Jacqueline E. Lawton
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact

Women Directors of DC: Jessica Lefkow

11/23/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Jacqueline Lawton: What was the first play that you ever directed? What did you learn from that experience that remains with you today? 
Jessica Lefkow:
The first play I ever directed was, ‘Crimes of the Heart’, in New Delhi. We had arranged for Shakti Shailini, the only shelter for battered women in the north of India, to receive a huge chunk of the box office profits- enough to buy a van for their street theater troupe.  The troupe was comprised of the women themselves, who had lived through beatings, burnings, and- for many- the loss of their children and family identities. They would set up in town squares and begin to play out their own, true stories, soliciting feedback from the crowd that would inevitably gather, in an attempt to start a conversation about domestic violence. It was for many of them the first time they had appeared in public, much less to speak- and then to speak of events that were supposed to be hidden away from view!  When the Shakti Shailini troupe attended our dress rehearsal- women who in spite of profound loss on so many levels were open and cheerful and so curious about our work- we brought out the remains of the prop birthday sheet cake to share with them after the performance. The women broke with all sincerity into a fractured, gentle but warm ‘Happy Birthday’ for the actor playing Meg. When they finished...  There was nothing to say but, ‘thank you’. 

JL: Why did you decide to get into theatre? Was there someone or a particular show that inspired you?
Jessica Lefkow:
I first got seriously into theater as a lazy teenager looking for a good excuse to hang out after school for hours, (a bunch of us students ran an independent theater company out of the basement of the school building) and to not do my homework. Very quickly, I started to work harder at theater than at any other thing!

JL: What kind of work do you do to pay the bills? How do you balance this work with your work as a director?
Jessica Lefkow:
Until this year, I was the primary parent for my three sons, while their dad brought home the salary that pays for the roof and the insurance. His was also the job which we followed around the planet for 17 years. That said, I’ve taught, done voice-over and coaching jobs between directing and performing gigs, and am always working on something.

JL: In DC, we have the Capital Fringe Festival, the Intersections Festival, the Source Festival, the Kennedy Center's Page-to-Stage Festival, the Black Theater Festival, and the Hip Hop Theatre Festival. We also have the Mead Lab at Flashpoint Theater Lab Program. Have you participated in any of these? If so, can you speak about your experience?
Jessica Lefkow:
I’ve directed for nearly every Capital Fringe Festival until this year, (and performed and produced there, too.) I’ve also worked in the Page-to-Stage and Source Festivals. Each of them is a glorious mess in its own way. I love these festivals for the abundant opportunities they provide for running into the unexpected, from new production companies to actors fresh to DC stages, to directors, designers and playwrights testing out fresh ideas and collaborations. 

JL: How many plays have you directed in the DC area? How many of them were written by women? By playwrights of color? How conscious are you selecting plays by women or people of color when deciding your season?
Jessica Lefkow: I've directed 18 full productions in the DC area. eleven of those have been by women, none by people of color- though I have directed work by playwrights of color when Iwas living elsewhere.I think I'm probably more conscious of gender than color, though I am aware of the cultural or ethnic differences between playwrights that may not be about color. I'm always pleased to direct plays in voices less represented in the mainstream, but rarely consider gender or ethnicity above other things unless asked to by the producing company.

JL: How do you feel the DC theatre community has addressed the issues of race and gender parity? How has this particular issue impacted you and your ability to work? 
Jessica Lefkow:
Our community speaks with more comfort about gender than race, as does our society. Unlike many industries, however, ours should be a destination for conversations about these and other issues with which we grapple. Even we theatre-makers do a better job addressing these issues in our work than we do when we do as ‘civilians’- we need the theatre as much as our audiences do!   I embrace all the things which I can bring to the table- my identity is comprised of my gender and ethnicity as much as by my interests, knowledge and experiences.  I have experienced being excluded from the creative table on the basis of both my race & my gender when living in other cultures. Here, I believe that my gender registers much more often than not, and occasionally my race as well, as a defining directorial qualifier on some level. As long as this is true, my ability to work will of course be impacted. Perhaps on some level this is okay, as our community strives to tell a variety of stories through many lenses.  This is not to say I don’t mind the present reality, where the impact is arguably much more negative than positive; I do, and very much so!  Women and people of color are still too often seen in the American conversation as offering an ‘other’- as opposed to ‘another’- point of view.   I’ve definitely failed throughout my life to fulfill expectations of how a woman ‘should’ react, or should behave & speak, and I do think that this has impacted my career.

JL: If you could direct at any theatre in DC, which would it be and why? 
Jessica Lefkow:
Helen Pafumi of the Hub has both passion and an idiosyncratic ear for the poetry of so much new work. I know few producers whose seasons are so motivated by the sheer love of the material. I gain new perspective about every play that I’ve discussed with her, and every play I’ve seen at her theatre- usually something that I have or would have overlooked. That’s the best kind of daunting.

JL: DC audiences are ...
Jessica Lefkow:
 Partisan.

JL: DC actors and designers are ...
Jessica Lefkow:
Invariably hard-working.

JL: DC playwrights are ...
Jessica Lefkow:
 Growing in number and distinctive voice.

JL: DC critics are ...
Jessica Lefkow:
Becoming more skilled as a group at commentary, thank heavens!

JL: What advice do you have for an up-and-coming DC based playwright or a playwright who has just moved to D.C.? 
Jessica Lefkow:
Find the playwrights! This is an incredibly collegial town, and I am inspired by the conversation and support I see amongst the playwrights I know here.

JL: What's next for you as a director? Where can we keep up with your work?
Jessica Lefkow:
I’ll be directing the reading of a triptych of plays by Allyson Currin, Renee Calarco and Jason Odell Williams for Pinky Swear Productions on October 21. Look for me at www.dogandponydc.com or keep up with current productions on the news page of www.jessicalefkow.com
1 Comment
Claire Myles link
11/26/2012 06:27:36 am

Just wanted to comment on the fact that Jessica indeed has directed a play by a women playwright of color. Julie Taiwo Oni, the playwright for Doorway Arts Ensembles production of TETHER, is of mixed race heritage. Her father is African American and her mother white, I would see her as included in this category. Nice to see the images of the show posted in this article.

Hats off to Jacqueline E. Lawton for giving DC the opportunity to know the incredible pool of talented women we have contributing to our cutting edge theater community.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    My Blog

    Picture
    I'm a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. It is here where you'll find my queries and musings on life, theater and the world. My posts advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the American Theatre and updates on my own work. Please enjoy!
    Tweets by @dulcia25

    Categories

    All
    Advocates For Youth
    ARDEO
    Blackbirds
    Dance Exchange
    Dc Theatre
    Diversity And Inclusion
    Dramatist Guild
    Gender Parity
    Intelligence
    Lions Of Industry
    LoTT
    Love Brothers Serenade
    Mothers Of Invention
    Musings
    Nnpn
    Noms De Guerre
    Nso
    Our Man Beverly Snow
    Plays For Two
    TCG
    Theatre Education
    Theatre For Social Change
    The Hampton Years
    The Inferior Sex
    Triangle Theatre
    Wizard Of Oz
    Women Artistic Directors
    Women Directors
    Women Dramaturgs
    Women Playwrights
    Women Stage Managers
    Women Theatre Critics
    Xx Playlab Festival

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012

    Reading List
    2am Theatre
    American Theatre Wing

    Americans for the Arts
    The Atlantic
    Black Girl Dangerous
    Colorlines
    Feminist Crunk Collective
    Feminist Spectator

    The Good Men Project
    Guardian: Theatre
    Guernica
    HowlRound
    Media Diversified
    The Nation
    NEA Art Works
    NPR Arts and Life
    NYTimes: Arts

    Opine Season
    The New Yorker
    The Paris Review

    Salon
    Theater Talks
    Think Progress
    WaPo: Theatre
    Works by Women

    Vox

  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact