Episode 24: Will Frears

Google describes Gowanus in these terms, “In a former industrial zone around Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal, Gowanus is a developing area with a mix of classic rowhouses and converted warehouses. Hipsters and creative types head up studios and cool art galleries. After dark, the neighborhood livens up as young professionals spillover from the nearby Barclay’s Center Arena and head to the trendy bars, casual eateries and funky music venues around 4th Avenue.”

Gowanus is also the site of an artistic experiment, community center and creative laboratory for directors and choreographers (those creatives writing their drafts in three dimensions) called the Mercury Store which was founded by and is directed by Will Frears. Will and his team have thoughtfully engineered a space that allows the asking of the most difficult questions with the most love for those who are brave enough (maybe foolish enough) to try to rethink what the creative process looks like for performance art – theater, dance and the like. In moments, the Mercury Store plays revolutionary to creative processes that need to be shook; then it is a gathering spot for old friends to run into one another and share an idea or conversation. 

And while the space is beautiful and the goal is equal parts ambition, loftiness and trailblazing, at the center of it all sits Will Frears, searching for the answer to the central question that he posits in our conversation, “What would it be like if you just stood in the middle of your process for a minute and thought about ‘Well what do I need?’”  

The answer to his question? Deciding that he can be happy. And that happiness includes his wife Amy, walking his girls to school and his building in Gowanus.