SOHP Episode 10: David

Spark Of Hope Podcast

WHOA, when did 2021 arrive? Over 2 months ago?? I’m a bit in shock that we’re in March already! But a new year means a new episode (finally)!

On this episode, I interview a new “virtual” friend of mine, David Ian Lee! We connected in January because our mutual friend Rachel (who you’ll remember from my last episode) put together a Zoom reading of the sequel trilogy. It was a fantastic time and it led to David being on this episode, which I’m incredibly thankful for. We had an amazing chat about David’s life and how Star Wars impacted him throughout the years through theatre, teaching, and so much more! I learned so much from David and I hope you do too. Check out his bio and pictures below!

Thank you for listening and as always, I hope you enjoy this episode!

**Here are some of my favorite David quotes from this episode which I found incredibly inspiring:
~”So often we’re focused on pursuing the things that we want and this is the year for being grateful for the things that we have.”
~”There’s something to be taught about community and sacrifice and service and that we each have a responsibility to carry the torch when that is our time.”
~”But it was this moment of this thing brings me absolute joy. In a world that really wants you to feel as little joy as possible it seems, why deprive yourself of the things that bring you joy.”
~”In our time of crisis, Grogu will set us free.”

David Ian Lee is a freelance actor and director who has worked in New York for companies including The Pearl, Manhattan Theatre Source, Boomerang, and Flux Ensemble, for regional theatres including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep., and Nashville’s Pipeline-Collective (where he serves as a Producing Artistic Director), and classical companies including New York Classical, Arkansas Shakespeare, Illinois Shakespeare, and Utah Shakespeare. He is an internationally produced playwright, with productions of his work in Canada, South Africa, Scotland, and Greece.

A graduate of the William Esper Studio, David received his MFA in Directing from Illinois State University. He serves on the faculty of the Theatre & Dance Program in the Department of Communications at Tennessee State University, one of several institutions where he has offered his master lecture “Theatre, Criticism, and Star Wars”; he has also offered this content as a semester-long special topics course at universities and as a weeks-long enrichment course for gifted young learners.

In 2019 he was proud to direct a benefit production of A Very Special Live Staged Reading of the Star Wars Holiday Special: Live, on Stage… and Special!with all proceeds going to the 501^st Legion Make-a-Wish Endowment Fund.

Favorite credit: Father to Beckett Harrison Lee, on which he collaborated with his wife, Karen. For more information visit davidianlee.com and Pipeline-Collective.com.