We were lucky to catch up with Erika Jenko recently and have shared our conversation below.

Erika, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

When I lived in New York, I paid my bills by being a porter for “Circle in the Square Theatre.” I had the opportunity to work at the theatre as their programming truly took off and they were putting up shows like “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” and “Fun Home.” It was a venue created to truly build art. To build something so completely different from what was going up on Broadway at the time. And I was the porter.

If you asked me on a good day, a porter is a person who holds the keys to a Broadway Theatre. They are the first one in. Last one out. They are the caretaker of the building. If you asked me on a bad day, I would say that I was the girl who cleaned the toilets. I spoke to Jeanine Tesori for the first time on one of the bad days. “Fun Home” was getting ready to go into previews. There was electricity in the air. A lot of racing about. I was polishing the box office vestibule. I don’t think I had looked at myself in the mirror for weeks. The commute from Crown Heights was eating me alive. I was working tech calls first thing in the morning. I was hunched over my desk late at night writing. Determined to never have an excuse. Determined to continue to have at least one show I wrote going up at any given time. I was turning into an exhausted monster of a human. I got my daily adrenaline rush from fighting with the coffee vendor outside the theatre as I begged him for iced coffee and he insisted that it was too cold outside for iced coffee. Anyway, in this moment, I was a very tired playwright who didn’t feel like a playwright at all. I felt like I was sitting so adjacent to a world I wanted to be a part of. And I felt completely invisible. Until Jeanine Tesori spoke to me.

Jeanine was the composer for “Fun Home.” A show that sits somewhere in my soul. It is a perfect show. It was that time right before previews where everyone was mega-focused yet trying to carve out 2 seconds to themselves. Jeanine sat next to me. She asked me what I did. I told her I’m the porter and asked her if she needed anything. She immediately said, “No, I mean, what do you do?” I hesitated for a moment. I didn’t want to be that asshole. The person who says aloud what they’re trying to do to a person who is already thriving. But I felt seen in that moment. And I felt earnest when I told her, “I’m a playwright.” She told me to keep writing. To keep doing it. The theatre was filling up with electricity. There was so much to do. So many other priorities. And she used her 2 seconds to tell me to keep going. And even though I hadn’t looked at myself in the mirror…even though I hated myself in this moment in time and couldn’t look at myself. She saw me. She knew how hard it was. She knew that everyone needs a support system. A mentor. Someone to see them. I will forever be grateful that she saw me.

When it came time for the Tony Awards, Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron won the Tony for Best Original Score and Lisa Kron won for Best Book. It was an incredible moment for women to be seen. And CBS decided not to air their speeches. The speeches were instead played as snippets during commercial breaks. In the acceptance speech for Best Original Score, Tesori said the following:

“For girls, you have to see it to be it. We stand on the shoulders of other women who came before us.”

The speech took me back to my place sitting on the couch awaiting previews. Awaiting the beginning of a show that would change Broadway. Awaiting the moment where I would finally look at myself in the mirror and win the argument that had bullied my mind up until that moment. I am a playwright. I am seen. And I will continue to see others.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m the Creative Director and owner of “Windy Hallows,” a theatrical production company creating original plays based on themes of mental health.

I’ve always been a theatre kid. I was acting at the Music Theatre of Southern California while I was still in high school and I continued acting in mainstage productions in college as well as competing with theatrical pieces for my college’s speech team. In my 20’s, I wanted to tell my own story. I started small by writing my own audition monologues, and that grew into writing and directing my own plays. As an indie theatre maker, I learned everything I possibly could. Fundraising, Location Scouting, Casting, Prop Design. I love all of it. The adventure has allowed me to produce theatre in NYC, Chicago, Boise and LA and I’ve been truly lucky to work with creatives across the country.

As Creative Director for Windy Hallows, my focus is to create stories for the stage not only based on themes of mental health, but to explore storytelling that resonates with children. It is crucial to tell the difficult stories. The stories of coming into your own. The joy and pain that comes from all of it. Young audiences deserve to see their stories unfold on a stage.

Recent Accomplishments:

“Up Here, Down There” – partnered with The Count’s Den in DTLA to create a stunning immersive experience inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

“The Firefly Web” – Winner – Best Production & Best Director (SheLA Theater Festival 2022)

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Space. Space. Space.

For artists, this means a lot of different things and all are equally important.

Space to breathe. Making a living wage so that you can carve out the time to create. Having the time to stare at a wall. Listen to music, without having to cram the need for space after a long work week. Providing more opportunities for artist’s residencies without artist fees/expenses, impossible application processes, etc.

Space to create. Most indie theater makers don’t have the budget to pay thousands of dollars to rent a space. They will never make the profit needed to get the next production on its feet. Spaces (especially unique/experimental spaces) need to start considering partnering with theatre artists and bringing back door splits. Opportunities to bring programming into their space and a feasible opportunity for indie producers to get their foot in the door.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I wake up at 5am every single day to write before going to my full-time job. Non-creatives like to view my writing as a hobby especially because it doesn’t pay the bills. They don’t see the hours upon hours I put into writing weekly. How I write when I don’t feel good. How I write when I feel hopeless. How it takes all of those hours and hours to write a show and re-write a show that might see a stage in a couple years. And how when that show makes it to the stage how I’ll be putting in at least 30 hours a week rehearsing and bringing that story to life outside of the full-time job. Being creative is a full-time job. It is not a hobby. Hobbies are fleeting interests.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.windyhallows.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/windyhallows
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-jenko-57b974253
• Other: www.erikajenko.com

Image Credits
Sophia Goodin, photographer (the 1st 3 production photos from “The Firefly Web”) Rachel Leah Adams, photographer (the 2 Alice photos)