We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Shriver a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

In 2019 I began working on a solo show as a way to move through grief. I had very suddenly and unexpectedly lost my cousin and felt my world was collapsing. The line between reality and memory seemed to blur in my everyday life and I felt the only way to ground myself was through writing poetry and stories and allowing myself to get lost in imagination. I watched Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag and after learning that the TV show had started as a one woman show, It became my goal to follow in her footsteps. I had been a dancer all of my young adult life and graduated college with a BFA in dance, but had always yearned for spaces where I could integrate dance with theater. I began working on my one woman show through a weekly class taught by Elizabeth Pringle in Washington DC. I crafted a 10 minute piece called The Stella Show, that honored the memory of my cousin and explored the disorienting and mysterious experience of grief through dance, theater, and poetry. Creating this piece felt like the beginning of a new chapter. Two years later I came back to The Stella Show and worked on it for two years with my collaborator, Marc David Wright. The Stella Show was the impetus for The Village and our Salon style events. After years of highs and lows, questioning my purpose, my ability, my voice, The Stella Show evolved and developed through Village Salons. Finally, this past October 2023 The Village produced The Stella Show as an hour-long solo show. Bringing this piece to life on a stage with a packed audience and a team of creatives at my side was a dream come true. I felt I had discovered a new world of creative power and honored the memory and energy of my cousin whose life inspired this show at the start.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a performer, director, writer, and producer based in Brooklyn. I spent most of my young adult life dancing. I graduated from Fordham University and The Ailey School, where Ireceived a BFA in Dance and Latin American Studies. During and after college I taught dance around the United States and Latin America, partnering with arts education non-profits, including the Maureen Orth Foundation, JUNTOS Collective, and Americorps’ ArtistYear. In 2019 I began working on my solo show, The Stella Show, finding new ways to integrate dance and theater. In 2021 I collaborated with Marc David Wright to workshop The Stella Show and produce small workshopping productions that became known as Salons and ultimately led to the establishment of The Village. In 2022 I starred in my first feature film, Capsules, directed and written by Fordham-grads. I have continued acting and dancing in both my own works and others, many of which were instigated by relationships I made through The Village. In September 2023 I made my directorial debut at the Ursinus Fringe Festival with the solo show Public Private Prayer. In October 2023, my one woman show, The Stella Show, was produced by The Village and presented in residency at IRT Theatre (NYC). I am now focused on writing new works, producing Village Salons, and performing as an actor and dancer.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Community is at the forefront of my creative goals. As a writer and performer I value the time and space needed to craft on my own, but I have learned that creating art in community with other artists is crucial to development of fruitfull work. The Village grew organically out of a craving for community both from artists and patrons. Marc and I hosted our first Salon as a way to workshop The Stella Show alongside other artists’ works-in-progress. After our first Salon, Dana Seach approached us to offer her impeccable organizational and producorial skills to help us bring more Salons to life. The Village was born out of this collaboration and was able to grow because of the many creatives that offered their time and energy to help us build what is now a collective that has featured over 800 artists and invited over 900 patrons through our doors. My community at The Village has taught me that art cannot be made in a vacuum. It takes bravery to share work when it is still in development, but its benefit is unparalleled.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn (and continue to unlearn) the need to do everything myself! As performer and writer I felt I needed to experiment and create in my own world and that my work needed to be perfectly completed before it was seen by an audience. I have learned that collaboration is so important to bring the best work to life. I have learned that working with artists from many different disciplines can influence and help my work grow and exceed limitations. I have also learned that relying on others, asking for help, and asking for advice is necessary for art making.

Contact Info:

• Website: iminthevillage.org
• Instagram: iminthevillage

Image Credits
Personal Photo :James Jin (@jamesjinimages) Additional photos: Kirill Bykanov (@by_kirill)