Jill Campbell: Chemistry of Love Interview

Jill Campbell began her career at The Public Theater during Joseph Papp’s reign. She spent three formative years in the UK, where her first play Forgive Me Father was produced at the London Fringe and at the Dublin Fringe Festival. 

Her latest play, Chemistry of Love plays at La MaMa (74A East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue & the Bowery) in New York City's East Village from May 2-19. Chemistry of Love strips bare the process of making art, revealing the toll it takes on one’s self and peers. Click here for tickets and follow the show on Facebook, Twitter, and http://chemistryoflove.net!

1. Who or what inspired you to become a playwright? I’ve been involved in theater in some way my entire life. I initially wanted to become an actress. I studied acting when I was a kid at places like Usdan where Mark Blum and Austin Pendleton taught or guest lectured. In high school, there was this program that BOCES sponsored on Long Island. It was equivalent to the High School of Performing Arts in NYC. It was run by theatre gypsy Bert Michaels. Bert had appeared in the original West Side Story and Saturday Night Fever films. He was the real deal. He treated us like professionals and we worshipped him. He never candy coated the profession and he worked us hard. I went to my high school in the morning and in the afternoons I would study at BOCES. It instilled so much discipline within me. It taught me what it meant to work hard. I also took an acting class with Geraldine Page when I was 17. I had to audition for her and she accepted me. This rocked my world. I received my BFA, moved to NYC to pursue an acting career, had several bad experiences (the casting couch did exist) and one day decided I didn’t want to act, but I wanted to produce. I got a job for Straw-hat Productions and later at the Public Theatre. I had also always written from a young age. I have journals full of short stories and plays; I loved to write, but I was not confident enough to share my work. My grammar was atrocious. I had to teach myself good grammatical tools (I’m still learning). I took the odd writing class, but it wasn’t until I moved to the suburbs of New Jersey, that I wrote my first play, Supurbia. I was very depressed and missed NYC terribly. I couldn’t understand how I had ended up as a New Jersey housewife harboring contradictory dreams. I signed up for a playwriting class at Gotham’s Writers Workshop and that was it. I was hooked and felt that I finally found my niche in the land of theatre. People seemed to respond to my work. All my proceeding theatrical experiences fed into my writing. It felt very natural. I was obsessed with the work of Eric Bogosian, Sam Shepard, Harold Pinter and Christopher Durang.

2. Who haven't you worked with that you would like to? That is such a tough question, because I just want to continue to work and write in whatever way possible, but I could start with the dream list of directors listed in this New York Times article: http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/theater/female-directors-more-prominent-in-new-york.html

3. What made you want to write Chemistry of Love? The play is about a mid-career artist, Lara, who has had some success, but never the acclaim her work deserves. When she is nominated for the $500,000 grant it forces her to dig deep within and analyze what success really means to her. We also follow Lara’s mentor, ex-boyfriend and best friend. Each has an unexpected reaction to her impending success. Can they deal? Was it easier to accept her as a struggling artist instead of a successful one? What will this do to their relationships? Are they really happy for her? They each seem to want a piece of the success she’s worked her ass for. But do they deserve it in some way? They have been there for her, supporting her emotionally, sexually, introducing her to the right people.

I am also a mid-career artist dealing with similar issues. I have at times neglected my loved ones for the sake of this obsession. Was it/is it worth it? Should I have remained a New Jersey housewife and dedicated my life to my kids? That’s art too. Why am I doing this? I love playwriting, but it’s a brutal profession, especially for someone like me who has not gone to grad school and who doesn’t always have the time to network the way one needs to in this profession. I used to think that all you had to do was write the play. That’s only the first step. I’ve had to take a hard look at why I am doing this and what success really means to me. What theatre means to the world. Why do we need art in our lives? These are all questions, the lead character in my play deals with while dealing with the reactions of the people whom she is closest to in respect to her $500,000 grant nomination and her impending success. The nomination alone has created buzz and now everyone seems to want a piece of her. It’s amazing how a little success changes everyone’s attitude towards you when you’re an artist. You leap in their minds from hobbyist to artist. These are all things I am exploring. Saying that, there’s a hell of a lot of humor in this play. I have been laughing my ass off in rehearsals.

(L-R): Dennis Parlato as Florant, Jenne Vath as Karen, Kim Merrill as Lara and Matt Baxter Luceno as Tyler in the World Premiere of Chemistry of Love. Photo credit: Russ Rowland4. What do you hope audiences come away with after seeing the show? I hope they continue to think about it long after they have left the theatre. I hope they flip it around in their minds, connecting the intricate dots. Laugh, smile, and cry. I hope they have more compassion towards anyone who devotes their life to art. The play is also an interesting study on contemporary conceptual art and how technology is infiltrating our work. It looks at three generations of artists. One in his sixties, one in her forties and one in his twenties plus there is the person who is not the artist. She’s the one "they do the work for."

5. Why did you want your play to be at La MaMa? What do they offer that another venue would not? I do feel one lands where they’re supposed to. Everything about La MaMa feels right to me. It’s not corporate. It’s still quirky. They remain true to Ellen Stewart’s dedication to the experimental artist. One feels very free and supported there. My play is not safe. There’s some stuff that will freak some people out, but La MaMa is willing to take risks in artists and their work. The director of my play George Ferencz gave me a DVD of Elizabeth Swados’ La MaMa Cantada, it took me months to get around to listening to it, but when I did, I realized why he wanted me to hear it. I am so in the right place, I just wish I got the chance to meet the welcoming, exacting, inspiring, ass pinching, bell ringing, green vetoing, power house who would welcome the audiences to the theatre each night by ringing a bell and saying, "Welcome to La MaMa Experimental Theatre, dedicated to the playwright."  "Never apologize, never be sorry!" Thank you Ellen!!!

6. What did you learn from working under Joseph Papp's reign at the Public Theater? The Public was my first professional theatre gig. Every waking moment I spent there was a learning experience. There are some moments in my life I have forgotten completely, but I remember times at the Public so clearly, from walking into first rehearsal for Taming of the Shrew with Morgan Freeman, Tracy Ullman and Helen Hunt; running lines with Morgan (joy). Learning how to make the perfect 50-cup pot of coffee. Mainly, I remember running the budget reports for each show and being shocked at how much was in the red. Nothing made money. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but then discovered the importance of funders. Like La MaMa, they are dedicated to the art, the work - if it’s good, the money hopefully follows. If it’s not, at least they went for it!

7. You spent 3 years in London, how do you feel that time helped your playwriting to grow? The city of London was my version of grad school. My ex-husband was transferred there for 3 years and because of visa restrictions, I could not take on a job. This was around the same time that I had begun to write plays, so I decided to use every bit of my time taking classes, attending lectures and going to as much theatre as possible. I met playwright Bernard Kops’ who had been teaching playwriting from his apartment for twenty years. I learned everything from him. The Brits, I feel, are much more language oriented and more sub-textual than Americans. I learned to experiment with form and language. I learned how to thread subtext into my work under the surface of my words. I learned how to deal with exposition or to get rid of it entirely. I probably saw three shows a week for three years. I went to everything, everywhere from the West End to The Bush (Kane, Churchill, Kops, Pinter) and it influenced me immensely. When I returned to the States, no one got my work. They seemed to want very plot centric material. I think Chemistry of Love is a perfect balance of both. I do think you need plot, but it should not overwhelm character or interrupt the magic. It’s about the balance. Also, pub culture made it really easy to meet people in London. You would see a play and meet half the production in the pub next door afterwards. I met Max-Stafford Clark and John Caird that way and asked if I could send them my work. They both called me in for meetings. I was floored. There is a private bar backstage at the National for cast, crew and friends. It’s amazing. 

8. What is your favorite part of the creative process in writing a play? I love when you get to the part where you know the world so well, that the play starts writing itself. I go into this trance and later I look at it and I’m like, "when did I write this?" I also love infusing research into the work. I find that very inspiring. Also, of course the first time you hear actors read it is always a blast.

9. What have you learned about yourself from being a playwright? I’m smarter than I thought I was.

10. What's the best advice you've ever received? Don’t be lazy. This is a brutal art form. One will write a million drafts and sometimes you just want to be done and to have it read and to submit it, but if you have anything niggling in your mind about the work, don’t submit it. Take your time, do another rewrite, ask yourself the hard questions. Always go one draft further than you think you can.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

11. If you could have any super power, which one would you choose? This is a freaking hard question that I’ve been thinking about a lot. Maybe to be able to predict the day the world will end, but if I could do that, no one would believe me anyway - they’d think I’m a freak and would try to commit me, so maybe it’s something simple, like eliminating global warming. That’s simple right?

More on Jill:

Jill's plays have been produced or workshopped in New York at La MaMa, Mabou Mines, New Georges, Cherry Lane, Mind the Gap and Easthampton Playhouse, and at The Side Project and Women’s Theatre Project in Chicago and Luna Stage in NJ. She has been a resident artist with Mabou Mines and is a current member of the PDU at The Actors Studio. Campbell is also a documentary producer who has worked on Dancing Across Borders directed by Anne Bass and Never Stand Still, filmed at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She’s the Assistant Producer on the documentary Out of Print, narrated by Meryl Streep, which premieres at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. She is currently writing and producing Hamlet of Canfield Gardens about the life of her mentor, British playwright Bernard Kops.

Interview with Steven Reineke, Musical Director/Conductor of The New York Pops

In my seventh video interview, Call Me Adam sat down with Steven Reineke, Musical Director/Conductor of The New York Pops to talk about The New York Pops 30th Anniversary Gala on Monday, April 29 at 7pm featuring Megan Hilty, Laura Osnes, Kelli O'Hara, Marilyn Maye, Donna Murphy, Nick Adams, Laura Benanti, Stephanie J. Block, Will Chase, Liz Callaway, Max von Essen, and many others! For tickets visit http://www.newyorkpops.org!

SNEAK PEAK: Call Me Adam chats with Steven Reineke about The New York Pops 30th Anniversary Gala

Here is an EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEAK at Call Me Adam's interview with Steven Reineke about The New York Pops' 30th Anniversary Gala taking place on Monday, April 29 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. For tickets visit www.newyorkpops.org.

Steve Cohen: Chamber Magic Interview

Steve Cohen and Adam Rothenberg, at "Chamber Magic" at The Waldorf-Astoria, Photo Credit: Doug MarinoAs a Member of London's Magic Circle, Steve Cohen is a magician who will leave you wide-eyed and thinking long after the show has ended, "How did he do that?" From magic tricks to mind reading, Steve is the host of the very entertaining and mind blowing magic show Chamber Magic every Friday and Saturday at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Click here to get your tickets!

For more on Steve and Chamber Magic be sure to visit http://www.chambermagic.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter!

1. Who or what inspired you to become a magician? My uncle inspired me. He was an amateur magician. He was born in 1901 and saw Houdini perform live here in New York. My uncle interacted with the magicians in the Society of American Magicians, an organization Houdini founded. He specialized in what were called "pocket tricks." "Pocket tricks" is an old fashioned term describing tricks you can perform out of your pocket. If you walk into a party and don’t have anything to work with, you can take an object out of your pocket, show it to people, and then put it back in. Today we call that close-up magic. To my mind, close-up magic is the most direct form of magic because it's interactive. When my uncle performed it for us, he was very engaging, a very funny guy. Over the years, what stayed with me, even more than his tricks, was his ability to engage an audience. I've tried to keep that ability alive in my show too.

Me: I was going to say I noticed that. Your show is about the magic, but the way you interact with the audience, to make them feel a part of it, really adds so much to the show.

Steve: Thanks. The type of performance I do here is not actually close-up magic, but parlor magic. Parlor magic is a cross between close-up magic and a stage show. In tonight’s audience, we had 55 people and everyone had a good seat. You were in the third row and you could see everything. I think there is something to be said for watching miracles up close. The audience is able to participate in the tricks and be amazed, which is the aspect of magic I enjoy most. 

2. You have been performing Chamber Magic at the Waldorf Astoria for more than 13 years. Why did you decide to base your show on parlor magic as opposed to a different style? I was inspired by a famous magician from the late 1800’s, Johann Hofzinser, who presented a show in a salon in Austria for many years. He was the top society entertainer of Vienna. In that age, there was a whole culture of salons where people would gather to drink coffee, debate about politics, and talk about the news of the day. So having a magic salon was not unheard of. I have done a lot of research about Hofzinser's salon. I like to work with people in an intelligent way, so my goal was to re-create these salon shows in New York, a city with its own modern day royalty. I thought it would be interesting and fun to perform for business leaders and high society here.

Steve Cohen and Adam Rothenberg, "Think A Drink" at "Chamber Magic" at the Waldorf-Astoria, Photo Credit: Doug Marino3. How did you decide to make the Waldorf Astoria Chamber Magic's home? I began the show at my friend's apartment down in the West Village. Then I started doing the show at the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park, where, as a member, I was allowed to use their front parlor, a beautiful mahogany room with a fireplace and Tiffany glass chandelier. I did the show there for about three months and I was starting to get some momentum, but the club, like many private clubs in New York, shut down for the summer.

At that time, I met my manager, who had connections here at the Waldorf; she introduced me to some of the executives here and convinced them to give me a try. That was 13 years ago. Since then, I've performed the show more than 3,000 times for more than 275,000 guests! The show is self-produced and promoted entirely by word-of-mouth.

4. How do you feel Chamber Magic has grown over the past 13 years and what do you enjoy most about performing the show? The show has really changed a lot. The signature pieces have stayed in the show, like the "Think-A-Drink" teapot routine and the "Linking Rings." The part of show I enjoy most is getting immediate feedback because in most jobs, you don't get such a quick response. In this type of performance, because there is such intimate interplay with the audience, I can tell how the show is going. What pleases me the most is knowing that the audience is enjoying the show.

5. You've taken this show around the country as well. Yes, I've traveled around the world with this show. That enabled me to reach further than New York and perform for audiences that, hopefully, would tell their friends and family about the show at the Waldorf Astoria. I enjoy seeing different cities but it's not easy to travel with this show, so I prefer to perform it here in New York, which is already a destination for theater.

Since the beginning, I established a "cocktail attire" dress code for Chamber Magic. This means the audience starts getting ready for the show when they’re still at home. The anticipation builds from the moment they start getting dressed up until the show starts.

Me: That is very true. When I was getting ready for the show, I was very excited. I never really get dressed up like this to see a show, so it's very different and it started the excitement at home and then when I got here and saw everyone else dressed up, it added to the excitement. It's nice to see that everyone does it. I think having everyone get dressed up makes it a real event, so that when they go home they tell everyone about this big event they attended.

6. You are a member of the Inner Magic Circle. What exactly dos that mean? The Magic Circle is probably the most prestigious magician’s organization in the world. Based in London, they have various ranks. Once you join the club as a regular or general member, you can move up in those ranks. The highest level, which I have attained, is Member of the Inner Magic Circle (MIMC) with Gold Star. It was a real honor for me to become a member of the Inner Magic Circle and be acknowledged by my peers.

Steve Cohen, Photo Credit: Clay Patrick McBride

7. What have you learned about yourself from being a magician? I've learned to be very resourceful. As a magician, you always have to be thinking many steps ahead of the audience, which sometimes means planning years in advance for a single moment. I've learned that I'm willing to practice months for a three-second technique or a year for a single trick that might take 15 seconds. When the audience eventually sees that trick, they have no chance, because they don't know how much went into preparing for that one brief moment.

8. What's the best advice you've ever received? It was an African proverb, "Don't push the river, it flows by itself." There were certain things in my career that I wanted to happen really fast, like my show taking off. I felt I had a great show and I thought everyone should know about it and it just didn't happen, so I had to think in real time. This African proverb really grounded me. I just said to myself, "If you just take your time, pay your dues, and do what you do best, people are going to eventually recognize you, so just let it happen in real time and let the river flow."

Woody Allen and Steve Cohen, Photo courtesy of ChamberMagic.com9. What's it like performing for celebrities? If you could perform magic for a celebrity of your choice, who would it be? I enjoy having well-known figures in the audience because it's a lot of fun to see them and I love chatting with them afterward. It's very flattering when they choose to come to my show out of all the things they could do in New York City.

To answer your question--ever since I was a boy, I've always wanted to perform for the President of the United States in the White House. I hope I'll get invited to perform there while the present administration is in power.

10. If you could have any super power, which one would you choose? Aside from the ones I already have? [laughs]. I would like the ability to figure out the teenage mind. I have a teenage son and I have no idea what he's thinking. I would love to be able to read his mind. I can read people's minds in this show, but at home it's a different story. 

Steve Cohen, Photo Credit: Clay Patrick McBrideMore on Steve:

Steve Cohen is the Millionaires' Magician. He performs internationally for celebrities, tycoons and aristocrats. When he is not traveling, Steve can be found at New York’s famous Waldorf Astoria hotel performing his public show, Chamber Magic. Steve recreates the intimacy of 19th century parlor performances by baffling his guests in the close quarters of a private suite. He is the author of the book: Win The Crowd (HarperCollins), and star of the two-hour speical Lost Magic Decoded on the History Channel.

Steve has received widespread media recognition, including: The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, Martha Stewart Living, The History Channel, Forbes Magazine, The Financial Times, The London Sunday Times and The New York Times.

Steve earned a degree in psychology from Cornell University and spent a year abroad studying at Waseda University in Tokyo. He has native-level proficiency in Japanese, and previously worked as an interpreter for the Japanese government. He holds the esteemed rank of MIMC (Member of the Inner Magic Circle) with Gold Star, awarded by The Magic Circle in London.

Charles Eliasch: Carnegie Hall Debut Interview

Adam Rothenberg and Charles EliaschIn my fifth video interview, "Call Me Adam" sat down with rising opera singer Charles Eliasch to talk about making his Carnegie Hall debut on Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 2pm. We also talked about working with his mom, Amanda Eliasch, life lessons, favorite hang-outs, superpowers, and were treated to a very special sneak-peak performance of "Ma rendi pur contento" by Vincenzo Bellini.

For more on Charles be sure to visit http://charleseliasch.blogspot.com.