Theatre Alumnus Benita de Wit '16 Directs 'One More Thing Not to Think About: A Sondheim Project'
Theatre alumnus Benita de Wit ’16 will direct a virtual production of the musical documentary One More Thing Not to Think About: A Sondheim Project for the Post Theatre Company (PTC) of LIU Post.
With musical direction by Debbie Tjong, One More Thing Not to Think About uses Stephen Sondheim’s work to explore life during COVID-19. The mixed media documentary—part TikTok video, part concert—“examines how we connect to Sondheim’s work now and what it is like to come of age in a world that is falling apart.” The performance features Gabby Anderson, Kira Averett, Jade Leah Burns, Kevin DiCarlo, Francesco DiFlora, Noah Kessler, Ellie Lauthner, Christian Mortimer, Marissa Ramon, Zach Taber, and Morgan Traud. One More Thing Not to Think About follows PTC’s production of Roe, written by Lisa Loomer and directed by Hannah Ryan, and Polaroid Stories.
De Wit is an Australian director based in New York City. Their work celebrates immigrants, the queer community, and marginalized voices. Their work also makes use of multidisciplinary collaborations, with live video and other media components. Their directing credits include Slaughterhouse, Razorhurst, Waves + Lines, Salty, Trash, I.M. Lost, Courtroom Play: A Courtroom Play, Hereafter Institute, and Undrown’d: Seeking Asylum, among many others.
Additionally, de Wit is the Associate Director of Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell, which harnesses the rock anthems of Steinman and Meat Loaf to present the electrifying, over-the-top love story of a young, rebellious leader and a tyrannical ruler’s daughter. The show has been postponed because of the pandemic.
De Wit has worked at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Realm, Classic Stage Company, Miller Theatre, Exquisite Corpse Company, Access Theater, Theater for the New City, Playwrights Horizons Theater School, LIU Post, Dartmouth College, and Princeton University. Most recently, they have been a guest artist at Princeton University, a Project Mentor/Director at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, a Teaching Director at Dartmouth College, and a Guest Lecturer at Roger Williams University.
De Wit has received an Honourable Mention, Best Theatre of 2019, from Audrey Journal; a Finalist Collaboration Award from Women in the Arts and Media Coalition; a Catwalk Art Residency from Catwalk Institute; a Project Development Award from Barn Arts Collective; and a Mike Donahue Observership from Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, among others.
One More Thing Not to Think About will stream from December 2, 2020 to December 4, 2020. Reservations to view can be made via email, available here.