Meet Valerie Remillard | Theater Director & Teaching Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Valerie Remillard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Valerie, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
I moved to New York City immediately following my graduation from college. Like, immediately. I graduated on a Saturday, paid a security deposit on a crummy basement apartment in Queens on Monday, and was packing a moving van by Friday. I spent three years living and working in New York City before deciding, ultimately, that NYC is a nice place to visit but I no longer want to live there. I returned to my home state of Rhode Island and started looking for jobs. Between the time I graduated and my exodus from the Big Apple, the economy and job market had dipped from great to terrible.

While aggressively looking for jobs in a bad economy, I was fortunate enough to have two offers. One with an independent record label working for a children’s performer as an office/production assistant and one slightly better offer with an investment firm. Two COMPLETELY different avenues. Do I ditch my commitment to the performing arts? Do I factor in the failing economy and the impact it will inevitably have on the arts? Do I think long-term? About my future? About the thousands of dollars I acquired in student loans so that I could major in theater? About where I want to be 5 years from now? 10 years? 20 years? Do I think about my soul or the piles of money I could make? And why oh why can’t I have a fulfilling career in the arts AND piles of money?

Twenty-five years later I have no regrets that I stayed the course in the arts and chose the job at the record label. The economy moves in cycles. And the investment firm was not immune to the impact of the economy. As I was making my decision, I thought about the support of my parents, my education, the scholarships I received, and the president of Wheaton College shaking my hand as she handed me my diploma saying, “We’re going to miss your beautiful voice around here, Valerie.” People believed I could succeed and that helped empower me to stay the course.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a working, single mother of two, there are plenty of challenges that I face on the regular — professionally and otherwise. Work/life balance is a utopia I sometimes can see but I rarely ever get inside its gates. But I keep trying.

A few years ago, during a particularly challenging time in our family, I asked my children who were 10 and 8 respectively, “What do you think about mommy quitting theater and getting a job at a bank or something so that I have the same schedule every day?” This wasn’t a test, I was seriously struggling to find some stability and continuity for us. Without hesitation, my daughter replied, “NO!!! You can’t do that! Your work is who you are! You love it and you are good at it and your students love you! You can’t do that. I forbid it.”

And that was the end of that.

My biggest concern was that my, often erratic, schedule was too stressful for my kids. I felt guilty constantly having to shift them around from one week to the next based on the project I was directing. I hated not being there to say good night to them on the weekends when I had performances. My daughter’s response was a pivotal moment because I realized that 1) My guilt was about me and not about them. They were fine and did not express any feelings of sadness or neglect that I was a working mom with erratic hours and 2) I was modeling for them that my personhood was dynamic. Yes, I am their mom and that is a HUGE part of my identity but I am also a theater professional and they embrace that about me — more than I gave them credit for.

My daughter is now 12 and only last week she said to me, “Mommy, sometimes when I finish my school work early I like to google your name on my school computer because I like seeing that you’ve done so many cool things and I feel like I want to show everyone, ‘Look! That’s my mom!’ but I can’t do that because I would get in trouble.”

I’ve always seen my professional life as something that runs parallel to my family life. So if I had to identify my “brand” I would say that I’m a family business. My business is to serve families but not at the expense of my family (my other small business).

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of the greatest things about RI is that you can visit the whole state in the same amount of time it would take to tour a big city. Some places and events that are a MUST SEE in Rhode Island are:

Attend Waterfire in Providence
Walk/bike/run the sidewalk along Narragansett Beach near The Towers
Eat on the beach at Paddy’s Beach Club in Westerly, RI
Eat/walk around Federal Hill, Providence
Get some Dels Lemonade
See a concert at the Greenwich Odeum and get two free gourmet cupcakes with the purchase of a bottle of champagne from the Silver Spoon Bakery in East Greenwich.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The majority of the work I get as a teaching artist is attributable to the East Greenwich School District PTG — a group of parent volunteers who support their schools and prioritize the arts in their community. The PTG (particularly those working with the Frenchtown and Eldredge Schools) hire me year after year to direct their school musical and stand by me throughout the entire process, often taking time out of their busy lives to assemble costumes, fundraise and liaise with school administrators about the progress of the play. Their generosity to their community is heroic and their faith in me has allowed me to grow and flourish as a sole proprietor.

Website: https://experimentsintheater.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/experiments_in_theater/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-remillard-a2a49989/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/e_theater

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExperimentsInTheater/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyF1XY8sc31l9sbzsM4NyQ

Image Credits
Devin Van Balen Valerie Remillard Vinny Torilli