DG National Report: Houston by William Duell
L. Robert (“Lonnie”) Westeen is a playwright, actor and director probably best known locally for his one-man play, Cocaine and Ethel Merman: The New Homo Guide, about being openly gay in a small town. When it premiered at the Minnesota Fringe, one reviewer described it as “…defiantly traditional storytelling about coming out, with a tale strong enough at its center, told so well, that it’s compelling for any audience, gay or straight.” I interviewed Lonnie last year soon after he was selected as the playwright-in-residence at Queensbury Theatre.
William Duell: What are your plans as the new Playwright-in-Residence at Queensbury Theatre?
L. Robert Westeen: It’d be hard to tell you all my plans, I’ve been granted this incredible opportunity with few restrictions—sure, the theatre would object to me dropping a cool million on Jelly Babies or mounting a year-long revival of Oh! Calcutta! but, while I do want to focus on creating my own work, I’m also here to give others a chance to learn and grow along with me. For example, in March you and I are hosting a Dramatists Guild Town Hall here and the Dramatists Guild Fund and I are providing a series of Master Classes tailored for the Houston region, and I’m organizing activities I’m calling “the Playwright and the Process.” We’ll bring playwrights, patrons and the community together for talkbacks, readings, special events and meet-andgreets. After March, I focus on getting a new work in development and onto the stage by summer. Come summer as far as I know I’ll be teaching “playwriting crash courses” for ages thirteen and up. My first year is less about me, more about community and other playwrights and seeing their work put up in some form. I think of it, to quote the theatre’s President, J.P. Stevenson, as being “a rising tide that lifts all ships.”
WD: Why did you create Cocaine and Ethel Merman?
LRW: I’m in awe of Hal Holbrook, John Leguizamo, Anna Deavere Smith, Spalding Gray. Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight was my first exposure to a major theatrical event. In sixth grade Holbrook gave an in-school performance in Wausau, Wisconsin. I sat in wonder watching him on stage. He hosted a post-performance talkback where he removed his make-up and discussed his process. I’ll never forget while removing his mustache he said, “now I’m going to use some fingernail remover…no, no not fingernail remover, fingernail polish remover,” not sure why that’s stuck with me… Sorry, tangent! I felt my story could be a guide or an example of survival, thus I put pen to paper. I found a story in me that didn’t need an epic set or huge cast. It was cathartic. I took it to the Minnesota Fringe, on a small tour of Wisconsin, and performed it twice in Houston.
WD: Who were your mentors?
LRW: I hate to say this…I’ve not had a mentor. I made this hot mess all by myself. I’ve found myself surrounded by so many playwrights in the Houston community who have amazing mentorship stories involving Albee, Lanford Wilson, Mark Medoff, and others. For me, the opportunity never presented itself. (Hint, hint, I’m available to be mentored: an eager, youngish mind available for theatrical manipulation. Anyone? Anyone?)
But talk about influences, my influences have been my playwriting group here in Houston, the people who introduced me to theater. My former High School drama teachers/directors, Jerry Hartwig and Margaret Getzin; Mark Adams, an incredible Houston director, no longer with us, who redirected and helped me fine-tune Cocaine and Ethel Merman.
WD: Why are you a playwright? What brought you into our fold?
LRW: When I was fifteen or sixteen, Jerry Hartwig received a call from the YWCA asking if he had a student who could direct their Christmas pageant. He offered me up as the fatted calf, I was much skinnier then. The next day I went there, directed the pageant and pitched a theatre program for underserved youth, and they gave me a paid position and an office. To keep a minimal budget, I wrote most of the plays and curriculum. Due to that work I was nominated for two Golden Rule Awards and the whole thing provoked my hunger to write.
WD: Jase is one of the kindest, most generous people I know.
LRW: Jase is really another miracle in my life, my mother being the first and this residency being another. We married October 3, 2015. Along with him came my in-laws, a bunch of loud and proud Puerto Ricans who I adore. He is my rock, the person I can turn to when I’m stumped with life. He’s gone on the road with me, helped load the show in and out of theatres, acted as a house manager. He’s becoming a theatre person slowly but surely. He gets along famously with my mother, Roberta, and loves her just as much as I do. There’s just not enough I can say about him.
To learn more about Lonnie, check out http://www.lrobertwesteen.com/index.html.
