Jenna Langbaum, a Dramatic Writing alumna from the 2014 Spring at Tisch program, had her play The Night of Blue and Salt featured in this year's FringeNYC festival, which wrapped last week. Jenna took some time to share her Spring at Tisch experience with us and discussed how it has influenced her since.
Jenna Langbaum
You attended our Spring at Tisch program in 2014. How did you find out about the program? What drew you to Tisch and New York City?
At Hamilton, I was a Creative Writing and Theatre double major and I wanted an "abroad" program that was going to expand and strengthen my passion in writing and theatre. I found out about the Semester at Tisch program from a fellow Theatre major at Hamilton. He completed the program for film. I discovered there was a dramatic writing opportunity and I thought it could be a way to have a unique and exciting educational experience, one very different than Hamilton. I loved the idea of focusing on dramatic writing, an area I always wanted to further explore.
Please tell us about your projects and collaborations as a Spring at Tisch Dramatic Writing student.
As a Spring at Tisch Dramatic Writing student, I took courses in playwriting, screenwriting, and acting. I acted in short films created by other Spring at Tisch students. I wrote the first 40 pages of a movie and a one act play. I had two very strong writing pieces at the end of the semester and I gained the core fundamentals of dramatic writing.
Were there any experiences or opportunities you had during your time at Tisch you wouldn't have had at your home school?
Attending a program in NYC offers incredible opportunities. We were able to read a Caryl Churchill play and then attend the play days later. Hamilton is located in Clinton, NY, a charming rural town that I really came to love over the course of four years. However, there was something truly amazing about the accessibility of art and the endless inspiration of NYC, especially in thinking of theatre.
Image Courtesy of Jenna Langbaum
Your play The Night of Blue and Salt is at FringeNYC this summer. Could you tell us about this play and what it's like being a part of this multi-arts festival?
The Night of Blue and Salt follows WIFE and MAN, a couple whose young love rusts into a seemingly hopeless fate. WIFE, full of magic and manic, longs to be a writer, often speaking in lines of Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. MAN, full of knowledge and numbers becomes a surgeon, speaking mostly in medical jargon and statistics. When WIFE and MAN endure the tragedy of losing their baby girl, their lack of communication is ultimately their greatest downfall.
Written in the style of Theatre of the Absurd and riddled with dark humor, WIFE gradually dismantles the shackles of domesticity and a loveless marriage to be the dramatic feminist ingénue she always longed to be. FringeNYC offers the opportunity for emerging artists to display their work in off-broadway theater in NYC. I interned at the Fringe Festival the summer of 2013, and, after I wrote the play, I would daydream about submitting the piece to the festival. I applied on a whim, and I got in! I couldn’t be more excited!
What other projects are you working on? What's next for Jenna?
I wrote a collection of poetry at Hamilton and I am currently working on editing it. I hope something really great is next for Jenna!
As a writer, have you ever had an "Aha!" moment? When was it and how did it change you or your writing?
I often use this website 750words.com which is a website designed for writers to commit to write 750 words a day. I found it easier than a journal because the words would free flow on and on to make the word count. I had an "Aha!" moment my sophomore year at Hamilton as I sifted through my previous entries on 750words.com. I never took the time to look back on what I previously wrote. I discovered an entirely new style of writing, one full of lists, stream of consciousness, and a sense of freedom. I now use this style in creating everything I write. Also, it was on one of my original entries that I wrote on the website about a woman in a leopard coat smoking cigarettes by her pool, the very image that The Night of Blue and Salt was based after. I believe it is always important to review your old writing, sometimes you leave clues for your future self!
Spring at Tisch is a full-time, semester-long program open to matriculated sophomores, juniors, and seniors from other colleges and universities. Applications for spring 2017 are due September 15. Visit the Spring at Tisch website for more information and to apply.