Forward Theater Company

An Interview With Jessica Lanius

We’re very pleased to introduce Jessica Lanius to Madison audiences – she was just cast in one of the lead roles in Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. Jessica recently moved back to Madison after pursuing an acting career in New York for many years.

1. You've recently come back to Madison from New York. What was it like "coming home?"

It’s been goooood…really good. I always thought I would return to Madison and create theater, I just didn’t know when or how. I actually began looking for artistic projects here about four years ago, while I was still living in New York City.

I first came back to perform as a guest artist with the River Arts Center in Sauk Prairie. The cast collaborated on a piece titled Thesmphoria, about the stories of rural Wisconsin women. It was an incredible experience – it reminded me of the power of theater to bring people from all walks of life together, both to work on the project and as audience members. So that opened the door for me to start thinking about living and working here year ‘round.

After having my son, I was done with the intensely competitive scene in New York and was ready to see what I could do at home. The timing was just right, both personally and professionally. I was just cast as “Angel” in a feature film called Mulligan that will be shot in Lake Geneva and Chicago, and of course I’ll be playing Mrs. Givings in Forward Theater’s upcoming production, so I gotta say, so far I’m feeling optimistic about returning to Wisconsin!

I love Madison, It’s so nice to live close to my relatives here. I love the fact that I can be out in the country in a matter of minutes, surrounded by farms or lakes, and then on the square, at Overture Center, or on Willy Street. I think I definitely needed to be in New York and LA for the past 14 years just to appreciate all of the gifts that are here. I’m actually giddy with anticipation about the possibilities for creative work in the area.

I love to perform and I have an equal passion for creating original works and producing good theater. I can see from the success of both the Forward Theater and APT’s Touchstone Theater that this community is hungry for thought provoking, innovative drama. That is exciting to me on so many levels – I can’t wait to start rehearsals just to meet all of these great people that are making this happen here.

2. You've done a lot of national commercials. . . where might our audience have seen you before?

You might see a Claritin or Babybell Cheese spot right now, those are my ads I have running at the moment. I had a really cute V-8 ad that ran for a couple of years, and I’ve done lots of different spots for Toyota, Special K, Tylenol, Stella Artois, Kraft etc. through the years. I’m hoping to keep doing commercials. I’ve been really lucky to make a living as an actor this way. It allows me to take on creative projects that I might not otherwise be able to do.

3. What attracted you to the script for In the Next Room? The role of Mrs. Givings?

So many elements of this script were exciting to me as an actor. I remember reading about the play when it opened at Lincoln Center. At the time I was trying to keep my head above water freelancing as an actor and raising my one year-old, so I was not able to catch the show. But I honestly remember thinking what an interesting, provocative story, and the fact that Sarah Ruhl was the playwright made it even more intriguing. It was not until I auditioned for Forward that I actually opened the script.

It immediately appealed to me, since a lot of the work I’ve directed and choreographed has focused on women’s stories. I have always been passionate about the female voice, the stories that historically have not been told, and this is one of them. I get this anxious tickle of excitement when a play like this comes out about women – I’m convinced I must have been a suffragette in a former life! One reviewer said, “If Henrik Ibsen and Oscar Wilde had decided to collaborate on a post-modern drawing-room comedy, the hotsy-totsy twosome surely would have turned out something very much like Sarah Ruhl’s genuinely hysterical new work.” I agree! I think this story is told with heart and also with levity and truth. And while it is a period piece there are many themes in this story that will strike a chord for women today.

As far as Mrs. Givings, after really immersing myself into the script for the audition I had such a visceral, personal response. I could connect with this woman immediately. As a new mother I had this overwhelming feeling that someone had given voice to so many of the complicated and delicate feelings that I had actually felt. I think that was the greatest attraction – the circumstances. The time period is very different than mine but I could relate to that longing to feel connected to someone – her baby, her husband, strangers – and feeling a bit lost. I think many mothers could relate to that. So I couldn’t help but fall in love with Catherine and with the idea of bringing her to life with her humor, her sensitivity, and her quirkiness.

It’s always a good sign as an actor when you can connect this way right at the beginning. Your juices are flowing, ideas are coming easily, and you are hungry. You want to just devour information and possibilities about the play. There are going to be some tough scenes, but that’s the fun part of the work. I always get excited by the puzzle element of playing a new script; how do you truthfully put all the pieces together? I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Jen and my fellow actors on putting this electric puzzle together. I have a feeling it’s gonna be quite a ride.

4. Have you performed in Victorian era plays with historically appropriate costumes before? How do you feel about acting in a corset?

Love it! Bring it on! In my more “hard core” feminist days at UW-Stevens Point I choreographed a dance piece titled “Centuries of a Lost Breathe” in which the women in the piece struggled to breathe. They got tangled and strangled in their corsets until one of them freed herself. But today, as an actor, it’s kind of fun because it’s different and it takes you into a very different world, which is important when doing a period piece. It’s a big piece of the puzzle – the posture, the body, the breath. I’m such a physical actor when developing a character and so anything like a corset that will affect my body and inform me about the period and the person I’m playing is a real gift. Now, it has been a few years since I’ve done a period play so I’m not sure I can get it laced up as tightly as I could “pre-baby.” But Catherine Givings is probably feeling that way too, so perhaps I should use it!

5. What would you tell someone about the play, who may be a bit put off by the title?

Jump in!

I’m sure people will be a bit apprehensive. I was surprised by my own mother’s response. She’s a very liberal woman who has seen all different kinds of theater, and she’s so ecstatic to have me back in Wisconsin, but when I told her about the callback and that I was really hoping to play this part, she had this semi-pained look on her face. I said, “What?” And she guiltily said, “It’s just a little weird. I want you to get it but I don’t know if I can handle all of our friends and relatives watching you with a giant vibrator on stage.” I just died laughing, and so did she. To calm her fears, I showed her a little clip of the Lincoln Center production on Youtube, so that she could get a sense of the genre and the role of the vibrator. I knew she would love once she saw it. And then we ran lines together and she’s totally on board now.

The funny thing is, there’s actually no sex in this play.

I personally found it fascinating, and more revealing about the history of women and medical science, than sexual. The story is quite beautiful and nothing to be frightened of. I hope that both men and women who see this play will be moved by the relationships and by the themes of repression that Ruhl sheds light on. And I hope they have much to talk about afterwards – and isn’t that why we go to the theater?

Remembering David

One of the words that I would use to describe David is “calm.” Not just calm physically, but there was an inner calm. During two rehearsal periods working on staged readings of his terrific play “Kiritsis,” I never heard him raise his voice or saw him become agitated.

Yet you could tell that he cared deeply about the play and the process of doing anything that was necessary to make it as good as it could possibly be. He loved making changes, even as small as one word, if he thought the play would be better.

The last memory I have of David, and the one I’ll carry with me, is from the night of the staged reading last spring. He was only three weeks removed from his heart transplant and the cast was amazed that he was there. David was on the stage left aisle in a wheelchair. At the end of the reading, after the curtain call, I exited right past him. As I approached David he gave me a big smile and a “thumbs up” – a mental picture that I’ll always cherish when I think of Mr. Schanker.

-- Jim Buske is a member of FTC’s Advisory Company. He acted in the June 2009 and March 2010 staged readings of “Kiritsis.”

After working with him on “Kiritsis,” I was surprised and tickled to hear about his next idea for a play. A musical based on a story by DH Lawrence called “Among The Haystacks.” The play was to be romantic, pastoral, a tender treatment of two brothers who fall in love among the haystacks of Wisconsin.

When I thought about how best to share with you something about David the writer, I realized I could be far more eloquent if I used David’s own words. Below is an excerpt from a monologue he wrote in the fall or winter of last year. He shared it with me in February. It too, is about love, but speaks also to being an artist, a creator, and celebrating life and God.

You care nothing for material possessions and have not the slightest interest in selling your work. This I don’t understand. I pester you with the persistent question: why create if not for others to see?

“What I do is for myself and God,” is one of your answers.

Another time you look at me indulgently and say: “Just suppose you are now doing and have been doing for quite a while exactly what it is you are supposed to be doing. Isn’t that enough reward?”

“Not for me,” I say. “I’m a performer. If nobody’s watching, I ain’t singing. And as a reward, I expect applause. And possible money.”

You shake your head, and this difference between us, like so many others, is set aside. Because we’re in love....

I don’t sing anymore . . . for other people. Like you, what I do is for myself and God. I understand now. That’s enough reward. Except that now I sing for myself and God and you.

-- Kimberly Megna Yarnall is a member of FTC’s Advisory Company. She was the dramaturg for the reading of “Kiritsis” in 2010, and worked with David over a period of several months to further develop his play.

I first got to know David Schanker through his work. I’d been asked to direct a reading of his play “Kiritsis,” for Wisconsin Wrights at the UW-Madison in the spring of 2009. I thought the play, on the page, was intelligent and funny, and dealt with some very profound issues. I also thought it was violent, profane and edgy (not that those are bad things!).

When David and I arranged to meet for lunch at Frida’s on State Street to discuss his play, I can’t say I was prepared for the mild, soft-spoken, normal man who introduced himself. Over the course of that lunch I realized that David was not only a talented playwright I was excited to work with, he was also a fascinating and kind man I was looking forward to getting to know personally.

The reading of “Kiritsis” that June went very well, and afterwards, as is the custom, the cast, director and author were invited onstage to get feedback from the audience. This can be a minefield for playwrights, as you might imagine! I was never so impressed with David as I was at that moment, when he stood up and said, in his quiet yet insistent way, “Please tell me what you didn’t like about my play. This process won’t help me if you don’t.” He listened to the comments carefully and respectfully (they were mostly positive, but there was plenty of constructive criticism as well). And I know he considered that feedback as he wrote the next draft of his play, which all of us at Forward Theater were honored to present as part of our inaugural season.

David was many things -- a gifted writer, a good friend, a loving father and husband. But let me tell you this -- he was an outstanding colleague, and we are saddened that we will not have the chance to work with him again.

-- Jennifer Uphoff Gray is the Artistic Director of Forward Theater Company. Jen directed the first reading of “Kiritsis.”

I remember reading the script for "Kiritsis" when we were working on a staged reading for the Wisconsin Wrights play festival. It was an intense, highly charged drama mixed with some interestingly humorous moments, and I was pleasantly surprised when I finally met the playwright, David Schanker. There, before me, was the author of this incredible play, yet he was a relaxed, soft spoken gentleman. Over the next several days of rehearsal David offered many unique insights into his work. He also shared his enthusiasm and admiration for Jen's work in shaping the play.

After the reading, I had the great pleasure of meeting David for lunch, and my admiration for him grew even stronger as we shared stories ranging from our childhoods through the intricacies of being "older" fathers. He surprised me with a copy of his novel, "A Criminal Appeal," which I mentioned I wanted to read, and we said our goodbyes. It was a wonderful book and David was a wonderful man. I wish we could have shared many more such meals. He will be greatly missed.

-- Michael Herold is a member of FTC’s Advisory Company. He acted in the June 2009 staged reading of “Kiritsis.”

A Note from Celia Klehr, Forward Theater Company’s first Managing Director

It is extraordinarily gratifying to look back over our first year and see all we have accomplished together. From its humble beginnings around my kitchen table, Forward Theater has become a professional arts organization with strong leadership, sound business plans, and a reputation for outstanding creative work.

In early 2009, Forward Theater was just an idea – one that I felt compelled to act on. Three events spurred me into action: the U.S. economy took a dramatic tumble; political and civic leaders on the local, state and national levels urged artists to help find creative solutions to the crisis; and the Madison Repertory Theatre closed its doors.

Back in the glory days of my theater career, I worked frequently at the Madison Rep. At that time (the 1980s) it was possible to hop around southern Wisconsin, going from one Equity theater to another, cobbling together a living. As the years went by I watched in sadness as many of these theaters closed. I mourned the fact that so many brilliant theater artists had started their careers in Madison, built an audience, and honed their skills, but were now unable to find work here.  Some relocated to bigger cities with more opportunities. Some quit the profession altogether.

The closing of the Madison Rep was the last straw. A sense of urgency began to well up in me. Madison ‑ capitol of the state of Wisconsin, home of the Wisconsin Idea, the place where government, business and the arts work hand in hand to create a better way of life for its citizenry ‑ Madison had lost its only professional theater. It was unthinkable! The city that was home to theater programs at the University of Wisconsin, MATC, and Edgewood College (not to mention the Bolz School for Arts Administration) now had no place for graduating students to begin their professional lives. The Overture Center and downtown establishments had lost a business partner, along with all its patrons. This would further weaken Madison’s economy. Something had to be done!

On March 22, 2009, I gathered a group of local theater professionals who had made southern Wisconsin their home. Each of them believed that professional theater was an essential part of the fabric of life in Madison. Individually their contributions had made that possible. Together they brought decades of experience and insight to the table.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“Create a theater,” they answered.

And Forward Theater Company was born. It was immediately clear that we had all come to the same conclusion; a theater is most vital and alive when the audience, artists, board, and staff communicate openly and freely, trusting in one another.  In just a few short hours, we named our theater, wrote our mission statement, and created our three-legged governing structure. It was at that time that the job of managing director was entrusted to me.

The amount of work we all completed in one incredible, demanding year is nothing short of awe inspiring. My partner throughout this journey was Jennifer Uphoff Gray, FTC’s artistic director… What a joyous miracle she is. It has been an honor to follow her lead. Now in year two, the administrative staff has been expanded to three dynamic, creative and passionate people. Our organization feels strong and well rounded. It’s time to soar!

So now I find myself in the wonderful position of tendering my resignation. I do so with the happy knowledge that the job will be filled by Sarah Marty, a talented, knowledgeable, and hard working arts advocate who has already made a great contribution to theater in Madison.

I will take my place on the Advisory Company, a group of truly remarkable people, both on stage and behind the scenes. Along with the original founders, it now includes younger and exciting new voices. Together we will guide the artistic mission of the organization. And of course the staff and AC will work closely with our amazing Board of Directors – a group that astonishes me with its depth of knowledge, passion, and collaborative spirit.

As my last act as managing director, it is only proper for me to personally and publicly thank the people who answered my calls for help, advice and inspiration. With their help this theater was formed.  And thank you to each and every one in the audiences of All About Eve, Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them, and Kiritsis.

With that done, I relinquish my position and look forward to new challenges as part of the Advisory Company in the coming year.

Respectfully Yours,

Thoughts on the Set for In the Next Room or the vibrator play

I just finished reading the show again concentrating on the physical requirements: props, scenery, furniture, and how they all interact with the actors. It looks like the script requires two doors, the front entry to the house and the door between the living room and operating theater. The door between the two rooms seems to be the most important. Because the action needs to be seen on both sides, and due to its symbolic significance, it has to be an actual door. So I need to solve this problem first then move on to the main entry.

Other questions. . . . The script calls for a rolling pram. How does that affect the use of levels and steps in the architecture of the set? Mrs. Givings must be able to hide behind a sofa in the living room, how does that work? Of course the action at the end of the show affects everything and that will be very difficult to pull off in The Playhouse.

I do have a feeling in my head about what this set looks like, and I do stress feeling, because the image is not clear to me yet.  More research is needed.

****

So I had my first meeting with the director (Jennifer Uphoff Gray) about the design for In the Next Room. I came loaded with notes about the set, props, furniture and the action as described in the script.  I did have an idea about how to deal with the setting change at the end of the show but is was dependent upon how Jen wanted to deal with the front door, piano, levels and some other furniture placement.  I explained some of my problems, which she immediately resolved, much to my surprise and relief.

So I believe we have a working idea with regards to the basic set layout and the system we are going to use to end the show.  The next step is to develop a floor plan with all the elements in real space, in real scale to see if our ideas actually work or what we might do to make that happen.