#HASHTAG: BRADEN ABRAHAM

BRADEN ABRAHAM moved to Chicago to take the artistic helm at Writers Theatre (WT)—Glencoe’s nationally recognized cultural destination for intimate and engaging theater. He comes to WT from Seattle Rep, one of the largest resident theaters in the Pacific Northwest, where he advanced the organization as a director and producer, including the development and premiere of many new plays. During his 20-year tenure, he directed six premieres, 20 total productions, and developed many new works through Seattle Rep’s New Play Program. Abraham is excited to join Writers Theatre, where he plans to build on the institution’s mission to center great writing through the work of visionary artists, forward its devotion to education programs, bring new voices to the stage, and build partnerships across the community. Abraham steps away from rehearsals to share how he stays on trend.

#ON MY NIGHTSTAND

Lately, I’ve been drawn to memoirs and biographies of artists and thinkers whose work crosses disciplines. I recently finished a couple of incredible books recommended to me by friends. The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf—a mesmerizing biography of Alexander von Humbolt, detailing his adventures in South America and Russia, and his profound impact on how we perceive the interconnectedness of the biosphere. Boyd Varty’s The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life is an entertaining, pithy, and wise meditation on life lessons learned from the art of tracking lions on an animal refuge his family founded in South Africa. I also just read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami’s memoir connecting his running and writing lives. On my road trip to Chicago from Seattle, I listened to Bono read his new book Surrender. He has walked the knife edge between art and activism throughout his career. Also, I grew up in the ‘80s and early ‘90s and wore out my cassette tapes of The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. U2 is one of those bands ingrained in my adolescent consciousness.

#ON MY MOBILE

I’m enjoying The Way Out is In, a podcast exploring different aspects of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings through interviews about daily life inside the Plum Village monastic community. I started listening to The History of English Podcast. It’s super nerdy, but I find it fascinating. Design Matters is one I go back to now and then. Regarding music, I’m happy to be in Wilco’s hometown, one of my favorite bands. I have a 12-year-old daughter, so we listen to a fair share of pop music at our house: Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles. My daughter is expanding into indie now too, which being the Gen X-er that I am, is more familiar territory. I have not succeeded yet in turning her onto some of my favorite jazz artists: Coleman Hawkins, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, and Sonny Rollins.

#IN MY EARBUDS

There are a few blogs I occasionally visit. Maria Popova’s The Marginalian is extraordinary and invaluable. I don’t know how she maintains her output, but the number of overlooked literary gems she finds, her deep inquiry into the human endeavor, and her eloquence expressing the quandaries and joys of life, is astonishing.