sabbatical’ in my native Philippines, where I served as a music director and touring artist with a national theatre company, mentoring young performers and bringing socially relevant productions to schools across the country. That chapter was followed by six meaningful years teaching in an Arizona public school. With that, I’m clocking in at 30 (plus?) years as a teaching artist. The journey has shaped me as much as I hope I’ve shaped others.

Exhausted with outrage over our worsening political chaos, I’m directing my attention to the one place that offers genuine clarity and solace: the theatre. My own theatre. It remains a sacred home — a space for reflection, connection, and truth. A place to breathe, to navigate creative tension, to rediscover meaning.

I know I’m not alone in feeling the weight of survival. Addiction wears many faces—alcohol, overwork, perfectionism, social media. At the root of it is a shared vexation: a need to numb or escape from an unnamed affliction. The struggle, for many of us, is a cry for help.

That’s why THE WHITE CHIP is the right story for this moment.

Written by Sean Daniels, THE WHITE CHIP is a sharp, moving, and unexpectedly funny play about one man’s journey through addiction and recovery. It’s unflinchingly honest and genuinely personal without becoming insular or self-indulgent. Daniels steers clear of moralizing, instead adopting a compassionate, often hilarious invitation into the messy realities of healing. For anyone who’s wrestled with addiction, or supported someone who has, this play speaks with clarity, humanity, and heart.

This relaunch also renews our commitment to theatre education. Teaching is in my DNA, and Studio Connections will once again be a space for mentorship, training, and nurturing the next generation of artists. There’s more to come, and I look forward to unfolding that vision with you.

So whether you’ve followed our journey from the start or you’re discovering us now, welcome. Come as you are. Bring your curiosity, your questions, your laughter, your silence.

Studio Connections is back to tell stories that matter. Stories that connect, challenge, and maybe even heal.

We begin with THE WHITE CHIP, slated for February 6-15, 2026, at the ATC Cabaret. More to follow! - RE