We were lucky to catch up with Maryanne Henderson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maryanne, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Several years ago I was in a play called “Perfect Arrangement” by Topher Payne. It had been several years since I’d been a part of a theater production so it was absolutely thrilling to be on the stage again. The week we were due to close the show, we began to hear about an infection spreading in different cities; of course, we could not have predicted what happened next. Within a week’s time there was a massive worldwide shift and COVID shut down so many productions. Needless to say our closing night was cancelled.

A year into the pandemic, I was chomping at the bit to create again, and my artist friends felt the same. I lived (still live) in a house with several friends. I was an essential worker at the time, working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and had to be particularly careful. Health regulations for DC workers were very strict so I avoided enclosed spaces outside of work. Needless to say, it was a terribly anxious, scary time.

During a masked-walk to work (with my essential worker letter in hand), I sent a message to a few friends with a “wild idea” to host a socially distant, outdoor performance in my backyard. I have a balcony, so we batted around several ideas of people performing from a balcony, to waves of audiences below (a very Romeo and Juliet vibe). Months later, I was building a stage, wrangling painters and lights, calling up singers, actors, jugglers, clowns, dancers and comedians, and begging local establishments to sponsor us. Long story short, in November of 2021, I produced my first ‘show’ – a spectacular called “Spirits” – where about 15 artists from all over DC performed to a crowd hungry for a diversion and eager for live entertainment.

Spirits was a hit! I have produced the show three years in a row now, and the crowd keeps growing. Last year we had about 20 performers, and over 100 guests, all in my backyard in DC. Spirits has been featured in the local news (read: very local) and it has become a space for artists to take a risk, try something out, and ‘go big’ in an outdoor, intimate space. I had never produced anything before Spirits took flight in 2021. I certainly learned as I went along, and I have been grateful to glean wisdom from others taking similar leaps of faith in DC. The risk of building this show was absolutely worth it. It was the antidote to my feelings of helplessness, my anxious isolation, and my own need for creative community.

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

I am a licensed independent clinical social worker in DC. I have worked with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with aging adults in affordable housing, and in outpatient mental health. Theater and acting has always been my passion in tandem to my work as a social worker. I believe empathy and imagination is transformative and life-changing.

As an actor I feel most proud of roles where I have been able to develop a calm inner presence onstage, so that I can deeply listen to those around me and to the character I am portraying. This is a work in progress and a craft that will always need practicing.

I feel incredibly proud of being able to create the Spirits show. I never dreamed I would be producing! It is through the willingness of artists and shared creative curiosity in DC that makes this possible.

As a social worker I feel most proud of situations where I have been able to advocate with individuals in spaces where their voices are disregarded.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

There is immense value to training as an artist! I have gained tremendous skills through training and plan to continue my education as an actor. I had to unlearn the idea, however, that training defines your success. What is vital is YOU. The artist has what is needed. YOU are enough.

Training, degrees, connections and experiences certainly shape, sculpt and develop the actor, but the world needs us just as we are. Of course we have to hustle and study and work hard and build our resumes and learn, but what we bring to the table in the first place is brilliant and wonderful.

This is a lesson I have to remind myself of every day. I began my career as an artist later in life. I was not a ‘theater kid’ until after college when I randomly took an acting class with a friend for fun. Because of this ‘late start’ I often feel like I am playing catch-up. I do not have a bachelor in fine arts, I do not know all the famous theater quotes and key people. But I now know who I am, I know the way my body moves and what makes me laugh. I am a friend to grief and loss and am willing to share myself on stage.

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

Being invited to bring your whole humanity on stage for me is the most rewarding aspect of being an artist. The stage is one of the few spaces I feel I can be myself, unapologetically—and that is oh so rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mae_henderson

Image Credits

All image credits go to the amazing DC photographer Rachel Schrock (https://rachelschrock.com/) ! Headshot by DJ Corey Photography.