14 Jun Interview with #BAPF2018 & Resident Playwright Jon Bernson
Jon Bernson is a part of our residency program and our upcoming Bay Area Playwrights Festival. His play When Lighting The Voids will be be read on Sunday 7/22 at 2pm and Friday 7/27 at 8pm. You can buy tickets here.
We invite you to learn more about Jon’s multi-media work from our most recent interview:
When did you write your first play? What was it about & how do you feel about it now?
In 1998, I wrote and self-produced an interactive play called Ray’ Vast Basement which was set in a speakeasy on the Northern California coast. I had about 20 actors playing bartenders, card dealers, fortune tellers, etc. I performed music with my band, the Drakesville Musicians Union. There were scripted events that took place – a bust, a fight, a toast, to name a few – but there was a lot of improvisation as well.
Which of your plays would you most like to revisit?
This year I spent a lot of time on the Gulf Coast, which got me thinking back to that Ray’s Vast Basement play, the songs, and the history behind them. After twenty years, I’m ready to approach that project from a completely different angle.
Which of your plays would you most like to see produced?
I don’t play favorites. They all mean well: Ray’s Vast Basement, PDX to OAK, A Guide to the Aftermath, North by Inferno, Distant Future Symposium, Overnighters is Over, Third Eye Moonwalk.
What are your main influences for your writing?
Like most artists, I’m pulled by the currents of life, often to my own surprise. I follow them to the sea. Or the desert.
Do you have an established writing process, or do you approach each project differently?
An architect once told me that she begins each project by sitting silently at the building site. She observes, is attentive to her senses, and takes notes when finished. That’s become an established part of my process.
Much of your work experiments with unconventional theatrical formats; where do the influences for this type of work come from and what do you aim to achieve?
Necessity is the mother of my process. I don’t try to be unconventional. I take heed of my inner Quixote and do my best to give a project what it needs. If I don’t know how to do something, there’s always a YouTube video. The result is usually handmade, which speaks to that unconventional side effect you mentioned.
How does your work as a musician, filmmaker, and sound designer tie into your work as a playwright?
I put the story first. Without a story that has something meaningful to say, the words, notes, or images are just raw materials. Why use certain ones over others? My work in different disciplines has given me a few alternatives to language; sometimes a different medium is more effective at conveying the same message.
Which other playwrights have inspired you?
Over the past four years, I’ve received a lot of inspiration from the other RPI playwrights. Exposure to their new work has been an education and a gift, plus a few other true cliches.
What is your favorite play written by another playwright?
Under Milk Wood – Dylan Thomas
What was your catalyst for writing When Lighting The Voids?
Jennifer Gollan from Reveal / Center for Investigative Reporting wrote about this story a few years ago. Jennifer Welch, the Artistic Director of StoryWorks, saw its potential as a play and commissioned the project. Last month, she directed workshop productions in Biloxi, Mississippi, the closest city to the Gulf Coast shipyards.
Where does your interest in real-life stories come from?
It takes a lot of imagination to bring reality to the stage.
What are you hoping to learn from When Lighting The Voids appearing in #BAPF2018?
Having been in close contact with the real life subjects this past year, I feel assured that the play is an authentic representation of their experiences, which is always my greatest concern when portraying people. At BAPF, I’m interested in seeing how Voids strikes audiences who may have no connection to this industry, culture, or way of life. Will it speak to them? Will the play convey what moves me? Also, I’m really looking forward to learning from Lauren English (Director), Roweena Mackay (Dramaturg), the actors, and the other playwrights.
What do you want audiences to take away from your work?
“Although the worker is an autonomous, self-realized human being, as an economic entity this worker is directed to goals and diverted to activities that are dictated by the bourgeoisie—who own the means of production—in order to extract from the worker the maximum amount of surplus value in the course of business competition among industrialists.” – Karl Marx
Which other #BAPF2018 play are you most excited to see? And why?
I don’t play favorites. They all mean well.
What do you consider the major milestones of your artistic career?
Learning to write, play music, record, mix, film, and edit. I have a ton to learn, but achieving basic levels of competency in these areas has felt pretty milestonic.
What has been your most ambitious undertaking as an artist?
Aside from supporting a family in San Francisco, the following never-ending projects: Vessel XII, Ray’s Vast Basement, Third Eye Moonwalk.
What has been the most productive aspect of being a PF Resident Playwright?
The tangible opportunities that RPI has provided: writing retreats, a family of writers, 2017 staged readings of Third Eye Moonwalk, and of course, Amy Mueller’s experience, belief, and mentorship.
What’s next?
Third Eye Moonwalk – an audio-video installation at The Growlery‘s beautiful enclave in the Haight (opening 6/16 Saturday 7-10 pm). Last year, I shared the script for this interdisciplinary piece at the Playwrights Foundation stage readings at Stanford University / Custom Made Theatre and then recorded all the dialogue / music for the audio drama. In October, the pieces will all come together at Minnesota Street Project. Come see the middle. The valley. The tropical island layover.
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