The particular area of research that I do which is bacteriophage research was founded here in Europe, specifically in Poland. It’s kind of monumental to come back to the same place where this type of research originated. I really enjoy the applicable nature of bacteriophage therapy and that was something that I was only able to get here in Poland.

I'm researching the Polish avant-garde playwright Stanisław Witkiewicz. I became very interested in bringing his plays that are not well-known in America to American audiences. I'm doing an adaptation of his 1920 play "Oni" into a modern English adaptation. My project is writing a show for a very traditional theater in Kraków and they love what I’m doing.

I study modern Eastern Europe and Poland. I chose Poland because of its unique history. It is a unique place, this crossroads of Europe, and a really amazing key study for a lot of the modern issues that people face today, such as migration and nation-building.

In Poland, not only is hospitality in general at a very high level but there's also a very welcoming environment especially for a foreign American who is interested in Polish history, who is learning Polish and speaks Polish. It's really a unique experience in the world to have someone say: ‘We're so glad you're here, whatever we can do to help, please let us know.'

I tried to just leave myself a lot of flexibility in what I wanted to do here so that I could just let things kind of happen organically. And it ended up working out because I'm working with a couple ensembles that I wasn't sure I would be writing for before coming here.

My research is very much about Poland. I was really interested in Catholicism as a kind of culture-making institution in Poland. I decided to apply for a Fulbright because there weren't any academic sources about contemporary exorcism. I got it and I am here.