1. First show you saw:
   A Hula dance piece. I lived in Hawaii until the age of 10, in a fairly rural farming area. So there was not much in the way of actual theatre, but the dancing was incredible. Most people don’t realize how powerful authentic hula is, but I grew up surrounded by it and have great respect for the art form.
2. First involvement in a theatrical production:
   You mean outside of the pivotal work that my siblings and I staged in our living room? That would be in the 2nd Grade. It was a Valentine’s Day themed work performed for the school. I played the villain.
3. Favorite play / musical:
   Impossible question. I go into brain overload when I try to hone it down to one. So here are a few…Marisol, Clean House, Big Love/ Les Misérables, Evita, Metropolis (never seen it, but have loved the music since high school).
4. Favorite playwright / composer:
   Brain overload again. Here are a few. José Rivera, Sarah Ruhl, Sheila Callaghan, Charles Mee / Steven Sondheim, Kyle Jarrow, Kander & Ebb, Schönberg.
5. What you like most about Washington area theatre community:
   It may be something you have already heard, but we are like a family. Sometimes that can be challenging, because your family can get all up in your business, but most of the time this community does what family does best. They support you, help you when you need it, come to your shows and cheer you on.
6. Something others are often surprised to find out about you:
   Folks are usually surprised when they find out I have three kids.
7. Other than your significant other, who would be your dream date (living or dead)?
   Cleopatra – that lady was insanely smart so the conversations would be fascinating and I hear she also threw a hell of a shindig.
8. If not theatre, then what?
   Painting or politics.
9. Why do you do what you do?
   Wrote a thing about that. So I will refer you there.
10. Advice for an 8 year-old smitten by theatre / for a graduating MFA student:
    Same advice for both. Be open minded in learning and generous in teaching.

Helen Pafumi is the Artistic Director and co-founder of The Hub Theatre. Since its inception, Helen has produced multiple area and world premiers as well as an annual free staged reading series. Her original plays Merry, Happy...What? and co-adaptation Wonderful Life have been produced by The Hub and Clara's Little Questions was recently at the Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Festival. In addition to her role at The Hub, Helen works as an actor in many DC area theatres, including Theatre J, Folger Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Forum Theatre, Theatre Alliance, Rorschach Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Didactic Theatre, The Inkwell, the Source Festival, the Beckett Centenary Festival, Vpstart Crow, and Madcap Players. She has appeared in numerous independent films and commercials. Helen also does dialect coaching for George Mason University’s theatre program and privately teaches acting and public speaking. She is the recipient of the Puffin Foundation Award and the Washington Canadian Partnership Award. Helen holds a BA in Theatre from Virginia Tech.

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