Chris and Adriel Slaughter (photo by Rick Hamm)
By Samantha Gray
Samantha Gray is a member of the A! Magazine for the Arts committee and the executive director of Theatre Bristol.
Adriel and Chris Slaughter have learned how to collaborate in life and art. Many years after first meeting at Theatre Bristol and then staying in touch as friends, Adriel and Chris married in June 2004.
Since then, the Bristol, Tennessee residents have been active in theater and enjoy working together to express their unique talents.
“We believe that art and life are deeply intertwined, so for us, there’s no real distinction between the two. Working together is a natural part of our life, and we see art as something that flows into everything we do. It’s about finding balance through shared passions and supporting each other in both creative and everyday moments.”
Chris works at King University and holds an M.F.A. in Theater Arts from the University of Memphis, specializing in theatrical design. Chris is also a director, actor and musician. He teaches theater history, theatrical design, directing and acting and is the chair of the theater department and director of the ACE Speaking Center at King.
Adriel works at Northeast State Community College and holds an M.Ed. from King University, and an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College as well as post graduate courses from the University of Tennessee. Adriel teaches philosophy classes including ethics, introduction to philosophy, and science and the modern world at Northeast State. She also teaches yoga at Bristol Yoga Center.
In the early years of their marriage, Adriel taught herself to sew, and when Chris got a job at King, the chair of the department at the time, Liz Dollar, asked her if she would be interested in designing costumes for“Trojan Women.” This was a successful collaboration, and they continued to work on shows including“Pippin,” “Cinderella Waltz,” “Dracula”and most recently“Trifles.”
Chris has always been an artist, whether it be creating music or theater. His first play was in first grade and continued through high school. In college, he auditioned for his first play at Virginia Intermont College, where he decided to major in theater, and had the opportunity to direct and design shows. He did an internship at Theatre Bristol in the summer of 1983 and returned to Theatre Bristol in 1990 as technical director and scenic designer.
In 1992, Chris began MFA studies at the University of Memphis. Following that, he worked at Westfield University in Massachusetts for 12 years before moving back to Bristol in 2007. When he started at King, his focus was primarily technical direction as well as scenic, lighting and sound design. Around 2008, he started a project called Twin City Radio Theatre, putting old time radio dramas on the stage, a project that continues to this day. In the last year, he shifted to directing while Heather Eisenhart took on the role of technical director.
Adriel had a very different journey, much more focused on literary and philosophical endeavors, though always interested in creative expression. In the early 2000s, Adriel became interested in clothing construction and fabric crafts, which made costume design a natural progression. Since designing their first show together,“Trojan Women,” Adriel has continued to explore different fabric arts including knitting, embroidery and sewing and designing shows for both King University and Theatre Bristol.
“Trojan Women”is a special show to both Chris and Adriel since it was their first collaboration but there are many other shows that they’ve enjoyed working on from“Pippin”to the radio dramas to“Trifles.”
“’Pippin’was exciting because of the glam rock production concept and the general over the top nature of the show,» says Adriel. Liz Dollar directed the show, and her vision came to life through Chris’s set and Adriel’s costumes.
They share that they learned early on when they were both in design roles with another director, it was important not to bring their work home.
“It worked well for us not to talk about our work at home, but as we have learned how we collaborate, we now enjoy talking about the shows we’re working on,” notes Adriel.
“When we were working on‘Trifles,’ we both explored the historical context of the show, from color choices to silhouette,” says Adriel. “Our excitement for the small details is something we share, like what tea canister is on a shelf to what kind of police badge a sheriff in the Midwest at the turn of the 20th century would wear.”
Art is not just about trifles for them, but the big picture, agreeing that art is “...how we make sense of the chaos around us. The idea of the creative act is a reflection of the universe itself. There’s constant change and evolution around us, and I think art reminds us what it means to be human, our humanity. Theater, in particular, saves lives.
“Empowering people to tell stories, even putting on a mask, unmasks us. It tells us who we really are. We can create as a community something more beautiful than any one person alone. It’s a model of community that we need. As a theater educator, Chris has seen the power of theater - students walk around in someone else’s skin and they find out whotheyare,” Adriel says.
Not only have they learned to collaborate together, but also to learn from each other. Adriel shares, “There was a time that we were talking about abstract art, and I said something like, ‘I could have done that.’ Chris dead on responded, ‘But you didn’t.’ This was a big moment because it was the moment I realized that art is all about making choices. While Chris grew up knowing he was an artist, I think that realizing art is about more than the end result was mind blowing.”
Chris reciprocates, “Adriel has shown me what it means to be both courageous and curious, always looking deeper than the surface. This mindset has influenced how I approach my own design and directing. I often feel constrained by the rules I’ve spent years teaching and adhering to. In contrast, Adriel reminds me ofthe freedom to explore beyond those boundaries. The way she expresses herself and her willingness to see things from different angles, often helps me see possibilities I might have missed.”
Their best collaboration, daughter Harper, is involved in art as well, inheriting a love for drawing from father Chris and designing ensembles from mother Adriel, and shares their mutual interests in theatre, books, and art.
“She really is the best of both of us, but she is 100% her own person,” says Adriel. Harper has participated in theater camps and art camps and was on stage in Theatre Bristol’s“Elf.”Most recently, she worked backstage during“Scrooge! the Musical”and was the lighting and sound operator for“Tuna Christmas.”
Adriel and Chris look forward to whatever is the next show because they can work on it together. “We enjoy collaborating and plan to continue. It’s not about the show for us but about the process and the act of telling stories” together.
