JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to
EVELYN LONG: A project I completed recently was Omen: The Musical in the 2019 Toronto Fringe. It was a show about the impending climate apocalypse our world is facing and followed a band of witches trying to reverse it. We had a sold out run and won the Patron Pick award for our venue. For me it’s very important to talk about current issues affecting our world. The climate crisis was something I and my Co-creator Marley Kajan felt hasn’t been covered in much theatre or art yet especially in more commercial productions. We also focus our work on female stories and creating dynamic roles for women in theatre because there is a lack of depth in many female roles. I am currently working on a musical about the story of Medusa, with an all-female cast. The story revolves about the Me-Too movement and different female perspectives of surviving within the patriarchy. I think telling female stories from female perspectives with primarily female casts is very important. So many great female stories have been told with men in the driver’s seat and led to watered down versions of these amazing women. Having a safe and empowering environment for the characters and actresses portraying them leads to an amazing powerful energy behind these stories.
JS: How did doing these projects change you as a person and as a creator?
EL: I have had to become very politically and socially aware. I am constantly researching current events and trying to understand different viewpoints. It’s important to me to have well rounded heroes and villains in all my shows and really show the inner conflicts behind every person no matter their choices and actions. I try to extend the same grace I have towards my characters to my actors. Knowing every person comes into the room with different insecurities, talents and baggage really helps create a loving and safe environment to do the work. People also want to be involved in work that they think is important, so I’ve been able to surround myself with likeminded artists which has improved my general quality of life.
JS: What might others not understand or appreciate about the work you produce or do?
EL; On rare occasions I get a job where I just have to wear one hat (Director, Stage manager, producer etc.) but usually I am juggling many responsibilities. I’ve had to learn how to do marketing, set building, costume design, lighting design and many more things to put on shows. Every job I do saves money and allows me to more adequately compensate my team members. I know there are tons of artists within Toronto who are pulling 2-3 full time jobs worth of work for every production they put on and I think that’s such a commendable task.
JS: What are the most important parts of yourself that you put into your work?
EL: Kindness and humility. I think every actor out there has had an experience that left them with a sour taste in their mouth after a show and I never want to be the reason for that. I want to foster safe creative spaces where people feel free to truly explore the extent of their talents. I do ask a lot of my actors physically, mentally and emotionally, so when they know they’re being respected and honored I get to see the most amazing work from them. We’re giving each other gifts at every rehearsal and it’s the most humbling experience for both sides.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
EL: I am very headstrong when it comes to certain things. I demand respect from everyone I work with no matter their age, gender or experience. Respect is essential for my rehearsal room. When I feel myself or anyone else on my team isn’t being honored in that way it’s hard for me to let that go. I also have had times where I was looked down upon or disregarded because of my age or gender and I don’t react softly to that. I will stand my ground even if it may damage my reputation with those people, but in my opinion those types of artists are not ones you want to continue working with.
JS: Imagine that you are meeting two or three people, living or dead, whom you admire because of their work in your form of artistic expression. What would you say to them and what would they say to you?
EL: Barbra Streisand would definitely be my go-to. She really gave breath to a wonderful type of female character. She showed me the types of roles I would want to play and the types of women I wanted to see in media. I hardly know what I’d even say she’s completely iconic- Thank you for helping an awkward, weird little gangly girl with a loud voice find out how powerful it could be. And then I hope she would just sing to me and I would cry and maybe we’d even hug if the mood was right.
Mindy Kaling would be my second. She wears many hats and saw a lack of roles for herself so she created them. I would ask her about balancing the joy she brings to her work with the quality of content and the constant stream of ideas. I just think it’s remarkable. I can only imagine she’d respond with a quirky joke or two and then unleash the secret of the universe for me.
Lastly, I would tell Michael Reinhart who was the biggest influence on my craft and the biggest help starting me off in my career how much that meant to me and how much I love his practice and methods and how good he is for the theatre community. And then he’d call me a nerd and we wouldn’t talk for a month.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life that helped to make you who you are as a creative artist.
EL: Going to school for Triple Threat Performance. I loved musical theatre so much growing up and you only ever really see the performance aspect of that. So, I decided I was going to be on Broadway. Unfortunately, I cannot dance and suffer from severe stage fright but the program had so many wonderful aspects that allowed me to explore other avenues. I fell in love with directing and found my passion for strong female performers because the school was full of them.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about your life as a person in the arts?
EL: My family cannot keep track of what I’m doing. I’m currently directing and doing lighting design for a festival, writing a show, stage managing a fringe show, directing a fringe show and writing music for a fringe show, producing a show, curating a festival and doing an emerging artists roundtable. And I still have time to play too many video games. It’s a constant balancing act with different jobs that are nearly impossible to explain to people not aware of the arts. My grandma still asks me if I’m performing in this show and the answer is eternally no.
JS: Please tell us what you haven’t attempted as yet that you would like to do in the arts? Why the delay so far?
EL: I would like to pull the triple threat feat of writing, performing in and producing a one woman show. I have to get over my stage fright and have faith my story is worth telling but I’m sure one day I’ll do it most likely because I’ll be bored.
JS: If you could re-live your life in the arts, how would you change it and why?
EL: I wouldn’t. I’m learning more every day and constantly moving onward and upwards. If I changed anything, I would lose an aspect of my craft.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
EL: New styles of musical theatre- Especially stuff coming out of Edmonton. Hadestown and Nevermore that both originated in Edmonton are two of my favorite theatre soundtracks. Knowing that different types of musical are succeeding on bigger venues is very exciting for me because I like making a very odd brand of theatre. I love seeing more inclusion of different types of people in the arts and that we’re seeing more diverse casting and crews all over. I don’t find it depressing but I’m excited for more mainstream media to catch up and more accurately represent the society it’s performing for. The main thing that does bother me is people who say they support marginalized groups but continue to hire people who are known abusers, racists or have platforms promoting hate. If those companies fix themselves, everyone can have a safe space to create art.
JS: What exactly do you like about the work you create and/or do?
EL: I talked about giving gifts in our rehearsals, sharing skills with one another in a safe space to create something beautiful. The lifted version of human connection with the goal of creation. It’s beyond any conversation or night out at the bar or anything like that- creating art with amazing people is the greatest joy in my life.
JS: In your creative life thus far, what have been the most helpful comments you have heard about your work?
EL: “If you like nuance- this isn’t for you.” That was from a review and really taught me two things 1. Work on nuance in my directing and 2. Not everything you make is for everyone.
“Everything on stage has to have a purpose and a meaning” That was said to me by Michael Reinhart after I put a dumb box on stage for no reason except to hold things. Everything you put on a stage the audience wants to give meaning to so make sure everything that happens is completely thought out.
JS: Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising things about you?
EL: I think that I (and everyone else) really has a limitless well of things they can learn. I love to learn new things, ideas and skills. I’ve taught myself how to do sound design, lighting, how to sew, knit, braid, play piano etc. If I want to learn it I can- I may take a minute- but if you really set your mind to something you can learn it. In the same vein how much I can get done in a day. I’ve definitely had times where I’ve gotten a handful of last-minute tasks and I’ve ever had a show where everything wasn’t done on time. I wasn’t this type of person who tried really hard or had good time management skills a couple years ago, but my craft has turned me into a productive competent person.
