Announcing the 2017-18 Jerome and Many Voices Fellows! Please help us welcome Jerome Fellows Mia Chung, Jessica Huang, Tim J. Lord, and Tori Sampson; Many Voices Fellows Stacey Rose and Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay; and Many Voices Mentee Julia Gay.
Update, April 28, 2017: Diane Exavier was previously announced as a recipient of the 2017-18 Many Voices Fellowship. Since then, Diane had an exciting opportunity arise that prevents her from becoming a fellow with us.
Jerome Fellows talk about life at “The Wrighthouse” and getting to know Minneapolis
When a playwright receives a Jerome fellowship, they commit to living in Minnesota for a year. Renting a place of one’s own can be pricey, but living with a stranger isn’t always conducive to writing (“It’s cool if I have band practice here tonight, right?”). To solve this problem, three of the 2013-2014 Jerome Fellows decided to get a house together just two miles away from the Playwrights’ Center. Basil Kreimendahl, Sarah Saltwick and Deborah Yarchun have been living in the Loring Park neighborhood since August and writing some killer new plays. We talked to Yarchun and Saltwick (as well as Jerome Fellow Jake Jeppson who lives with his girlfriend Saga and his dog Barney) about what it’s like living here.
Where and when do you like to write?
DY: I prefer writing alone and at home—or, when the weather was still nice, by Lake of the Isles. I mostly go to coffee shops to work on applications.
SS: I write mostly at home. I have a tendency to talk quietly to myself or mouth sentences while I write so writing too much in public does feel strange. Plus I do a lot of staring. I do go to coffee shops when I need a break from my room or to read through a draft.
JJ: For me, isolation breeds sadness, so I'm a pretty social writer. My favorite part of the process is being in the room with collaborators and bouncing my words off of them. I also find that teaching energizes my writing process.
Jake, you had some international adventures this fall. What have you been up to?
JJ: I just got back from a week in Latvia where I saw one my plays performed in Latvian. It was wild, particularly because a lot of the play is about contemporary American politics. I also had a chance to teach playwriting workshops to some Latvian writers. For a little context, in their country of 2 million people, there are 30 playwrights in the professional guild. We have some 10,000 playwrights in the States.
I’ve also been writing a play set in the 1930's when electricity was introduced to rural America. There's an awesome museum and library here in Minneapolis called the Bakken that focuses on the history and science of electricity. The museum is in a beautiful old house that looks out on Lake Calhoun. They have a research library where the curators helped me delve into the history of rural electrification. They've been so helpful, plus I think it's a really cool museum that's perfect for kids. Go check it out!
Sarah and Deborah, do you write or share ideas with your housemates? Do you think you’ve influenced each other at all?
DY: I can’t think of a time where we’ve all ended up writing together, although there have been moments where it’s occurred to me that’s what all three of us are doing in our rooms. We plan on having a weekend where we read through each other’s work. We talk a lot about career related things.
SS: I’m definitely glad to be living with other creative people. I appreciate the support! It’s strange to spend all day at your laptop trying to make imaginary things make sense. Playwriting is an odd and illusive thing, so it’s reassuring to have fellow writers around. So far we’ve talked more about opportunities than our actual work. Maybe we’re still a little shy about it? Even though we’re applying to many of the same contests, it feels supportive, not competitive.
Any stories from the house so far?
SS: We did have a mouse in our house. That was disturbing. And it didn’t eat any of the poison until we put a little quinoa in with it. Sorry, mouse.
DY: We joked at first about starting a YouTube reality show called “The Three Fellows.” In the opening credits, Jake [Jeppson] would be at the window waving his arms. So far the most interesting episodes would probably be us discovering we need kindling to light a fire in the fireplace for s’mores.
SS: Other than that, we’re pretty boring. Maybe we’re trying to keep all the drama on the page.
