i__you: reflection

A reflection on my first directing opportunity and what has been since. An additional bonus of the Director’s Statement too!

All of this portfolio making is arousing lots of nostalgia for me. After almost 4 years, it is a true joy to reminisce on my very first directing journey, I___You. A show that was as weird and campy as a well beloved B-movie. This production remains one of my favorite shows I have ever directed. Partly because of the quirky script and partly because my view on directing was so pure and unadulterated. The way I defined directing was uninfluenced by much else other than what I thought it should be. I have learned a lot since then, and for the better (mostly). But I am still processing and discovering that its important to hold onto the aspects of directing that are true and authentic to me. To hold on to owning my ability to lead exciting and proactive spaces that people want to be a part of. These things that I sometimes assumed was just ignorant boldness.

I am continuously reminded, by this production and the friends that have grown with me since, that my directing style is rooted in instinct and opportunity. In other words, you will only know what the right choice is, once you have been bold enough to make it. I have learned a lot since then and expanded my vocabulary for what I want my shows to say and how I want them to say it. However, I always end up coming back to this show as a tether to the little director that lives in my core. Mainly my director’s statement, which starts with an obscure quote from Taylor Lautner when he hosted SNL :

“Love. What is it? Can it be planned or is it fated?” - Taylor Lautner

Love, the universal language, can transcend almost anything. Humanity can’t survive without it and yet, when heartbreak occurs, it seems as if we can't live with it either. Its the most wonderful thing until it isn’t. Love is the one thing humans can never escape from and never change. How can you describe something so powerful and yet so equally destructive? Between the media and real life, no one truly has an answer. 

I _ You is not your average love story. In this story, love becomes inorganic and unnatural. The characters live in a world where Love, or the L word, has been eradicated. So when the L-Bug2000 is introduced it confronts the characters' lost sense of love. This causes some chaos and absurdity to ensue, creating a very entertaining story to watch. The lack of love within their world has created a chasm so wide that no one person is able to understand it, no matter how hard they try. I encourage you, the audience, to place yourself in a world devoid of love and immerse yourself in our story. 

Understanding love is a feat in itself but controlling it, creating it….now that just seems impossible….right?

Hope you enjoy the show!

Love,

Abi Hood

I_You Director

And listen…she’s not perfect but my gosh isn’t she just the cutest! So I encourage you to go search through your first projects. Who knows, maybe a little part of you will glow at the sight of how far you have come!