5 Questions to Christine Freije, Stage Director

June 1, 2026 | Portland, OR: Deep Water opens in just 17 days, and staging rehearsals are underway! We thought this was the perfect time to sit down with stage director Christine Freije and learn about her process of bringing a world premiere opera to life. 

Deep Water Tickets

Christine Freije

What about Deep Water made you excited about joining the project?
I was so excited about the opportunity to work with Caroline and to dig into their musical world. Having collaborated with Caroline before, I know that they bring a spirit of experimentation and exploration to everything they do, and it’s been thrilling to dig into the strange, vast world they’ve created.​

How is directing opera different from directing theatre? What makes it particularly fun and/or challenging?
Opera’s staging rehearsal periods are much quicker than theatre’s, which is a challenge, but it’s also given me the freedom to be intuitive and decisive. It’s also really fun to focus not just on the story or plot drive of the piece, but to instead draw inspiration from the rhythm, mood, and imagery evoked by the music.

What are you most interested to discover during the rehearsal process? 
​I’m curious to find the ways that the futuristic setting of this opera sheds light on how we live today–how we interact with the natural world, how we strive for connection with other human beings, and how we continue to show up even in the face of incomprehensible loss.

Deep Water is a world premiere. How does that influence your approach?
Working on a world premiere, I feel a close sense of connection to Caroline as the writer and composer. A big part of my work is to understand their intentions and impulses as a creator, and to find ways to bring their musical world to three-dimensional life onstage.

Deep Water includes devised elements. For those unfamiliar with devised theatre, what is it, and what makes devised work special?
In traditional theatre-making, a director will use a script as a starting point and guide. In devised theatre, a show is built from other elements, including movement, images, non-theatrical text, and improvisatory exercises. I’m excited to bring devised theatre techniques to this opera in order to delve deeper into characters, explore physical storytelling, and build on the natural impulses of this extraordinary ensemble. ​