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Eric Simonson enjoys traveling and exploring the different cities he visits. He also loves history, and that combination led to his latest production at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Carter's Way. The Oscar-winning ensemble member originally developed the play for the Kansas City Repertory, calling upon that city’s rich history of jazz and politics. Simonson came up with an interracial love story involving a black musician and a white singer set in the 1930s and inspired by the classic "Orpheus" theme. Composer Darrell Leonard came aboard to create and co-write an original jazz influenced score based on Simonson's own draft and lyrics. The results of that World Premiere were "a first act very much like a play and a second act that was very episodic, with characters going in one direction and my wanting them to go another." For Steppenwolf's Chicago Premiere, officially opening March 8, Simonson tells Theatre in Chicago that about 80% of the second act is brand new and will hopefully work to create a more fluid dramatic arc for his story of lost love.
Writing and directing one's own work can be fraught with challenge, and Simonson's goals are "always keeping my eye out for objectivity." Once he's in the rehearsal room, he finds it easier to compartmentalize his dual roles and put on the director’s hat. "I think I’m a better director of my own plays than some playwrights who have never directed. I’ve been lucky, but I can see the frustration of some playwrights when something isn't being realized the way they envision it." He says his actors hold him to a high standard and keep him focused, and then there’s the Steppenwolf aesthetic. The legendary Chicago company's reputation for creating a nurturing family environment that stresses creative collaboration is unprecedented in this country. And it's what brings many of its world-class, award-winning ensemble members like Simonson back time and time again. "It really is a family," Eric says, "you can't be kicked out or disinherited, and if you fail at one thing it won’t be your last chance." Being part of the ensemble, Eric says, is "being part of a continuum, where everyone is allowed to grow as an artist."
It wasn’t always easy to get a big toe in the door, and Eric discovered the invariable "Catch 22" as a young director, where theatres and producers "will not consider someone whose work they haven’t seen and getting your work seen is impossible if no one is willing to take a chance on you." Eric graduated from Lawrence University, a small Liberal Arts college in Wisconsin and moved to Chicago, which he calls "the best place in the country to perfect your craft in the theatre." He joined a small upstart company called Lifeline, which focused on literary adaptation, and directed Waiting for Godot at Bailiwick and his first Equity gig, The Normal Heart for Next Theatre Company. "It took me a couple of years before I could quit my day job," he admits. He had the distinction of being cast as an actor in Frank Galati's Tony Award winning landmark epic, The Grapes of Wrath, opening at Steppenwolf and moving to San Diego, London and New York.
Eric became an ensemble member in 1993 and was appointed to oversee the development of new plays, a commitment the theatre upholds to this day with its New Plays Initiative. Steppenwolf’s reputation for grungy, dysfunctional family dramas often got the best and worst of submissions. "We got a really wide range, and a lot were really bad, mostly set in trailer parks." A high point for Eric was directing The Song of Jacob Zulu, with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, "a magical experience where everything worked out." It also won him a Tony nomination, and he subsequently directed an Oscar-nominated documentary about the acclaimed South African singing group. But it took a certain chutzpah for this young man to approach then Artistic Director Randall Arney with the question, "’So, when are you going to let me direct something?’ I figured he would either throw me out the window or hire me." The rest, as they say, was history.
Although he started his career as an actor, Eric reveals that he is more than happy to step aside from that role, having last appeared as an actor in a "Seinfeld" episode. "I really fell out of love with acting," Eric says, citing stage fright and a certain humility. "I'm glad to let others do it because they do it better." As a director and playwright, Eric finds "so much joy in the creation of a piece." He likens himself to a sculptor as "I like to keep working on a play, revisit and make it better, rip it apart and mold it back together." Success did not come overnight, and Eric’s advice to young artists is "Patience counts for a lot. Many of the people I know who are still at it are there because they didn’t give up." Playwriting gives Eric the chance to "put something up there that has never been expressed before." Noting the historical nature of his work, he says, "I can't write characters in today's world. I want things to resonate beyond the here and now."
Carter's Way begins previews at Steppenwolf Theatre Company on February 28, the official opening is March 8 and the production runs through April 27. For tickets and more information, call 312-335-1650 or visit www.steppenwolf.org.
Joe Stead
Theatre In Chicago News Contributor Joe Stead has spent over 20 years as a critic, director, designer and performer. His reviews currently appear online at www.steadstylechicago.com.