Write Club Dissects Itself (Part I)
In keeping with the spirit of using this blog as a way for y'all to get to know us on a more personal level, founding member Jeffrey James Keyes has devised a little questionnaire for us company members. So to kick it off, why not hear from Jeffrey himself?
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Jeffrey James Keyes
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Where are you from?
I'm from Bay View, which is a southern neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
Milwaukee is an extremely industrial town with a really interesting artistic community. My family is very artistic and supportive, but faced many hardships so I found a refuge in expressing myself creatively. I also had the fortune of really being surrounded by nature and wildlife as a child. We spent a lot of time camping and exploring forests and bodies of water. This really gave me a foundation to work from.
Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I studied theater at Fordham University College at the Lincoln Center under the guidance of the late Lawrence Sacharow. Larry took me to Italy with his Orvieto Institute and I started working with autobiographical theater as well as studying physical action and poor theater under Thomas Richards at the Work Center of Jerzy Grotowski. Since graduating I have studied at the Ensemble Studio Theater, the LAByrinth Theater, with Wynn Handeman at Carnegie Hall, and at Cherry Lane.
What are you working on right now?
I'm writing a new play called "Helen" and starting to compile research for a new piece on early 20th Century Balkan immigration focusing on Croatia, Yugoslavia, and Montenegro. I'm also writing a book and a compilation of short stories.
What playwrights inspire you?
Many. Jose Rivera, Moises Kaufman, Sarah Ruhl, Arthur Miller, Beckett, Euripides, Tony Kushner, Charles Mee, Jr., and Tennessee Williams are some of my favorites.
If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper, what would they be?
The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey, Time Magazine, and the Daily News in that order.
Who are your favorite directors?
Anne Bogart, Peter and Edward Hall, Ivo von Hove, Daniel Fish, Will Pomerantz, Moises Kaufman, and Jo Bonney
What is the best play you have ever seen?
I saw Tantalus in Nottingham in 2001 and loved it. There was a British Fringe production of the Red Shoes some years ago that I was really moved by. I loved the Fifty of July at the Signature a few years ago, and was blown away by the Laramie Project.
How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
I see it changing and modifying to people's attention spans, shifting to be more cinematic. I hope to see more reinvented and deconstructed productions of classical and traditional plays that change and expand the way we think. I see daring artists like Anne Bogart, Ivo von Hove, and Moises Kaufman paving the way for a highly collaborative and dynamic period of theater.
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Jeffrey James Keyes
*****************************
Where are you from?
I'm from Bay View, which is a southern neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
Milwaukee is an extremely industrial town with a really interesting artistic community. My family is very artistic and supportive, but faced many hardships so I found a refuge in expressing myself creatively. I also had the fortune of really being surrounded by nature and wildlife as a child. We spent a lot of time camping and exploring forests and bodies of water. This really gave me a foundation to work from.
Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I studied theater at Fordham University College at the Lincoln Center under the guidance of the late Lawrence Sacharow. Larry took me to Italy with his Orvieto Institute and I started working with autobiographical theater as well as studying physical action and poor theater under Thomas Richards at the Work Center of Jerzy Grotowski. Since graduating I have studied at the Ensemble Studio Theater, the LAByrinth Theater, with Wynn Handeman at Carnegie Hall, and at Cherry Lane.
What are you working on right now?
I'm writing a new play called "Helen" and starting to compile research for a new piece on early 20th Century Balkan immigration focusing on Croatia, Yugoslavia, and Montenegro. I'm also writing a book and a compilation of short stories.
What playwrights inspire you?
Many. Jose Rivera, Moises Kaufman, Sarah Ruhl, Arthur Miller, Beckett, Euripides, Tony Kushner, Charles Mee, Jr., and Tennessee Williams are some of my favorites.
If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper, what would they be?
The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey, Time Magazine, and the Daily News in that order.
Who are your favorite directors?
Anne Bogart, Peter and Edward Hall, Ivo von Hove, Daniel Fish, Will Pomerantz, Moises Kaufman, and Jo Bonney
What is the best play you have ever seen?
I saw Tantalus in Nottingham in 2001 and loved it. There was a British Fringe production of the Red Shoes some years ago that I was really moved by. I loved the Fifty of July at the Signature a few years ago, and was blown away by the Laramie Project.
How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
I see it changing and modifying to people's attention spans, shifting to be more cinematic. I hope to see more reinvented and deconstructed productions of classical and traditional plays that change and expand the way we think. I see daring artists like Anne Bogart, Ivo von Hove, and Moises Kaufman paving the way for a highly collaborative and dynamic period of theater.