Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to David Berberian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

David, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

When everything around me was falling apart, when I had lost my identity, when I felt so lost…it was art and creation that saved me. It could not have been darker for me. I could not have been stripped barer than I already was. Too much had been lost. I was floundering. It wasn’t easy but I found the strength and the energy to step through the fog and stage a show I have been intrigued with since my college days.

It could not have been more perfect. I was able to enlist the talent of two people I admire greatly. I was humbled by their willingness to jump on board. Jeri Lynn could not have been a better partner up on that stage. Her work as Rose was breathtaking and it was a joy to play opposite her. Derrick’s direction was so well informed. He brought to light aspects of the script that I never would have thought about. And Joe steadied the ship from his SM console. The run of the show was wildly successful and the feedback we got was effusive with praise. I could not be prouder of this work we all did together and I couldn’t be prouder of myself for taking the lead and making it happen. The theater is my safe space. I feel most at home with a script in my hand jotting down notes with a #2 pencil (Derrick will tell you I didn’t write things down enough…he would be right). There was not a single moment I didn’t absolutely relish. From the table work where we really explored our characters and the world they inhabited to the final performance, it was all so magical. It felt so good to be working in that arena again. I love performing for an audience but it’s really the process that I adore the most. The work is pure joy and I couldn’t have asked for better, more dedicated people to do that work with.

Had it not been for this show, this process, I am not sure what mental space I would be in right now. This show honestly saved me. That is not hyperbole. I need to always remember that I am creative at heart. Without art and creation, I am not fully myself. The darkness finally feels done with me, for now, it can always come back but I feel much better prepared for it this time. But that particular darkness is gone and it was art and creation that pushed it away. I’m done with that past. It no longer serves me, if it ever did…I wonder sometimes.

I am so thankful that I had an opportunity to pursue my art at an early age and have it be celebrated by those most important to me.. My dad always said he was my biggest fan.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

David Berberian has been a regular on Triangle Stages for over 20 years. He has taken on projects as an actor, director, producer, designer, and set builder with several organizations including The Juilliard School, The Vineyard Theater, The Minetta Lane Theater, Duke University, Manbites Dog Theater, The Heights Players, StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance, Piedmont Performance Factory, Deep Dish Theater, Theater Delta, The Justice Theater Project, East Carolina Summer Theater and many more.

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David became a company member at Manbites Dog Theater in Durham beginning in 2001 and remained such until they closed in 2018. He continues to travel the country with

Theater Delta using interactive theater for social change to foster conversations in our ever-changing world. David serves as an Asst. Manager for Duke Venue and Production Management at Duke University.

RedBird Theater Company is dedicated to providing local North Carolina artists a home to create grounded, thought provoking work that benefits our community.

Our homes and families are here in North Carolina. Our lives are here.

Our roots are deep and intertwined. We are inspired by the wealth of talent in our own backyard.

We are part of it. We were born from it. We tend to it every day. We are producers, designers, directors, writers, builders, teachers,actors, dancers, musicians, mentors, sages and servants.

We wield beauty and magic. We have the scars to prove it.

We know creative, resourceful, capable people.

We intend to know more.

​We are at our best when we collaborate.

​We value stories that ask tough questions and reveal uncomfortable truths.

We seek out works that inspire, challenge and frighten us.

We know our audience is hungry for the same.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Honestly, it all about funding. We are dedicated to paying the artists that work for us, and sometimes that can be difficult. Local theater companies rarely turn a profit. We strive everyday to figure out where our funding will come from. We count on our community of theater lovers to contribute to the process of raising funds and they have been so generous. It also takes our local government stepping up and realizing the impact the arts can have on a community and the benefits it brings to local businesses. We have been absent from the theater scene since the summer. We were focused on finding a permanent home for our company. We realized that given our financial resources that was not going to be realistic. In that search we lost sight of why we’d decided to embark on this endeavour in the first place and that was to bring high quality theater productions to our community. We are focused on mounting another show in April and we are headed back to where it all started, Shadow Box in Durham. It will be an intimate show with only 25 seats. We are excited to provide an intimate experience for our audience. We have yet to settle on a show, but rest assured we will be back in April

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It’s the people. The fellow artists we get to work with, the audience, the local businesses that have been so supportive. Theater is a collaborative art form, you can’t do it on your own. It takes creative, driven artists all pulling in the same direction. The creatives, the artists…they are my people. I never fell more at home then when I am surrounded by talented people doing amazing work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.redbirdtheatercompany.com/about
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedBirdTheaterCo