Meet the Directors: Fortune or Fate
Cary Players is excited to spotlight the Directors of its upcoming production, Fortune or Fate. For tickets and other information, please visit the show page.
Heather Benjamin, Director
Heather Benjamin comes to the Triangle by way of the Washington, D.C. area, where she founded Perisphere Theater in 2014. In that region, she directed plays like Wait Until Dark, Copenhagen, and Oleanna for Perisphere, Little Theatre of Alexandria, Rockville Little Theatre, and the Capital Fringe Festival, among others. In the Triangle, she has directed for QuickScripts at NCSU and PlaySlam at ComedyWorx. She is excited to work with Cary Players for the first time.
Hayley Philippart, Director
Hayley Philippart is a director in the Triangle area. Local credits include EMMA (Sweet Tea Shakespeare), Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (South Stream Productions) and Oakwood Project 2025 (Burning Coal). She is thrilled to be joining Cary Players for the first time! She thanks her friends and family, especially her partner Ashlyn, for supporting her.
When not at the theater, Hayley is a proud cat owner and she has a little writing group with friends. She’s an avid reader and can be found at the Cary Library almost every weekend.
Director Q&A
Tell us about your vision as you read the one act plays included in Fortune or Fate?
Heather: The comedic style of the plays really appealed to me, in that they are light and crisply written, but also have those very poignant and human beats. I’m an “actor’s director,” and it struck me immediately that for actors, these plays offer a lot of opportunities to play off their scene partner, vary tempo, and find the moments that will resonate with the audience. It’s a chance for performers to flex their strong comedic technique, while also creating that “illusion of the first time”—and a vivid connection for the audience.
Hayley: At the end of the day, these pieces are about connections - ones we have but haven’t cultivated or have things unsaid; ones that are brand new and awkward and fun; ones that are forged from circumstance but can show you something about yourself. I am looking forward to showing these little glimpses of humanity.
Since we’re calling this production of one act plays “Fortune or Fate,” do you consider yourself lucky? What’s the best fortune cookie message you’ve ever gotten?
Heather: I feel fortunate to have reached a lot of personal goals that seemed very far away to my younger self, and I remind myself of that when things get challenging. I believe, though, that hard work and persistence are the groundwork that allow you to seize the unforeseen opportunities and fortuitous alignments that we call luck or fate. A fortune cookie message that I pasted in my journal last spring was “A significant achievement is in your future”: simple, but something I needed to hear, as I embarked on a course of study that seemed very daunting at the time.
Hayley: “Trust the circle formed around you” was the best message I’ve received, and the truest. The people who surround me in my life, my partner and friends, are relationships built on luck. I met one of my best friends in line at college orientation, my partner in a rehearsal, my friends through shows or through important people in my life. I feel incredibly lucky in finding my own chosen family.
Which one of these plays do you identify with the most? Why?
Heather: The play “Wishes,” which is a simple, touching meditation on fate, repetition, and renewal. It hits the philosophical vein that I’ve always enjoyed in a play, and like one of the sweeter episodes of the classic “Twilight Zone” show, it brings a magical idea down to a grounded, person-to-person level.
Hayley: “Ordained“- I love a meet cute that feels off the wall, and it makes me laugh. It gives a little of what we all want to feel, that 90s rom-com moment. My mom raised me on those, and it makes me think of her.
What would be the title of your personal one act play? Explain.
Heather: I’m already in at least the third act of my personal play, and I hope there will be several more, so all I hope is it doesn’t turn out to be a Jacobean play, with a title like “The Ginger from Wisconsin, or, a Descent into Madness.”
Hayley: “One Day at a Time” - I’m a big picture person, who also loves all the little details. I can get bogged down in the to do list of it all, but when I have a chance to zoom out, I like to think about the good cup of coffee I had in the morning or the good song that came on while I was driving. It gets you back on the journey instead of worrying too much about the path.
What are you most looking forward to with this production?
Heather: I always really look forward to the process of working with actors. Talented actors come up with wonderful, surprising moments that enrich a play’s texture and interpretation. I am a hands-on director, but I like to leave lots of room for actors to play and find different choices, because that’s what rehearsal is for and that’s what makes it fun!
Hayley: I’m so excited to make a little community inside our little plays! We will have the opportunity to make people laugh and to think, and audiences have the treat of seeing two visions on separate floors!
Anything else we should know about you?
Heather: As a fan of scary movies, I would love to direct a truly spooky play. If you have an atmospheric script sitting on the shelf, please hit me up!
Hayley: I am a cat parent to Juniper, who loves to sit with me when I’m working with my scripts (mostly to attack my pencils). A special thank you to NoRa café, where I get some of my best ideas.