Dada Interview with Jon Steinhagen

Jon Steinhagen is a good friend of Playlab NYC. Artistic Director Kevin P. Hale first met Jon back in 1998 when Kevin helped produce a workshop of Emma & Company at North Shore Music Theatre. Kevin went on to direct the New York premiere of the Judy Freed and Jon Steinhagen musical adaptation of Edna Ferber's short stories at the Wings Theater in 2001.

Since then Jon and Kevin have collaborated a musical based on Charles G. Finney's The Circus of Dr. Lao. Last summer Playlab NYC produced a collection of some of Jon's short plays, Perfectly Natural at the Midtown International Theatre Festival. In December 2009, with Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU), we produced a twenty hour reading of The Arresting Dilemma of Mr. K, a musical written in collaboration with John Sparks.

We recently emailed Jon, who lives in the Chicago area, a little dada interview to get a some insight into man who created the Altoona Dada Society.

1.) Finish this sentence: Dada is...

Jon: Dada is Turner & Hooch.

2.) What was Anton Chekhov’s favorite color?

Jon: Blood red.

3.) What shouldn't we know about you?

Jon: My private life from February 1998 thru August 2001.

4.) Tell us who your influences are without using the letters "i" or “c”.

Jon: Wyll Eno. Neal Symon. Eyerah Gershwynn. Rynne Groff.

5.) Explain the show using only names of exercises and alcoholic beverages.

Jon: Running in place/absinthe/running in place/absinthe (repeat for 18 more cycles).

6.) If you could medal in any Olympic sport, what would it be? And if not, could you medal in a new Olympic sport that you created, and if so what would that sport be?

Jon: I always pay special attention to anything with a 4 and a 7.

In the Works: The Velvet Gentleman

On Tuesday we gathered again at Theatre Row Studios to read and discuss the latest draft of Jon Steinhagen's The Velvet Gentleman: Being the Unusual Life of Erik Satie.

A year ago when we had our first table reading, the script had a cast of eight. This latest version has come down to a more manageable group of five. Back with us were Ted Schneider, Molly Garber, Bob Leeds, and Jonathan Wiener. New to the mix was actress Dale Soules. Also on hand to provide her thoughts was Jess Hooks.

I cannot begin to articulate how excited I am to have this group of artists reading and discussing the show. When working on an independently produced show you have to be prepared for inevitable casting challenges. People get paying acting jobs or become unavailable for a variety of other reasons. It is a fact of life and there isn't much you can do about it. But for at least this evening I had assembled exactly the group of people I would want to take right on to the stage.

The script still has stripped away the interaction of the theater company performing the play. It had been my hope to build this troupe from the ground up with the cast. I saw that based on the discussion after the reading with the actors that I could spend a year fleshing out the Altoona Dada Society. I am afraid that I haven't the skill as a director to accomplish this, and am going to have to change my approach to the material.

Jon Steinhagen has become increasingly enthusiastic about creating the cast of characters that make up the small town Dada Society. The plan now is that he is going to spend the next couple weeks working on the group dynamic, creating scenarios that will play out around the edges of the performance of "The Velvet Gentleman." Jon had worked out a short introduction to the show where we meet the Dada Society's members and find out a little about the origin of the show. We didn't get to read the introduction out loud because of the animated conversation after the table reading.

We will be hearing from the New York Fringe Festival in the next couple weeks so the next time everyone gets together we should not only have a new script, but we should know if we will be asked back to participate at FringeNYC for a second year.

In the Works: The Velvet Gentleman

On Thursday Playlab NYC once again gathered a group f friends together to have an informal reading of The Velvet Gentleman by Jon Steinhagen.

The Newest version of the script has temporarily stripped away the ragtag Pennsylvania theater artists from the script. The goal of this reading was to closely examine the script for the show within the show.

Reading for us were: Kate Erin Gibson, from Red Door Theater Company, new anointed Lab Assistant, Molly Garber; Jerrod Bogard; Margaret Champagne; Playlab NYC alumni Bob Leeds and Jonathan Wiener. And once again joining us as Erik Satie was Ted Schneider.

Also on hand to provide her thoughts was Jess Hooks. Jess was the costume designer for Professor Ralph's Loss of Breath. Along with Molly Garber, Jess is the newest addition to our roster of Lab Assistants.

After the reading, there was a great discussion of the material, and we gathered some wonderful feedback from everyone involved. On Friday, I passed along a number of thoughts and comments to Jon Steinhagen.

Playlab NYC looks forward to developing this new piece in the upcoming months.

In the Works: The Velvet Gentleman

Last Monday, playlab NYC got a group of friends together to have an informal reading of a new play, The Velvet Gentleman: Being the Unusual Life of Erik Satie as performed by what's left of The West Scranton Dada Society by Jon Steinhagen.

Erik Satie was a colorful avant-garde composer and pianist in early twentieth century Paris. In the play, a struggling group of artists from Pennsylvania creates a show that examines Satie's life and work.

Reading for us were: Kate Erin Gibson, the artistic director of The Red Door Theater Company; Katie Kozlowski; Amanita Heird; long time friends John Pieza and Todd Courson, who took part in last year's Loss of Breath workshop; from Playlab NYC's production of The Tempest, Molly Garber and Jonathan Wiener. And finally joining us as Erik Satie was Ted Schneider.

The reading was a productive one and we received great feedback from everyone involved. A couple days ago I passed along the actors' thoughts and comments to the author. Playlab NYC looks forward to continuing to develop this new piece.

In the Works: Improbable Plays

About ten days ago Playlab NYC got a group of friends together to have an informal reading of a collection of short plays by our Lab Assistant Jon Steinhagen.

Titled THE IMPROBABLE PLAYS, the collection includes eight short plays:

“Everything But…”

An unhappily married couple have their daily antagonism kicked up a notch when their crafty kitchen sink let’s its special knowledge overflow.

“The Last of the Intruder”

The story of Goldilocks gains a new perspective when Papa Bear and Mama Bear tell their side of the story to a nosy reporter.

“Layers”

A dieting woman at a fancy restaurant has the misfortune to order Jell-O for dessert while in the presence of all her favorite sweet treats sitting on a nearby dessert cart.

“Panda Expressed”

New methods for increasing the world population of pandas lead to the sordid humiliation of a panda porn star.

“Reunion of the Reserve Heads”

Solid limestone reserve heads over five thousand years old are discovered in an Egyptian tomb and end up reacquainting themselves to life in the British Museum.

“Typical Abnormal Behavior”

An adulterous couple is treated to a shocking display of giraffe hi-jinx while having a rendezvous at the local zoo.

“Second Line of Defense”

A Southern belle and a queen bee relate the mysterious events leading up to a Yankee’s death during the Civil War.

“The Tempest Prognosticators“

Six leeches find themselves trapped in a mid-19th Century device for predicting storms and begin to question the meaning of life.

We had a last minute addition to our informal get together in a form a new play titled “Shelf Life.” In shelf life three movies on a shelf, including a silent movie, an early talkie, and blockbuster action film try to figure out what they have in common.

Reading for us were: Kirsta Peterson, who played Lady Macbeth in the Red Door Theater production of Macbeth that I had directed back in October; long time friend John Pieza, who was a part of April’s Loss Breath workshop; and from Playlab NYC’s inaugural production The Tempest, Bob Stack and Jonathan Weiner. And because we lost an actress at the last minute our own Managing Director, Jennifer Wilcox joined in the reading.

The reading while cold was very productive and we received great feedback from the actors. Of the nine titles, the highlights of the evening were “Layers,” “Panda Expressed,” and “Second Line of Defense.” Playlab NYC is passing along the actors’ notes and questions to the author. I’m sure this isn’t the last we have heard of Jon Steinhagen’s IMPROBABLE PLAYS.