It has been an immense pleasure of mine to have the opportunity to direct & choreograph Razor Creek, a piece that didn’t get its moment in 2020 when it was originally slated to happen during New Play Festival, but was halted due to the pandemic. 

Given the play had a previous life, I was apprehensive at first to jump in simply due to me still finding my footing adapting to UIOWA; however, that apprehension was soon gone after meeting K.T. via Zoom for the first time. I began officially working on the show in November of 2023. K.T. welcomed me to the land of Razor Creek with the most warmth & open arms. At this time, as I was getting to know the show, my grandmother grew intensely sick & became bedridden. Before I knew it, she was in hospice by December 2023. During this time, I was having various meetings with K.T. & verbalizing the plays themes of grief, generational trauma, religious values / trauma, & belonging that evidently became more & more visceral to me as my grandmother’s life was heavy on my mind. Before I knew it, she passed & suddenly during auditions & callbacks, I was flying home to California to lay my beloved grandmother to rest. I remember being on the plane & listening to Queen of Razor Creek on repeat, resonating with K.T.’s raw vocals on the demo, the belty cry of “there has to be something here lord” hitting me like a ton of bricks through both the emotional quality of her voice as well as my anxiety trying not to think about the fact that I am on a plane, heading home in the middle of the semester.  

I thought hard about Ket’s journey, Willa’s journey, community, ancestors, God, hope & how the folx who came before us, our ancestors, carve out our path so that this life we live is not as hard as it once was. I thought about my grandmother, Veronica Romero & what she endured for my mother to live the life she did & ultimately for me to be here; telling stories for a living.  

I want to thank K.T. for her grace, & for trusting me to tell this story that I know is stemmed from their proud roots of where they come from & who they are.  

Thank you to everyone who made this happen.  

- Michael C. Flores