By Denny Patterson

As an educator, scholar, and practitioner in the performing arts, Nicole Stodard is driven by a mission to create a positive impact. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience her directing work firsthand during Island City Stage’s production of Pulp. 

Set in 1956 Chicago, a hot and humid July, the play revolves around Terry Logan, a tough-talking, rebellious, and seductive woman. When she takes up residence at The Well, a club run by women who love women, the trouble really begins. Nominated for four Joseph Jefferson Awards including “Best New Work,” Pulp is a heartfelt, comedic love letter to lesbian pulp fiction and the Barbara Stanwycks of the world.

Pulp is scheduled to play at Island City Stage from April 11-May 5, 2024, and Stodard took some time to answer some questions for OutClique. 

Denny Patterson: Hi, Nicole! Let me begin by asking, how excited are you to direct Island City Stage’s production of Pulp?

Nicole Stodard: I am stoked to be directing and designing for Island City Stage! I have followed their work for years. Over the past decade, Andy, Michael, and Marty have really put LGBTQ+ theater on the map in Fort Lauderdale and South Florida more broadly.

Denny Patterson: As director, what is your ultimate vision and approach for the show?

Nicole Stodard: The smart, sexy play is set in 1950s Chicago in a clandestine lesbian bar called The Well. No connection to the newly opened one on The Drive, but a lovely coincidence! I want audiences to feel like they’ve traveled back in time to a sacred and seductive underground where butches and femmes go to feign, flirt, and fall in love.  

Denny Patterson: Is there anything else you hope audiences take away from it?

Nicole Stodard: In addition to featuring a gorgeously melodic score, which I think audiences will love, Pulp contains multiple female drag performances. I know lesbians who have never heard of a drag king, let alone seen a live performance by one. I look forward to having our local community experience this aspect of the show.

Denny Patterson: Have you worked with Island City Stage before?

Nicole Stodard: This is my first time collaborating with Island City Stage, and I believe Pulp may be the first lesbian-focused play Island City Stage has programmed. 

Denny Patterson: What are you looking forward to the most about this collaborative partnership? 

Nicole Stodard: I am excited to help Island City Stage deliver a quality production that spotlights the mid-twentieth century lesbian experience, showing us how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go.

Denny Patterson: Do you feel like there’s a lack of stories nowadays containing lesbian themes or content? 

Nicole Stodard: There are more lesbian-themed plays, novels, films, etc. today than there have been historically. However, work by and about queer women remains under-produced. Island City Stage, their neighbor theater, Plays of Wilton, which recently launched Women of Wilton, and my home company, Thinking Cap Theatre, are working to change that.  

Denny Patterson: You have directed and designed more than 30 main stage productions, as well as shorts, youth work, and grant projects. Has this always been a passion of yours? 

Nicole Stodard: Yes! I have been engulfed in theater as an educator, scholar, and practitioner (directing, costuming, sound designing, and writing) for more than 20 years.

Denny Patterson: Can you talk more about how you like to incorporate feminism in your works and why it’s so important to you?

Nicole Stodard: Feminism is my way of life. I go to church (shout out to Sunshine Cathedral); I also practice feminism religiously. In my work as a theater artist and leader, my feminist values guide me in my hiring and casting practices, in my script selection, and in my rehearsal process.  My work intentionally centers on women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ voices, and feminism is important to me because inequality (gender, racial, sexual, etc.) remains an unsolved problem here in the U.S. and around the world. Daily, in my tiny sliver of the theater world, I’m working with all my heart to thoughtfully chip away at this.

Denny Patterson: Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention or plug?

Nicole Stodard: Prior to Pulp, I am directing a very timely adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays, The Taming of the Shrew. Some may remember Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s feisty go at this many decades ago or the musical adaptation, Kiss Me Kate. Thinking Cap’s production features a fabulous cast of local professionals, and it will run at the Broward Center for the Arts in the Abdo New River Room from March 22 – April 3, 2023. You can purchase tickets at ThinkingCapTheatre.org.