“There’s so much more that I have to do now but I know that it’s good to do.”

For Andie Villegas, she can’t imagine her life without theatre. Currently taking up Theatre Arts with a minor in Creative Writing, she submitted two vignettes of plays she wrote to be critiqued for AHWW. “Dogfight” tackled a young woman’s experience of dealing with the immediate aftermath of sexual harassment while “On Family, Funerals, and Family Belonging” revolved on rediscovering one's cultural identity with family. While seemingly different at first, they both emphasize on the themes of discourse and the need to listen. “I want people to think about it,” she said when asked about what she wants the audience to get from her work. 

Andie admits she didn’t expect to get in the workshop at first, but she decided to take a leap of faith and submit her works. While surprised, she’s grateful for her experience with AHWW. After spending time with the other fellows and panelists, she realized that she still has room to grow as a writer. It was during AHWW where she understood that theatre is inherently social and it’s not just about one’s own views, but being able to incorporate views of other people to represent different opinions. Understanding the value of researching led to her improving her works and making organic characters to make the audience feel more in touch with her plays. 

In writing, she places truth, honesty, and collaboration at the core of her work. Being truthful and expressing different views is definitely a challenge when it comes to character building, but she says it’s all worth it. With no character being 100% good of bad, she wants to represent different responses when faced with conflict. “That’s what I love about theatre. It’s a collective experience but people come away with different nuggest of truth,” was one of her biggest takeaways from the workshop. Getting a deeper understanding of the craft she loves helps her appreciate the unique and inherently social nature of writing for theatre. 

“Just apply and see what happens,” is Andie’s advice for those who wish to apply for AHWW. From her writing being solitary and transforming into a more collaborative process, her works reflect the conflict of imperfect human beings trying to empathize with each other.