Author: Hannah Kloepfer

Fellows Spotlight: Nolan Doran

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Welcome to the DGF Fellows Spotlight.

These interviews put the spotlight on individual DGF Fellows and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program.

This year, you’ve met Jessica Kahkoska & Elliah Heifetz;  Paulo K Tiról, Andy Roninson,  Kate Douglas, Avi Amon, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Andrew Rincón. And we’ll wrap up the 2019-2020 Fellows calendar year by continuing to introduce you to all the fellows: Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, and Nolan Doran.

Each writer is asked a series of questions to help us get to know them better, while exploring where they’ve been, what they’re up to now, and what they hope for the future.

Please take your seats, unwrap your candies, and silence your cellphones as we put the spotlight on Nolan Doran! 

What was your first experience with theater?

My first experience with theatre was probably watching the filmed version of “The Sound Of Music” , “The King and I” and even “The Wizard of Oz” on TV with my mom. They used to play those movies on TV at the turn of the seasons. Growing up in Salt Lake City, those films showed me that the world was much bigger than that little mountain town where I was born. At age 9, we moved to Richmond, VA and my grandmother took me to the Broadway touring houses to see shows like “A Chorus Line” and “Starlight Express”. We’d also go see the local regional dinner theatres with shows like “Nunsense” and “Godspell” and “Joseph and the Amazing….” I soon was acting and singing in plays and musicals in middle school and high school. Then came “RENT,” which was one of those pivotal moments that changed everything for me.

When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?

Writing songs runs in my family. My grandfather played a mean Gibson Southern Jumbo and my mom carried that torch. She played that same guitar and sang in a group with my aunt as they traveled the world with Glenn Close in the 60’s with Up With People. My father was also a singer and a songwriter and he met my mother in that same group. I grew up surrounded by music and was always singing and writing little songs here and there. I think I wrote my first show around the age of 9 years old and would put on little puppet shows for my mom.

I don’t think there was one particular path that brought me to writing musicals – it was a combination of experiences from singing in choirs and performing in musicals to writing pop songs and working in the studio scene and learning how to produce records with R&B masters. Then later after performing and traveling, I wanted to take my songwriting skills and tell a story onstage. The most influential show in my early life had to be RENT because it taught me about what life could be like in NYC: wonderful, scary, lonely, vivid but meaningful. It taught me the meaning of, “No Day But Today” and how important it is we use art to tell stories that matter and spread a message of love and hope instead of fear.

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

I started singing at an early age and didn’t come from the traditional theatre background. I always had a great love for R&B and Pop music – some of my influences range from Mariah Carey to Michael Jackson to Take Six to Kim Burrell to Brian McKnight and Boys II Men. I even had a boy band back in the day and we wrote Hip Hop/R&B songs. We even sang for Michael Jackson twice and had a single with Jadakiss. I still can’t believe that!

When I write, I pull from those pop, R&B, and Gospel musical influences and look for ways to bring fresh sounds to the stage that can use familiar sounds to tell a powerful story. l love SCI-FI and any day I can write about a character who travels to other galaxies in outer space, I’m into it! I’m drawn to underdogs and subcultures and the people living on the other side of the tracks. I love to explore characters who are overlooked and forgotten and look for ways to shine a spotlight on them, so we can see our own humanity through them.

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

As a Fellow, I’m working with my collaborator Avi Amon on a new piece called “The Lesson” which is a musical fantasia about a theoretical lesson between Mozart and Beethoven who met in Vienna in 1787. Its like a steampunk alt-future trip into an alternate universe with two characters you think you know but will learn you know nothing about. We started writing it as a song cycle, and we’ve used our year as fellows to rework our outline and build out our scenes and create new songs.

I love being in those sessions with Larry, Michael, Allison and our class of fellows because of the incredibly generous feedback they provide. Everyone is invested in each others work. Being able to share our writing helped us see new areas where we can push the characters further – which in turn helps push the lyrics and music to new heights. Living in NY, the year as a fellow gave us the space and time to focus on our project and the luxury of the incredible DGF staff who support you every step of the way. It’s almost unheard of for someone to say, “Hey, your work matters – Go write that – Go finish it. We have your back. What do you need from us?” The year has been like a dream because DGF believed in our work and reminded me that we as writers have value and what we do still matters.

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

The most rewarding part of being a writing is being able to lose yourself in a character and a story and create new worlds and experiences you may not be able to have in real life. It’s also one of the most incredible gifts to watch your own writing performed by insanely talented actors who make your work their own by infusing their unique experiences with yours. Writing is the incredible gift of giving and allows us to hold up the mirror to the audience so we can all see ourselves reflected back from the stage. My biggest wish has always been to “Help others through music” and if I’m lucky enough to ever do that, I hope my writing will help someone else know that they are seen and worthy. That will be my greatest gift.

Do you have any upcoming work you’d like to share?

[Yes!] I’d love to talk three things:

1. I’m releasing a video for a song I wrote called, “That One Thing” featuring Curtis Wiley from AIN’T TOO PROUD. [ You can watch “That One Thing” here!]

2. I’m Producing an event called ARTISTS FOR CHANGE with Julie Boardman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to help flip the Senate featuring some incredible artists like Tony Kushner, Young Jean Lee, Paula Vogel and Dominique Morisseau, Alex Dinelaris, Bernadette Peters, Forest Whitaker and more!

3. I’m working on Broadway For Biden as Executive Producer along with Julie Boardman, Halle Morse and Jeff Metzler to produce a large Broadway Concert to celebrate an inclusive forward thinking diverse Broadway and show our support to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harrris.

 

Thank you Nolan, for contributing to the blog! You can stay up to date on his work by following him on social media! www.facebook.com/NolanDoran Insta: @nolaninyc Twitter: @nolandoran

 

Fellows Spotlight: Nikhil Mahapatra

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Welcome to the DGF Fellows Spotlight.

These interviews put the spotlight on a DGF Fellow and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program.

This year, you’ve met Jessica Kahkoska & Elliah Heifetz;  Paulo K Tiról, Andy Roninson,  Kate Douglas, Avi Amon, and Andrew Rincón. And we’ll continue to introduce you to all the  2019-2020 Fellows: Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Nolan Doran.

Each writer is asked a series of questions to help us get to know them better, while exploring where they’ve been, what they’re up to now, and what they hope for the future.

Please take your seats, unwrap your candies, and silence your cellphones as we put the spotlight on Nikhil Mahapatra! 

What was your first experience with theater?

My absolute first? Playing a random person in a Sunday School play, where I refused to speak during rehearsal because I already knew my one line, and I didn’t understand why I had to practice saying the one line if I already knew what it was (I was 5). Acting was never in the cards.

When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?

I was working in a really depressing and difficult job and it sort of forced me to reckon with what gave me joy – and I realized it was always writing.

I suppose I first loved Noel Coward’s plays because they were always so delightfully funny, and I think it was, for me at least, a really accessible way to enter theatre. There is a deep focus on the psychological, philosophical and societal analysis in theatre today, which really resonates me and I absolutely love! But I also think we should never forget the importance of implanting joy into our work – and how that simple emotion can really drive connection and understanding to the core material of a piece.

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

I feel like every play is different, so it’s hard to get a grip on what my overall theme is. I would say that I really enjoy creating a story that surrounds a deep central question that has no, and can never have, a clear and correct answer. Living in that enigmatic space, with an added splash of dark humour and a dash of eroticism is what brings a story to life for me.

As for what sets it apart – I have a feeling this is something you can tell only over a long period of time or experience, or perhaps something you would only ever know if you’re extremely gifted at introspection.

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

I’ve been working on two pieces – a story about two restaurant-owning families and their attempt at holding onto their lives in rapidly gentrifying crown heights. It’s sort of a queer coming of age friendship and family love letter that seeks to present the change that is a natural part of life – with all its gifts and inevitable losses. The other piece is much younger, and is a racial and queer retelling of the little mermaid fable – with some twists and liberties taken.

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

It used to be a physical reaction from an audience. It’s perhaps a little sadistic or narcissistic, but there is just such a pleasure from seeing people react viscerally to something you’ve created – and usually from something you’ve created from a deep place. Our current situation in the pandemic however has sort of released me from that need for exterior approval. At the moment, I’ve been taking the time to really languish in the stories and people I’ve been creating, and looking at how they reflect both the good and bad parts of myself and my life. It’s kind of like a form of introspection and self-discovery that I feel is very necessary for growth – not only as a writer, but as a person too.

Fellows Spotlight: Avi Amon

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Welcome to the July Edition of the DGF Fellows Spotlight.

These interviews put the spotlight on a DGF Fellow and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program.

This year, you’ve met Jessica Kahkoska & Elliah Heifetz;  Paulo K Tiról, Andy Roninson,  Kate Douglas and Andrew Rincón. And we’ll continue to introduce you to all the  2019-2020 Fellows: Avi Amon, Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Nolan Doran.

Each writer is asked a series of questions to help us get to know them better, while exploring where they’ve been, what they’re up to now, and what they hope for the future.

Please take your seats, unwrap your candies, and silence your cellphones as we put the spotlight on Avi Amon! 

What was your first experience with theater?

Auditioning for West Side Story as a freshman in high school. You may remember me from my role as unnamed Shark #3? My acting career has been in a steady decline since that moment. 

When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?

After I finished my undergrad at the University of Delaware – I majored in economics and history – I worked as an admissions counselor there for a few years. I’d been studying piano for almost 20 years at that point, usually disappointing my very patient teachers by improvising around the lessons they gave me. And I was a huge a-cappella nerd while in school, so I had been vocal arranging for years but I’d never really written anything substantial. During a staff meeting, I pitched the idea for a video musical as part of a new marketing campaign and for some reason, they said yes! Delaware: The MUSICAL is a super silly and fun little piece (which a little bit makes me cringe now), but it received some national press and was a huge success on campus. And then I quit my job and used it as part of my application to grad school at NYU. And the rest is still happening. 

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

I am a sort-of chameleon when it comes to writing! I love to dive into the specificities of genre, learn, absorb, and recreate in my own image. I usually consider a song a success if it feels so authentic that it makes you question if it exists already. And not as in, “does this song sound exactly like a song I’ve heard a thousand times?”, but rather, “do I believe that this song exists in the world in which we’re creating?” I also tend to use Middle-Eastern and Balkan tonalities and rhythms while writing, leaning into my Turkish heritage. This part of me has become more present as I’ve gotten older. The various music, rhythms, and languages of my immigrant parents – and their friends – heavily influences my “sound.”

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

THE LESSON is a fantastical reimagining of an actual (aka possible) lesson given by Mozart to Beethoven in Vienna in 1787, set in an alternate steampunk-inspired universe. The piece is a meditation on the purpose of artistic expression, the influence of family on who we are, and the control of information and ideas by the government. Pieces of their concert music will be peppered throughout the show, contrasting and intertwining and influencing the modern art-pop/electronic world we’re developing for the original score, creating a truly unique and hybrid piece of music-theater. We imagine it as part chamber-opera, part projection installation, and part dance-party. 

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

This is one of the few careers where our coworkers & community are genuinely one in the same. Collaborative writing is a tool for empathy – for the creators and for all folks involved in any part of the process. In order to share a part of ourselves, we must create space not only for others to do the same but to truly receive that sharing. I feel very lucky to collaborate with so many wonderful people who are not only doing the work, but are also fighting for equity and justice within artistic spaces and in the outside world.

Have you been working on anything lately that you’d like to share?

Over the last few months, I’ve been collaborating virtually with 4 young people (aged 10-13) at the 52nd St. Project to create 4 brand-new original songs. The project members write all the lyrics, and I compose the music. The songs are really magical and totally of this moment: A puzzle wanting to be whole, quarrelling tree siblings, a pop star thinking about their job, a bottle of hand sanitizer going through an existential crisis…

 

Fellows Spotlight: Andrew Rincón

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Welcome to the May Edition of the DGF Fellows Spotlight!

Each month we feature a DGF Fellow and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program.

We’ve introduced you to Jessica Kahkoska & Elliah Heifetz;  Paulo K Tiról, Andy Roninson and Kate Douglas. Over the year, we’ll be hearing from the rest of the 2019-2020 Fellows: Avi Amon, Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Nolan Doran.

Each writer is asked a series of questions to help us get to know them better, while exploring where they’ve been, what they’re up to now, and what they see for the future.

Please take your seats, unwrap your candies, and silence your cellphones as we put the spotlight on Andrew Rincón!

 

What was your first experience with theater?

I didn’t grow up with theatre – I didn’t come from a culture or environment where that was a thing, or an art form my family knew anything about. So for me when I think of my first experience of theater that really affected me – was a class I took when I was twenty, studying theatre at Florida State University. I took a course called Latino/a Theatre History led by an artist and Chicana scholar, Dr. Irma Mayorga. Mayorga introduced me to the idea that I could see my own culture in the art I consumed. It was a Dead Poets Society moment, the plays I read in that class (including plays by DGF mentor Migdalia Cruz) reshuffled my brain and made my soul sing. I think of that class often and I consider it my first real exposure to the power of theatre.

 

When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?

The idea of writing started to tickle my brain while I was in that Latinx Theatre class, and reading plays like 26 Miles by Quiara Hudes, Marisol by Jose Rivera, and Electricidad by Luis Alfaro really pushed that idea into my bones. I started writing then and haven’t stopped, and I really owe that to my elders and betters in the Latinx community.

 

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

I know some incredible writers who lean into creating stories with intricate plots, filled with twists and turns that make an audience think and lean in. They are impressive as hell.

But I don’t do that.

My writing lives more in my gut and heart. I’m passionate about writing characters first and foremost, so I focus on writing stories centered on people who laugh hard, scream and fuck. I’m interested in writing complex characters that live in Queer theatrical worlds and show us the beauty and heartbreak of life. As the elder María Irene Fornés said – theatre is life, life is theatre. I write life as I see it – joyous, annoying, fucked up, laughable life.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

The work is a new piece called I’ll meet you outside the airport, ok? It’s about a Colombian American family in Miami, FL who produce a local access Spanish language telenovela. I’m still fussing with my goals for the piece and the things I want to talk about in it (racism, Latinx representation in entertainment, the joy and pain of immigrant families) are shifting and changing as I work. At the end of the day, I want the piece to be a love letter to Latinidad.

 

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

So many things. But I don’t think anything, and I mean ANYTHING comes close to the emotion I feel when a Latinx person thanks me for writing Latinx characters that are more than just stereotypes. It warms my already bleeding Latino ass heart!

 

ABOUT:

Andrew Rincón is a Queer Colombian-American playwright. His plays have been developed with Rising Circle Theatre, Amios, Austin Latino New Play Festival, PFP Productions (Seattle), Out Front Productions (Atlanta) and The 24 Hour Plays. He was a member of Wright Club, The Amoralist’s Theatre Company’s yearlong playwright development program (’15-’16). He was a member of INKtank Lab for Playwrights of Color (2017) and the 2017 Fornés Playwriting Workshop (Chicago). He is the winner of the 2018 Chesley/Bumbalo Grant for writers of Gay and Lesbian Theatre. Company member of Unit 52 at INTAR. Plays include You Got That Same Kind of Lonely and That Rhythm in the Blood and I’ll meet you outside the airport, ok?

His play I Wanna Fuck like Romeo and Juliet is the winner of New Light Theatre Project’s “New Light New Voices Award” (2019) and will receive its New York stage premiere in their 19/20 season.

Fellows Spotlight: Andy Roninson

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Welcome to the April Edition of the DGF Fellows Spotlight!

Each month we’ll feature a DGF Fellow and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program.

We’ve introduced you to Jessica Kahkoska & Elliah Heifetz;  Paulo K Tiról, and Kate Douglas. Over the year, we’ll be hearing from the rest of the 2019-2020 Fellows: Andrew Rincón, Andy Roninson, Avi Amon, Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Nolan Doran.

Each writer is asked a series of questions to help us get to know them better, while exploring where they’ve been, what they’re up to now, and what they see for the future.

Please take your seats, unwrap your candies, and silence your cellphones as we put the spotlight on DGF Fellow Andy Roninson!

What was your first experience with theater?

I can’t remember. I know I would watch the VHS tapes of West Side Story and the original Broadway production of Into The Woods (and I did play the Mysterious Man in Into The Woods Jr. when I was 10) all the time. I know that I wrote a few lines of lyrics for a class play when I was maybe seven or so. Something like “He’s Seal, and I’m Otter/And we like to play in the water.”

 

When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?

The decision to write a song must have first come about for my high school rock band. The decision to write a musical was in freshman year of college (for a show called Exorcism on Aisle Five). I can’t pinpoint exactly when I decided to pursue writing above all else, but it must have been during my first years at the BMI Musical Theater Writing Workshop.

As far as writers being influential… Hm…. Here are the writers about whom I have thought “And now I will write a song that sounds like _____”: Bob Dylan, Ben Folds, Jeanine Tesori, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Regina Spektor, the Beatles, Robert Johnson, John Williams, the Gershwins. And forgive me, Sondheim, for how much I have stolen. I am a well of unoriginality.

 

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

There’s an emoji that doesn’t exist, but should. It’s just a happy smiley but with one tear coming down. That’s how I would describe my work.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

It’s a new musical– very, very new– loosely based on the experiences of my parents growing up in the Soviet Union. It’s about a young woman in Moscow in the 1970s who gets into bootleg rock records and decides to leave the country.

 

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

When a great actor performs one of my songs, and they create something new and miraculous I could never imagine… That’s just the f-ing best, my friend.

Resources for Writers

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Your health and safety is of the utmost importance to us. With the outbreak of COVID-19, we are here to support you through the emotional and financial toll this is having on our beloved theater community.

*Grants and Aid:
For those already experiencing emergency needs, please reach out to us through our Emergency Grant program for financial assistance.

*Education:
We will be diligent in updating this community with information and opportunities for relief as we learn more day by day. We will update this blog post regularly with resources, educational tools, and opportunities for writers.

Playwright Sarah Ruhl reminded us that, “The theater has survived a plague before, not only in the 1600s, but also in the 1980s. And the theater, with its tender heroism, empathy and propensity to help others, will survive again.”

Take care of yourselves and one another. Keep communicating, creating and sharing your voices. Please reach out to us when you’re in need. We believe in you. And we believe in your boundless creativity.

Resources for Writers:

“The theater has survived a plague before, not only in the 1600s, but also in the 1980s. And the theater, with its tender heroism, empathy and propensity to help others, will survive again.” -Sarah Ruhl

 

 

Additional COVID-19 Relief:

Education:

Entertainment/Research: 

Submissions:

Mindset:

 

 

Fellows Spotlight: Kate Douglas

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Fellows Spotlight: March Edition!

Each month we’ll feature a new DGF Fellow and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program.

We’ve introduced you to Jessica Kahkoska and Elliah Heifetz; in January we featured Paulo K Tiról, and over the year, we’ll be hearing from all 2019-2020 Fellows: Andrew Rincón, Andy Roninson, Avi Amon, Kate Douglas, Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Nolan Doran.

Each of these writers were asked the same series of questions, exploring where these writers have been, are now, and are journeying towards. Our Fellows took this gentle structure and ran, each submitting responses as unique and creative as they are.

Please take your seats, unwrap your candies, and silence your cellphones as we put the spotlight on DGF Fellow Kate Douglas!

What was your first experience with theater?

Seeing The Beauty & the Beast on Broadway. It seemed to me that the Beast disappeared in a puff of smoke FROM THE FEET UP, and the magic knocked me back. I auditioned for my first play in middle school and was hooked.

When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?

I was a writer since I learned how to put pen to paper. Then once I had my first experience on stage, all I wanted to do was write for the theatre.

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

My works lives in the friction between absurdity and reality. I am especially passionate about creating work that explores embodiment and centering non-humans.

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

WONDERLAND is a story of nonimaginary people populating an imaginary town. Wonderland is a staged suburb built to conceal a World War Two fighter jet factory in case the Japanese bombers fly over. Three actresses – Clare, Nina and Billie – have been hired to live ordinarily as townspeople as a finishing touch. But World War Two never ends, and the summer job stretches on forever. WONDERLAND questions the meaning of authenticity in a manufactured world.

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

The fact that I don’t have to be so damn literal all the time. Aren’t you tired of being so literal all the time?

 

Stay up to date with Fellows news and Kate Douglas’ work by following @DGFound and @katemakesmusic

Fellows Spotlight: Elliah Heifetz

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

The Fellows Spotlight series continues with Elliah Heifetz!

Earlier this month, we introduced you to Jessica Kahkoska; in January we featured Paulo K Tiról, and over the year, we’ll be hearing from all 2019-2020 Fellows: Andrew Rincón, Andy Roninson, Avi Amon, Kate Douglas, Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Nolan Doran.

About Fellows Spotlight: each month we’ll feature a new Fellow and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program. (applications for the 2020-2021 class of Fellows are open now!)

Each of these writers were asked the same series of questions, exploring where these writers have been, are now, and are journeying towards. Our Fellows took this gentle structure and ran, each submitting responses as unique and creative as they are.

Without further ado, we’re so pleased to put the spotlight on DGF Fellow Elliah Heifetz!

What was your first experience with theater?

When I was 5 or 6 years old at summer camp, my best friend left the arts and crafts barn to go audition for the musical, and on a complete whim I followed him there. I ended up playing the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. I still really identify with that song, “If I Only Had a Brain.”

When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?

My dad is a musician and composer, and so was his dad, and so was his dad, and so on for centuries. I come from a long, long line of Jewish folk musicians (klezmers)—but after my parents came to the States in 1990, they raised my sister and I with the idea that we could be/do anything we wanted and not necessarily follow in those footsteps.

Still, the truth is that I’ve always loved music more than anything in the world, as long as I can remember. So deciding to become a writer was just a series of “I’ve been kidding myself” moments, the first of which was realizing that I was happier writing and playing with my college pop band than I was pursuing whatever the hell it was I told myself I ought to be pursuing. No matter what else I tried, making music (which had only ever been a hobby) remained the only thing that completely, from my toes to my head, made everything full and perfect. That realization was when I was 20, and I started actually working towards a career in music for the first time at 21.

In terms of other writers or shows, seeing “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” at the Public really blew my mind, same with “Passing Strange.” Concept albums like Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d city” and Willie Nelson’s “Red Headed Stranger” made me so excited about writing musicals.

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

I’ve been pigeonholed as a folk/country composer before, which is funny to me as I’m the son of Soviet political refugees born and raised in the mid-Atlantic. If I’m being honest, I do really love writing in those genres and finding exciting ways to tell theatrical stories with them. But I’ve written and am working on several musicals that have nothing to do with folk or country—a punk/hardcore-infused ’50s period piece, a Coachella-inspired song cycle, among others—so I’d more generally say that I like writing in popular idioms. More than that, I’m not really attracted to the genre that is “contemporary musical theatre” (no hate, it’s just not my cup of tea!), so the lack of those tropes/sounds probably sets my work apart at least a bit.

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

The Death of Desert Rose is a revisionist Western set in 1890’s Colorado about a female bounty hunter trying to stop her rival/former lover from committing a murderous train heist. I’m really excited to use folk, country, and country-rock music to bring the Western genre to life. It’s fun to imagine an outlaw gang as the 19th century embodiment of “bro country,” or write a contemporary “Jolene” with more of a murderous bent. This show is giving me the chance to write some of my favorite kind of non-theatrical music and find new ways to weave it into a musical without suppressing its twang or edge.

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

Spending a full day alone in a room with no one around me writing music.

Fellows Spotlight: Jessica Kahkoska

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

Welcome back to the February edition of Fellows Spotlight!

For those catching up, each month we’ll feature a new Fellow and invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program. (applications for the 2020-2021 class of Fellows are open now!)

Last month we introduced you to Paulo K Tiról, and we’ll be hearing from all other 2019-2020 Fellows: Andrew Rincón, Andy Roninson, Avi Amon, Elliah Heifetz, Jessica Kahkoska, Kate Douglas, Kyoung H. Park, Melis Aker, Nikhil Mahapatra, and Nolan Doran.

Each of these writers were asked the same series of questions, exploring where these writers have been, are now, and are journeying towards. Our Fellows took this gentle structure and ran, each submitting responses as unique and creative as they are.

Allow us to introduce you to Jessica Kahkoska!

 

What was your first experience with theater?

I grew up in Colorado, so my very first encounters with theater were through visiting national tours and a particularly influential kindergarten production of The Ugly Duckling.

As a teenager, I was lucky to participate in a training program called the Youth Repertory Theatre at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Youth Rep is one of those amazing, comprehensive camps where young people have the chance to act in the show, build the sets, work on the program… and being someone who is so broadly interested in theatre, it was all very exciting to me. Later in high school, I also attended Interlochen Arts Camp for two summers in the musical theatre program.

I think these early experiences with summer theatre programs influenced me more than I realized at the time, because now I have SUCH a soft spot for summer theatre. I just love everything about it! I love the bugs, the rain, rehearsing with the windows open, all the weird things that inevitably go wrong… and a lot of my favorite professional jobs share qualities with these early summers at Youth Rep or Interlochen. I guess I feel like if we’re going to be tired and stressed at some point in the theatre process, at least we should do that in beautiful, sunny places with lots of trees.

 

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

I was initially more focused on performing, but after a couple years in New York, I actually had some health issues that changed my interest in both performing and living in the city. I ended up spending a couple years outside New York, working at various regional theatres in Colorado, Western New York, Michigan, and Maine.

While out of the city, I also had a chance to reflect on some of the badges of success I had initially assumed I needed to claim a life in the arts: namely a New York address and a singular focus of working on commercial musicals. Obviously none of these are destructive in the slightest (or have any deeper meaning!), but I think that as a young person out of school, I had internalized this singular, unchecked narrative about what success in theatre entailed, and at that moment, it wasn’t really serving my creativity, interests, or health.

As I was chewing on all that (and also starting to feel better), I started rethinking a lot of things that I wanted to be true about my own life and creative practice. I’ve always loved using theatre to make new connections and bridges, and I realized that whether as a dramaturg, writer, or administrator, I’m deeply interested in work driven by community, research, and incorporating new types of collaboration.

So I never had a moment where I dropped everything and became a writer, but it was this interest in re-configuring the creative process and broadening my own life and theatre practice that led me to writing. Now, I do live in New York again (among other places) and also work on commercial musicals (among other projects), but feel a lot more aligned with theatre spaces that feel exciting and nourishing to me.

 

How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?

I definitely gravitate towards projects that have a weird factor. I love an unconventional process, mixing genres, and starting with a big, huge “okay, what if we….?” question.

Because my work is driven by an impulse to examine process and incorporate research, I feel like my actual projects are pretty eclectic. I am currently working on an all female/TGNC, punk-rock investigative concert-play with Preston Max Allen, an oral history-driven magical realism play (happening this month at the Colorado New Play Summit at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts), a multi-composer song cycle exploring American history with director Michael Bello and a 19 incredible composers (many of whom are DGF Fellow alums!), a community-responsive project with Notch Theatre Company documenting the experiences of rural communities impacted by oil and gas leasing….

So there’s not a ton of overlap in genre or style, but my hope would be that that they’re all created with a sense of care for the topic, needs of the piece, and collaborators in the room.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?

YES! I’m collaborating with composer/lyricist and fellow fellow (….been waiting to use that for months) Elliah Heifetz on a new musical called The Death of Desert Rose, which is a female-driven, revisionist Western. Our musical takes place in 1890’s Colorado, where notorious bounty hunter “Desert Rose” Ramsey is well-known for her vigilante justice and a good-faith alliance with the local sheriff. However, everything changes when Rose receives an order hat she must hunt her arch-nemesis— “Betty Britches” McBain—in her most personal bounty yet. Unbeknownst to most, Betty and Rose ran in an outlaw company together when they were young… but when Betty killed the outlaw gang’s leader, donned his clothing, and took control of his men, Rose decided to walk away. Betty let her go with a promise (“The next time I see you, I will kill you)…

So over the course of the show, we follow this epic game of cat-and-mouse between Rose and Betty, but also learn about their childhood, romance, and what they each consider to be freedom and happiness. The story is basically grappling with destiny, forgiveness, and when/how we get to start over (and at what cost). But it’s also a big huge Western, and explores all these questions through bank robberies and train heists and dime novel culture. The sheer scope of the world is so much fun to dream and write into.

A revisionist impulse is also an exciting starting place because Elliah and I get the opportunity to explore our own complicated relationships to the Western genre, a canon that is obviously rife with problematic assumptions and erasure on many, many levels. In exploring what an updated Western would look, feel, and sound like, it’s been a privilege to have a cohort and mentors through the DGF Fellowship to support this process of interrogation and expansion, and above all, help us stay true and accountable to our vision.

 

What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?

Well, for one, I love how many amazing opportunities there are for writers to develop work at various summer theatres or through summer programs…

BUT during the rest of the year, I really appreciate how the writing process makes space for community– it’s rewarding to see the little communities that spring up and grow around a piece as it develops, and meaningful to cultivate that through developmental steps like readings, workshops and productions.

I think, to be honest, that there are so many times that our larger theatre community or culture fails us in delivering on the empathy and accountability it heralds, but as writers, and emerging ones, we have a unique opportunity in our own processes to model the values that we’re interested in seeing implemented on a larger scale. For example, it feels important to me to prioritize my health and the health of my collaborators, and I think when I’m the writer of project, I’m able to articulate and make space for that in a more impactful and resonant way.

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Upcoming work!

Jessica has a reading of her play “In Her Bones” at the Colorado New Play Summit at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts! You can find more information about the show and tickets here.

In Conversation: Sean Patrick Flahaven and Andrew Lippa

Posted on by Hannah Kloepfer

At the 2019 DGF Gala we honored President of Concord Theatricals, Sean Patrick Flahaven, TodayTix Founders, Brian Fenty and Merritt Baer, and Tony Award-winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty(Ragtime, Once On This Island).

In the weeks surrounding this exciting event, our President, Andrew Lippa sat down with honoree Sean Patrick Flahaven to discuss the creative gifts and challenges of being a creative multi-hyphenate, a parent, a partner, and a leader.

We’re proud to share this interview with you and hope that it inspires you to reflect on the ways in which you nurture your own work, support the work of other writers, and show gratitude to all those around you that make theatre possible.

Andrew Lippa: You’ve been incredibly supportive of DGF over the years, and you also support a number of initiatives that help protect the value and interests of writers. Why is that so important to you? What do you wish people knew about the work of writers?

Sean Patrick Flahaven: The DGF has been a priority for giving for me, personally and professionally, for many years. No one but writers and composers start with a blank page and nothing else. No one else works for no compensation until the show is done, most of the time, which means no one takes bigger artistic and financial risks with their careers. Every show, every song we all love starts with writers and composers. My career and my business have always been in service of them.

AL: You’ve had so many different titles and worked many different jobs. You’re obviously President of Concord, but you’re also a writer, composer, orchestrator, conductor, producer, and were even a journalist for many years. I’m curious, how does that diversity of experience inform your work and life?

SPF: I learned early on in life that having developing multiple interests and cultivating multiple skills made me a happier person. It also allowed me to make a living, especially as a freelancer earlier in my career. Perhaps more importantly, it helped me develop an appreciation for all of the collaborators in a production, and respect everyone’s contributions: artistic, entrepreneurial, and administrative.

AL: How have you maintained a creative life and career in the midst of such a challenging management role? The ability to balance both at your level is astounding to me. 

SPF: It’s certainly not easy to balance creativity, running a large business, and a personal life, including fatherhood. I had wonderful models in my parents and extended family, as well as very supportive friends, colleagues, and employers. It’s involved a great deal of careful scheduling and constant mindfulness of what’s important. While my creative outlets have shifted, I genuinely find satisfaction in the managerial work as well. My partner and kids appreciate that my passion became my work.

AL: Technology, social media, and film and television have changed quite significantly over the past few years, and they are constantly in conversation with the world of theater. In your opinion, has the role of the writer changed over the past decade in light of these other changes? Are writers being better respected? What are the new challenges for writers?  

SPF: I think the Dramatists Guild has certainly helped to improve respect for writers in the theatre, and the success of writer-driven theatre and television projects in particular has raised general awareness in the public. That said, writers and composers still face a steep uphill climb, and the DGF is necessary to sustain their education, growth, and safety net to make things just a little bit easier.