Pat Anderson-Flowers is a director, choreographer, performer and more who has worked on stages all over Birmingham and taught at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and Birmingham-Southern College. She’s worked a number of times with her husband, Michael Flowers, along the way, but the coming weeks are a first for them – she’s directing “What the Constitution Means to Me” and he’s directing “Assassins,” both being presented Feb. 6-16 at the Virginia Samford Theatre. Anderson-Flowers took some time to answer some questions about her half of that bill – Heidi Schreck’s acclaimed “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Tell me a bit about yourself.
I grew up in Fayetteville, Tennessee. I got my BA in speech/theatre with a double major in English. I received my MFA in Theatre from the University of Mississippi. I moved to Birmingham in 1984, when Michael and I married. I taught at ASFA from 1985-1988 and joined the BSC faculty full time in the fall of 1988. I taught full time there for three years and adjunct for about 15 years. At BSC I directed, choreographed musicals and served as vocal/dialect coach on several shows. I worked at Birmingham Children’s Theatre in a variety of roles (directing, performing, running the education program and artistic director) for about 10 years. I’ve also directed and/or choreographed at Red Mountain Theatre, Virginia Samford Theatre and Terrific New Theatre. I’ve performed at BSC, Birmingham Festival Theatre, Birmingham Children’s Theatre and Terrific New Theatre.
What about your time at Birmingham-Southern College?
In addition to teaching and directing in the theatre department, I ran the student volunteer program for two years and worked in institutional advancement for eight years, serving as director of major gifts, associate vice president and interim vice president.
How did you get involved in theater?
I first got involved in theater in high school. I grew up in a small town, but our theater teacher, a Fayetteville native, had lived in New York for several years and performed on Broadway and in films. She returned to care for her mother after her father died. A miracle that I got to learn from her. The stories she could tell! She’s the reason I decided to study theater in college.
You’re directing “What the Constitution Means to Me.” Can you tell me about that show?
“Constitution” was developed by Heidi Schreck, a writer and performer. She tells stories about her teenage years working the American Legion high-school debate circuit to win scholarship money for college. The topic — what the constitution means to me. The play also tells Heidi’s personal family stories and explores who our constitution and our laws protect and who they do not. It delves into some difficult topics, including domestic and sexual violence, so it’s not suitable for young children. And it raises some tough, controversial, important questions. The show is hilarious, heartbreaking and sometimes enraging. We end with a debate between (actresses) Kelsey Crawford and Daniela Afanador, a Hoover High School student. The talented Chuck Duck plays the Legionnaire who ran the high-school debates when Heidi was a teenager.
Can you talk about working with Kelsey Crawford, who is starring in the show?
This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to work with Kelsey. She is phenomenal. She’s quick and has great creative instincts and an incredible work ethic. And she’s a really kind person with a feisty sense of humor. I’m so grateful I’ve had the chance to get to know her and to collaborate with her.
What do you hope the audience takes away from the show?
I hope the audience is entertained and challenged by the colorful stories told in the show. And I hope they leave with a greater awareness of how precarious rights and legal protections are for women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community.
What’s next for you?
Theater-wise I have no idea what’s next for me. We’ll see what comes along. I’m a certified spiritual director with a small private practice, and that fills some of my time. I have a Writing as Spiritual Practice group that meets at my home once a month. I volunteer on Tuesdays with InToto Creative Arts at Firehouse Men’s Shelter. And I call my mom, who just turned 100, twice a day and visit her once a month. She’s still living on her own in my childhood home in Tennessee. Those things keep me mostly out of trouble.
“What the Constitution Means to Me,” at the Virginia Samford Theatre Feb. 6-16.
