Sherri Eden Barber is the first woman to hold the position of artistic director at 38-year-old Diversionary Theatre, which is the third-oldest LGBTQ production company in the nation.
Succeeding Matt Morrow, who moved on from Diversionary a year ago, Barber will lead the University Heights theater alongside its executive director Jenny Case. A longtime director based in New York, Barber is the co-founder of the adventurous Ricochet Collective there. She was also resident director of the touring production of “Hamilton” on the West Coast.
In a recent interview, Barber talked about this new chapter in her theater life, the San Diego theater community and her vision for Diversionary, where she recently directed the world premiere musical “TL;DR: Thelma Louise; A Dyke Remix.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What was your first experience with and impressions of Diversionary Theatre?
A: Years ago a dear friend of mine, (playwright) Harrison David Rivers, was having his show produced out here with Eric Louie, who’s now at La Jolla Playhouse. I Eric telling me about his experience and just how special this place was and what it felt like to be around all these queer artists and making work that was centered on that. Ten years and I’m working on ‘TL; DR’ (at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals in New York) and Matt Morrow saw it and reached out to me. He said ‘I like the work you’re doing and I’d like you to do it at this theater.’ I came here and I fell in love with the theater.
Q: Did they pursue you or did you pursue the artistic director position?
A: The opportunity came when I was out here. They were looking for an artistic director. Harrison David Rivers said ‘Sherri, this Is the perfect job. Everything you’ve done, whether it’s offstage, onstage, and looking out for the community — you can have a home. Think of what you could create.’ It was quite magical actually. What are the chances of being in this space, the job posting coming out and the friend from 10 years ago? After that it was a very authentic, generous, very genuine process.
Q: How does it feel to be the theater’s first female artistic director?
A: It feels incredible. I’ve always looked around spaces to see who’s there and who’s not there. As a kid I grew up playing on all-boys sports teams. It’s what I’m used to in life. I came here to put down roots. I am here to build a home. And as a queer woman, as a lesbian, building a home and a theater, and trusting a theater that is in transition and is doing so well is such an honor and a duty.
Q: What did you know about San Diego’s theater community before you came here?
A: That it was a very ive, ionate community that was invested in the infrastructure of the community itself. That it was very self-starting, abundant and committed to trying new things.
Q: What about Diversionary’s mission statement and its work attracted you as a theater artist?
A: It doesn’t have to represent everything here. It just has to be authentic. You can go many places and see plays done by LGBTQ artists, but there are certain artists that have been more successful or more visible throughout all of American theater. What excited me about Diversionary is that they’re acknowledging all of us in the alphabet. It’s amazing that we started out where there were very few of us represented and now it’s about making sure that we can share within each other and take care of each other to take care of the work.
We don’t have to see ourselves on that stage to be able to relate. We have to understand the need to exist. Period. That was massive for me.
Q: What is your vision for Diversionary moving forward?
A: In of their message, the power of community resonates with me and our ability to build bridges within that community. In of my mission in being here, it’s also about joy. Joy and celebration and resistance and sexual awakening. I’m really interested in dynamic pieces that celebrate joy and laughter as well as the sense of how do you redefine home? How do you begin again? What is awakening? We’re entering a chapter in our lives where we have no idea what going forward looks like. We’re right in the middle of possibilities. I’m interested in shows that show moments of triumph and hope but also moments that examine the athleticism of the human condition.
Q: Diversionary has a very loyal and ive constituency, and also wants to be part of the larger San Diego community. To what degree is that important to you?
A: It’s something I think about daily. The theater is incredibly successful, so what does it look like to continue that success and continue evolving? To continue the things that we all enjoy and also give us things we never knew we wanted?
Art should be in conversation with the world. There’s brand new work that we must give space to and it’s not just the work itself but the way in which the work is developed and received. It’s not always about taste; it’s about the importance of the piece. I’m really interested in giving this space national attention but also keeping it this really special, magical, San Diego-based community where the reason why it works is because we’re here.
Q: Are co-productions such as those Diversionary has done this year with Moxie Theatre something you’d like to do more of?
A: I think all tides rise together. It widens your net. I’m so excited to be new in this community because it means I get to listen a lot and learn and bring in the things I know. That’s what directing is: listening and hearing and learning how to execute.
Q: When did you become a person who was interested in and ionate about theater, and do you have any individuals who inspired you?
A: I was a big athlete. That was the plan, to pay college softball. I injured myself in high school. So I got a taste of (being in) my first play. It was amazing. Everyone was so together, people were just clapping for you. It felt like a team sport, and then I went to an all-girls summer camp and my first director was a lesbian who saw something in me, cast me in the lead role and it changed my life.
The person who changed my life was Thomas Kail (the Tony-winning director of “Hamilton”). He took a chance on me. He saw all the things that were inherent in who I was and he felt like anything I didn’t know was teachable. He saw the instinct, the spark, the way I looked at things as unique and special.
Q: How do you feel about now living in San Diego?
A: I love it. It’s so new to drive to work. I love being surrounded by people who also feel interested in what’s happening here and not so interested in what’s happening elsewhere.
It’s great to be a safe place in of the theater. Whatever else is going on in the world you can count on this to be a salve in the world.
What is there not to like?
Coddon is a freelance writer.
