For those of you that don’t know, this is Jon Langford.

OK. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t really know who he was, either.

I mean, I did… I had certainly heard of the Mekons and the Waco Brothers. I had heard of Bloodshot Records and heard him on This American Life (the episode about putting together a band via the Classified Section of a newspaper). How he’s always been a driving force in the creation of the entire country punk genre. The entire punk rock genre, for that matter. Probably a whole bunch of genres.

But I really didn’t know how f’ing cool this man was until I 1. started learning his songs, 2. saw his amazing artwork become the basis of a set design and 3. met him. And now he’s rapidly becoming a hero of mine.

I could tell you about his pretty incredible life, but honestly, Wikipedia can do that more succinctly than I could. I will just say that in meeting him you’d never guess that you could possibly fit an punk rocker/country musician/performance artist/painter/radio personality/comic book writer (!) into his gracious, friendly, personable frame.

I’d like to think that I have accomplished a lot of things in my life. And I feel that I do a pretty good job of staying motivated to do…more. But Jon makes me feel like a big lazy slackass. I don’t know him well enough to figure out how he has time to wear all the hats that he does, but in the picture above, there he is, actually painting the entrance way (and subsequently, the doors, walls, and my brother’s drum head) for the show.

I’d say that everyone should come and see the House Theatre’s production of All the Fame of Lofty Deeds for the stellar acting, the magical production, the beautiful writing. That’d be enough of a reason. But you’ll leave realizing how lucky you were to get to know the genius that is Jon Langford a little more. And luckily for all of us, there is a lot more to know. -Matt Bivins

Check out this video to learn a little bit more about Hatch Show Print, a Nashville-based letterpress shop that’s been making gig posters since 1879!

Here’s a sneak peek of OUR poster –

We did a limited run of 100 posters. They will be available at the show for $25, and after the close we’ll put them online.

What’s your favorite part of a House show?  Besides the, you know, performance?

That’s right: trading cards.  If you’re a member you get a free pack at every show.  If you’re not a member (and why not? — lock in lower ticket prices!), you can still buy a pack of trading cards at $1

But I have one REALLY EXCITING piece of news for you.

And no, that’s not a piece of human flesh.  It’s GUM!

Each year they have a contest where Chicago designers and design firms submit work they’ve done that year to be included in the archive.

Click here to see the honorees!

Plural actually won FOUR submissions! The 44 pieces selected this year were chosen from hundreds of entries in the Archive09 competition. They are now part of the permanent collection of the Chicago Design Archive and were created by a diverse group of designers – students just beginning careers, bright young stars gaining recognition and established, influential firms. All pieces exemplify the impeccable standards of art, craft and tradition that The Society for Typographical Arts has represented for more than 80 years.

Go House!
Go Plural!

When and why did you become interested in writing for the stage?
The short answer is this: in high school I worked at the public library and used to shelve the theater section. I became fascinated with these slim volumes of plays and at first just liked the way the dialogue looked set against the white space. It was pleasing to the eye, and then when I started reading the plays, I was taken in at how the build-up of lines can create a mystery that isn’t inherent in the lines themselves. I was also drawn to the limitless theatrical elements of a stage, that it is just a black box that can become any dream world we can imagine. I found that honorable to explore and still do.

Do you approach your work as a playwright differently than your work as a journalist? If so, how?
I ran my university newspaper for two years while starting to read and write plays so there was never a border between the two. I see both as going after the same goal: To force the reader, or audience member, to pay attention. So much in our culture is designed for distraction, especially now. So that’s really it. I’m very curious about people and how they talk and how their dreams and actions are often at conflict, and a profound curiosity about these things is really the number one factor you need if you’re going to write, period. Journalism gives me access to situations and people I suppose shows up later in my other work.

Why did you choose to tell the story of Lofty Deeds?
The story kind of chose me. In trying to figure out a story out of the ten or 12 songs he handed me on CD, I found myself returning to the ideas of a discarded culture and society’s shrinking memory, two themes I must be obsessed with because I write about them a lot. I collect old 78 and 45 records and am familiar with many names that were lost to us along the way. I was also interested in how we discard old people because media culture tells us we have no use for them because they’re no longer consumers. As a journalist I am attracted to writing stories about marginalized people, either living or dead — They’re the ones with the best stories. So I saw Lofty as a guy who was one of those characters I felt I knew so well already.

How is Lofty different from your previous work as a playwright?
This was the first that had source material. My plays usually come from my pencil and that’s it; I normally don’t like plays that involve research — It seems too much like homework. I never hear the writer in those plays, just the clever researcher — the source material is too often a safety net or a crutch that prevents the deeper elements of the play to surface. I just try to coax the play from head to paper. This one was actually easier because I had Jon’s music and I knew his paintings so well. I wanted to make sure I created a work that was both in his world and also a play that could stand on its own and have elements of my style. I also was conscious of not making a jukebox musical of Jon Langford hits but a real play that used the songs to help tell the story.
What has it been like collaborating with Jon Langford?

There really is no more generous collaborator. I started out as a fan of Jon’s long before I met him. Then I met him as a journalist and I’ll admit, although I’ve interviewed people with more marquee names, Jon, Emmylou Harris and Paul Westerberg were the only three among hundreds I was actually nervous about spending time with because I respected what they did at a really deep level. He really trusted me with his music and images, so I wanted to make sure I created a play that served them well. My collaboration was really through those songs. I spent a month in Vermont transcribing the songs and figuring out how to use them as beats for the play; in the process I re-discovered what makes his music so special: Like all blues and especially early country, they trick you with their accessible melodies and once you’re in, you realize there’s something else much more complex at stake.

The music and artwork of Jon Langford, founder of the legendary punk rock band The Mekons and Bloodshot Records recording artist, was the inspiration for our latest production, All the Fame of Lofty Deeds (written by rock journalist Mark Guarino).  We recently sat down with Jon to ask him a few questions about music, his inspiration for Lofty Deeds, and what it’s like to see his work translated to the stage.

What is your favorite thing about living and working in Chicago?

Having the mental and physical space to do the things I want to do, in an atmosphere of support and cooperation that provides a defiant antidote to the brutal and conventional “me-first ambition” you find in other cities.

When did you become interested in writing and performing country music?

There seemed to be a lot of parallels between punk and country – a willingness to face the world head on and a simplicity of form that allows anyone in.

What was the inspiration behind the Lofty Deeds character?

An old phrase I found on a 17th century Dutch vanitas etching: “All the fame of lofty deeds must perish like a dream.” There was also an old flyer for local Chicago C&W legends the Sundowners, which advertised guest artists like Shorty Cunningham and Lefty Hamlett. Suddenly Lofty Deeds was an old washed up honky-tonk singer looking back at his life through his records, radio shows, posters and promo shots.

What’s it like seeing your music and artwork transformed into a stage show?

I’m really flattered that the House chose to perform this work. I think of all the things I’ve done, Lofty really lends itself to live theater. The original CD was described as a “honky-tonk Ziggy Stardust” and you can’t get much more theatrical than Dave can you?!

Why should people come see All the Fame of Lofty Deeds?

My initial idea for the show was pretty stately and grim but Mark Guarino’s script takes it into wild absurdist territory. We want people to feel that they really are the audience at some crazed old hillbilly Barn Dance, to sing and shout along and brace themselves for some weird thrills and spills…

We asked: How can we play past the sleazy, money-grubbing record producer in order to make the Jeffs sympathetic? What does Lofty need from the Jeffs in order to want to sign their contract? To answer this, we dropped the choreography for a moment, sat down to say the lines Mark wrote, and had a collective “a-ha!” Hearing the words spoken simply and honestly, we realized how easily we all might be seduced by the promise the Jeffs make. Many of us dream of having someone recognize that what we offer the world is indispensable. We imagine the conversation when someone says he has the desire and the resources to make our work known. And for the length of that conversation, it feels like we are all on the same page—we are all just trying to give the world what it is yearning for—and we don’t think about the sacrifice we have to make for that to happen. I think this will be a big talking point for the show, so I won’t go into further detail here.

This play is good. It’s truthful, and I think that is what makes it so complicated to create. You will meet a 5-headed creature, a tumbleweed, a horse, skeletons, ghosts, and apparitions, but they are all telling the truth from their own perspective. There are no bad guys and no good guys, and as in life, everyone is looking out for themselves in the best way they know how. Anyone can make a spectacle of crazy characters interesting, but in order for an audience to care, a play must give everyone something to recognize. We may not all identify with wanting to share a piece of ourselves with the world, but we’re bound to know lost love, or the struggle to balance career and family, or to recognize the beauty of here and now, or to keep up with an ever-evolving world. If you see something of your own life in Lofty’s journey, then we have done the play justice. And if not, at least the music is bound to please.  We are having so much fun, and we can’t wait to see you at the theatre.

]]> http://www.thehousetheatre.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=881 http://www.thehousetheatre.com/blog/?p=881 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/housetheatre/~3/6ZGqhI1wxsk/ http://www.thehousetheatre.com/blog/?p=873#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:01:06 +0000 Chris Mathews http://www.thehousetheatre.com/blog/?p=873 What’s up, Housemates?

Chris Mathews here.  !!!  Who likes fun-stuff?

This Thursday night, October 15th, the fine folks over at ComedySportz have invited The House to enter the arena and throw-down improv tournament style.  I’ll be representing The House in their weekly Thursday night mainstage.  I’ll be a “guest contestant,” though you can call me Tron.

What’s that gonna be like?  I dunno?  I’ve never done improv before.  Kinda nervous?  Can usually barely get out the words that are given to me written down ahead of time in a script, much less make up new ones on the spot.  And usually I’m not allowed to talk at public events cause no one ever knows what will come out of my mouth, especially me, and it usually evokes a sort of widening of the eyes, hand to the eyebrows, look away and soft shake of the head sort of reaction….It’ll be great!

Have you ever been to a show there?  I have, and it’s a pretty good time.  They encourage me to tell you that the Thursday evening shows are all-age friendly, so I won’t be swearing (too much), which again, may limit my participation–but eff it!  I’ll play by their rules, if it garners The House a sweet, sweet, delicious new trophy!  My hunger for victory cannot be matched.

ComedySportz is located at 929 W. Belmont, just east of the Belmont Red Line station.  Clark, Belmont, and Halsted buses will get you there.

Show’s at 8:00pm

Plus, you can call 773-549-8080 and mention “vs. Theatre” for $10 tickets. Cheap!

Or you can follow this link to get tickets! : http://tinyurl.com/ykrdkym

So come see my new haircut and root for The House to Win Win Win!  Wear your House shirt!  Vote for me everytime!  (Plus, I bet I can talk Katherine into discounting your ticket to Lofty Deeds if you show up.  Eh?  Eh?  Monetary incentives?)

Also, I will take suggestions.  About anything.

Greetings from Peoria!

Dennis Watkins and I (Carolyn Defrin) are currently in rehearsals for PINOCCHIO down at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. Similar to the new works development projects that have happened in partnership with Hope College (Rose and The Rime) and Northwestern University (Girls v. Boys), Dennis and I have had the great opportunity to develop, workshop and now fully realize a production of PINOCCHIO with Bradley students and faculty.

How it came to be
This partnership grew out of a relationship with Bradley faculty member and Chicago actor Steve Snyder. Steve has brought Bradley students to House shows for years. A couple of years ago he invited us to lead a workshop with his students before they came to see The Sparrow. Since then Steve and I have been in talks about how The House might develop a new play with the students and faculty at Bradley. Last October we began this year-long project to bring this idea into fruition. Dennis Watkins was working on an adaptation of PINOCCHIO and I was seeking avenues for how I could grow my artistic career to include directing. All the pieces fell into place with this project, as it would provide both Dennis and I an opportunity to develop our artistic voices in a safe environment with time and resources not always available under The House’s regular production calendar.

PHASE 1

Last October, Dennis and I, along with Artistic Director Nate Allen, went to Bradley to lead a two-day workshop. This was Phase 1 of the project: a time for us to meet the students/faculty, develop ensemble/collaboration skills and introduce Dennis’ work so far on PINOCCHIO.

PHASE 2

In March, 2009, Dennis and I  returned to work with Bradley students and faculty for a week-long retreat in Oregon, IL. This was structured time for us to continue to grow as collaborators, specifically focusing our work on the development of our new telling of PINOCCHIO. We flooded our imaginations with visual research, read the latest draft of the script, talked through the story, put parts of the play up on its feet, and brainstormed impossible staging moments– all to inspire a deconstruction and reconstruction of the story we all know and love.

PHASE 3

Currently Dennis and I are in residence at Bradley through November 15^th rehearsing the production with a 16-member student cast that includes faculty member and House liaison Steve Snyder in the role of Gepeto. Faculty and students are designing the show with company member Kevin O’Donnell writing an original score, and Tommy Rapley offering up some hot swing dance choreography for our marionette show.

The show opens November 5^th and runs through November 15^th with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2:30pm. There will be a special additional performance offered on Monday, November 9^th at 7pm. We hope you’ll join us in Peoria and share in the exciting developmental process that is new work! Find out more about the show and how to get tickets, HERE!

…and stay tuned for more posts coming soon on our version of Pinocchio and our artistic process on the project so far.