Josh Lefkowitz: Back in Baltimore, So "Now What?"

This time last year, Josh Lefkowitz was getting ready to dazzle Baltimore audiences with his first piece, Help Wanted.  (Click link above to see the first interview.)  Shortly after that triumphant opening, I had the chance to sit down with him to discuss his work and the future. 

Well, now the future is here, and just short of a year later, Josh and I spoke again, this time about his new show, which opened this week at CENTERSTAGE, Now What?  As before, he is funny and very open.  It is interesting to see how both the artist and his art have grown in just 12 months. 

James Howard:  "'So, what is next for this enthusiastic 25 year old?'  'Now What? is a tentative title for my next piece.    I have always wanted to make a living performing a one man show.  It is actually happening for me and it is mind numbing and scary.  I worry about a sophomore slump!   I don't want to lose momentum!'" was the final quote of our 2007 interview.  The title remains intact.  Explain how the piece evolved from a "tentative title" to the product currently onstage.

Josh Lefkowitz:  I suppose even when we spoke last year I was already beginning to form the structure and foundation for Now What? – so much so that my time in Baltimore last January briefly makes its way into the new piece  (I won't say how, I don't want to give it away).  But really, from then until now there was just a whole lot of grinding; a lot of writing and rewriting; a lot of hair-pulling; and of course, showing it to people whose opinions I trust, like the Woolly Mammoth staff, and Gavin Witt at CENTERSTAGE  - folks who challenge me to go further when I'd rather be complacent.

  

James:  Is the "making a living" part still as mind numbing?  Scary?  What about that sophomore slump?

Josh:  Well, I've been fortunate to receive positive feedback so far, so it doesn't feel like I'm slumping – though it did take an awful long time to write Now What?  A lot of false starts, I should say.  But I think that's part of this form: you have to wait a bit between shows, live life, gain some experience, before you're ready to share those experiences with an audience.  And as for the "making a living" thing, it's still a desire but it's not the only desire.  I also want to make great art, y'know?  And sometimes those two goals – to make money and to make great art – aren't always synonymous.  But mostly, I just feel extremely lucky to have been able to make it work so far.

  

James:  In what way(s) is Now What? a continuation of Help Wanted?  In what ways does the piece stand on its own?

Josh:  Now What? basically tells the story of what happens when you are able to achieve the thing you set out to do.  How do you keep making work?  How do you move forward from an experience?  Beyond that, there's also a lot of questions about the balance between work and life.  And, the costs that making art can have on the people around you.  It's still an autobiographical monologue, like Help Wanted, and it's primarily comic with touches of deeper stuff, like Help Wanted, but I think (I hope!) it stands on its own by virtue of it being a self-contained story, with its own narrative arc.  Some folks who saw Help Wanted might be familiar with the characters (me, my girlfriend Anika, etc.), but there's a host of new characters and experiences as well, and I certainly tried very hard to keep it from being too-insider-y.

  

James:  Have you ever performed these shows back to back or in repertory?  If so, how was that experience?  If not, is that ever going to be a consideration?

Josh:  Funny you should ask!  I'm working on putting something together like that right now.  Not sure where yet, but there's a couple tentative options on the table, so we'll see.  I think it'd be loads of fun.

  

James:  One of the MANY delights of Help Wanted is the truly universal themes it portrays.  In a recent interview I did with the actresses currently appearing in Joe Turner's Come and Gone, they said that what makes August Wilson's works so universal is its specificity.  Help Wanted was also quite a specific journey.  Do you agree with that assessment?  How does it apply (if it does) to your works, both Help Wanted and Now What?

Josh:  Yeah, I definitely agree with that.  There's a line in Help Wanted about it, in fact, where I'm talking about what we all feel when we come across a great work of art: "That [the artist] had found the balance between specificity and universality, and they had brought it to the light in a seemingly effortless way."  It's the single most important rule when working autobiographically, because if you're not specific enough it just seems generic, but if you get too specific you can alienate your audience.  It's tricky stuff.

  

James:  In our previous interview, you ponder retiring Help Wanted.  Are you there yet?

Josh:  Maybe.  I don't know.  I like the idea of doing 'em both in rep, and I do like telling that first coming-of-age story.  We'll see.

  

James:  You also gave some thought to having someone else perform the piece.  Has that happened?  (If so, describe that experience!)  If you could select anyone to do your works other than yourself who would you let have a go at it?  Why?

Josh:  That hasn't happened yet, but I love the idea.  I'd love to see another actor tackle the material.  And I'd almost it rather be someone young and unknown, so that no one knew what to expect.  Either that, or Robert De Niro; that would be cool, too.

 

James:  What can an audience member who saw Help Wanted expect from Now What? – similarities? Differences?  Can someone who hasn't seen Help Wanted still enjoy Now What?

Josh:  You don't need to have seen Help Wanted to understand and enjoy Now What?  That's something I worked tremendously hard on, trying to balance the flashbacks and the present day stuff, and how much emphasis to put in which sections, and I'm proud to say that the piece explains itself and lives by itself.  That being said, people that enjoyed Help Wanted may be interested to see what's been going on since then, and this will (sort of) answer that question.  It's a deeper story, more personal, and the emotions are much more raw.  It might make you squirm a bit, which I think is a good thing.

 

James:  How has Josh Lefkowitz grown in the past year as a person?  As a writer?  As a performer?

Josh:  I think I'm a more confident writer, and that has allowed me to cool down (somewhat) as a performer.  Help Wanted feels very performative to me, as in, "I just graduated and I want to show off all the cool things I can do!"  It feels very much like a first piece in that way.  Whereas Now What? takes its time; it starts real seductive and voyeuristic, and doesn't launch itself into a manic state until much later.

  

James:  What is next?  A year from now, when I interview you again (lol), where do you hope to be in life, etc.?

Josh:  Oh, geez, I really have no idea.  I just want to be working on something interesting.  I really like the idea of adding other people on stage, but I don't know in what capacity.  What I'd like to do is figure out how to write a play but without losing the intimate connecting-with-the-audience experience that occurs in the solo pieces.  So it's gonna be something I'll have to work on.  But thankfully, I've got some time.

Thanks, Josh!

 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of CENTERSTAGE.  TOP to BOTTOM: Josh Lefkowitz in Help Wanted, photo by Erin Herbert; Now What's Promotional photo; Josh in Now What?, photo by Brittany Harper.

 

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