A conversation with Pug Bujeaud
Originally published on The JOLT News on August 14th, 2025
Join me in cheering on Theatre Artists Olympia (TAO) on Thursday, Aug. 14, as they perform their infamous show, “The Head!!! That Wouldn’t DIE!!!” at the 2025 Seattle World Con.
Throughout the summer, I have been chatting with different artists in our area, and this feels like the perfect week to celebrate the writer, director and creator of this show, founding member of TAO, previous president of TAO and now its Artistic Director, Pug Bujeaud.
Anyone who has ever met Bujeaud knows how creative, kind, down to earth, intelligent and talented she is. Bujeaud can do it all (and has): she’s a mom, grandma, was a Shakespearean coach for fifth graders for 20 years, has been involved in many roles with TAO for 22 years, was a radio DJ, worked in local theatres doing everything from writing to directing, acting, sound, set building and design, costumes and advertising.
When not working in the theatre or spending time with her family, Bujeaud watercolors. I have enormous respect for her, and that grew when I learned about how she began in the arts.
“When I was young, I was very shy and had really bad anxiety and depression. Those kinds of things were not diagnosed back then the way they are now. When I was in high school, I decided I was not going to be alive anymore," she said.
Bujeaud described going to Timberline High School in the 1970s: "You could find whatever drugs you wanted to get a hold of.” At that time, Bujeaud had been collecting drugs as a means to her end.
Everything changed in just one moment. Bujeaud recalls being lectured by her high school adviser (also the drama teacher) for missing classes. Well known theatre student and peer, Tom Roberson, chimed in saying, “I think you’re being a little rough on her. Come, help me build a set.” At that moment, Bujeaud’s destiny began to transform, and as the saying goes “the rest is history.”
I think about moments of intentionality like these where we say "Hi" to someone, or invite them to join us. It can be easy to forget that it is moments like these that keep people alive and change the course of their future.
The arts is the perfect place to foster that human connection and find yourself in the process of creating art and making the world a better place. That is why “art has always been important," she said.
Adding on to the reasons the arts are so important, Bujeaud described artists as “the ones who distill the truth in a way that we can take ... we are the mirrors that reflect the things that are happening emotionally and politically."
The micro response to that mirror reflection varies, but on a macro level, “It is the reason why ‘they’ cut the arts," she said.
While the arts can be like a mirror, Bujeaud described how the arts can also be like “a valve that lets off a little steam.”
“Being able to laugh or forget about the world for two hours is a gift," she said.
The arts are the gift that keeps on giving both to the audience and performers as society “becomes more and more isolated," Bujeaud said.
She added, "I'm constantly trying to figure out ways of pulling the audience in or crossing the boundaries, helping the audience feel connected because we’re isolated in our homes
“I remember when ‘The Lord of the Rings’ was coming and everybody got tickets early and you didn’t have your seatset, so you had to come early and get a good seat. You had to get in line, and stand there for two hours with a bunch of people who loved the same thing as you. There was a community there.”
The modern conveniences of purchasing tickets online and reserving seats ahead, or even just streaming films from home can be nice, but we lose the magic of those human experiences and memories.
I asked Bujeaud if there was anything else she wanted to say, it was this: “Get off your phone, come to the theatre, and find your community. No matter where you are, where you stand on politics, religion, life, or whatever, find your people and nurture that community. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.”
Learn more about TAO and donate to their organization here.
Discover “The Head!!! That Wouldn’t DIE!!!” at the Seattle World Conhere. Read the previous column I wrote about the productionhere.
https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/intheaudience-a-conversation-with-pug-bujeaud,26075