Delicia Turner Sonnenberg is a founder and Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre. She previously worked as Artistic Associate for San Diego Repertory Theatre as a part of the TCG’s New Generations Program: Future Leaders. Delicia was twice a recipient of the Van Lier Directing Fellowship in New York and is an alumna of the New York Drama League’s Directors Program. She has worked as a director in California, New York and Texas. Some San Diego directing credits include the award winning productions of Dog Act (MOXIE Theatre), Kimberly Akimbo (MOXIE Theatre & 6th @ Penn), & Fit to be Tied (Diversionary Theatre). As well as Proof (San Diego REP), Solaces’ Antigone, and Euripides’ Children of Heracles translated by Marianne MacDonald (6th @ Penn), Tales from the Far Side of Fifty by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt and many plays for the Playwrights Project. She is married to designer Jerry Sonnenberg and proud mama of Zoë and August. ABOUT MOXIE MOXIE Theatre is a professional non-profit theatre founded by the critically acclaimed group of performers and directors; Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, Jennifer Eve Kraus, Jo Anne Glover and Liv Kellgren. The mission of MOXIE Theatre is to expand the idea of what is feminine by using the intimate art of theatre to create more honest and diverse female images for our culture. MOXIE is committed to producing provocative and entertaining plays, where audiences can count on to be inspired, encouraged, challenged and excited.

 

 

The mission of MOXIE Theatre is to “expand the idea of what is feminine by using the intimate art of theatre to create more diverse and honest female images for our culture.” What does this mean to you, and how are you accomplishing your mission?
To me, our mission is about broadening the perception about what is considered “a woman’s role” - in life, in work, in art, in public as well as private. I care what my brothers, husband and especially my son think of when they hear the phrase “women’s work.’ One way we are accomplishing our mission is simply by creating more opportunities for female artists. Our main focus is adding more female voices to the dialogue.

There is a certain stereotype of “feminist theater” which you seem to be working against. Do you consider Moxie theater a feminist theater? Why is it important to have an all-female theater company?
There is a certain stereotype of feminist theatre. We use to have the word "feminism" in our mission, but it turns out to mean something completely different to us than it means to other people. People hear the word and pigeonholed/slot us into something very limited- a very small room. Whereas to me, being a feminist/womanist/humanist means essentially the same thing- an expansion of opportunities, ideas, and expression - rather than a small room. I personally don’t believe that in order for women to be strong, men have to be weak. I want men to be strong, just not at my expense. We see our work at MOXIE not as a fight, but rather as an opportunity to fill a void.

Right now, while there are a lot of female playwrights winning awards, only about 16% of the work on stage across the country is by female writers. It is a privilege to expose our audiences to some exciting playwrights that they may not otherwise see. Why is it important to have an all-female theatre company? It's funny, all of the founders are female, but we don't consider ourselves an all-female company. We consider ourselves a female driven company. A lot of our financial supporters, volunteers and board members are men. I think it's important to mention that we don't think of them as tokens. We are not trying to be politically correct. We are simply and honestly open to all people who believe in our mission and will not exclude them, especially based on gender.

What have been the greatest challenges of forming the company and producing plays?
We are in our first full season, so we are still learning. One of the greatest challenges is becoming as good at running the business as we are making theatre.

What keeps you motivated in the face of great challenges?
The other women of MOXIE, the support of the community, as well as, making my husband and children proud of my work, keep me motivated.

What are you looking for in the plays you produce at Moxie? How much does “commercial appeal” factor into your decision making process?
I look for plays that have strong characters, remarkable language and captivating stories. I think all theatre should have some appeal to an audience. I try to program a series of plays that will appeal in different ways. When I’m in the selection process, I ask myself, would I want to spend my time with these people, in this place for 2 hours? Most of all, I try to share with our audiences the plays that I LOVE, that inspire me as a person. And, I love plays that are bold, smart, poetic, sexy, violent and funny.

Who, specifically, is your target audience? Is there a certain demographic you’re trying to reach, and how do you reach them?
We thought that our target audience were people from our own generation (25-35), but we discovered with our first show that our audience is pretty diverse both in terms of age and gender but our hottest audience is women over 40.

The award-winning production team of MOXIE Theatre

According to an article in the North County Times, at Moxie, child care will be offered to actors during rehearsals and performances, and artists will be paid a livable wage. This sounds like an amazing place to work… have you achieved these goals? How have you funded the company?
These are goals we are working on. Right now, we pay every actor and we just bring the kids to work. We fund the company through ticket sales and donations.

What qualities do you most admire in the actors you work with?
Courage and a sense of play are the qualities I most admire.

Many theater companies become well-loved and respected institutions in their communities. What steps is Moxie taking to gain support and build relationships in the community?
We were all working professionals in the community before forming the company, so that gave us a great buzz in the community when we got together. One of the things we do is a curtain speech before every show, where we invite the audience to introduce themselves to someone they don’t know. It’s amazing how much this loosens up the audience and creates a shared experience before the show even starts. There are also a series of development and community strategic goals that we are implementing in terms of business in our area.

Do you have role models or other theater companies or businesses you’re trying to emulate? What do you admire about them?
We are not really trying to emulate any one, but rather trying to do our own thing. We are lucky that the bigger theatres in our community are so generous to us with their time and advice. There are a lot of arts institutions that we admire but also corporate-for-profit-non-evil businesses that I admire personally. Drawing on research, and just old fashioned picking up the phone and calling to ask a “how do I…?” works wonders. For example, the other day our marketing director sent out an email to bigger theatres asking advice about something and had 5 responses in 5 minutes.

A typically frustrating experience for actors everywhere is killing themselves to put on a great show and having small audiences. How does Moxie get butts in the seats? Can you offer suggestions on promoting a production?
This is something we are actively and aggressively working on. One of the things we learned pretty quickly is that we had to spend a lot of time and energy on marketing. Even when we are not doing a show, we are keeping our name out there – going to events, sending notes, making calls. We just got ourselves a new marketing specialist, a man who saw one of our shows and wanted to volunteer his expertise. We’ve just started meeting with him, so it’s too early to report, but his ideas help us think outside the box.

In your opinion, what are the unique characteristics of American theater?
We are living in an interesting time in American history. There seems to be a sense of uncertainty. I’ve observed a great deal of questioning in the new work I’ve read or seen lately. This is just my perception, as I am doing a great deal of questioning, myself.

In an age of instant digital entertainment, why is theater important? What does theater provide that movies, television, and the myriad other diversions cannot?
I am a fan of all story-telling mediums, but the risk and ultimate danger of live theatre is what I love. Also, the relationship between the actors and audience is intimate and fragile. The process of watching a play is physical and sensuous – the shared experience and shared breath between performer and audience.

 

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