Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Van Barham

Hi Derek Van, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

Hello! My name is Derek Van Barham. I am the Producing Artistic Director at Kokandy Productions, the Content and Communication Manager at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and a freelance director/choreographer in Chicago.

I moved to Chicago 15 years ago for grad school and to study improv, and I just fell in love with the city. I’m originally from Mississippi, and Chicago has always felt like an expansion of the small town vibe, mixed with healthy doses of hustle and bustle.

I started as a performer, then shifted my artistic focus to directing and choreographing. I also developed a knack for marketing; first, out of necessity, then out of passion. There’s an “all hands on deck” mentality to so much of the storefront theatre scene, and every skill can be an asset. As we’d be producing shows, there would be a need for posters, publicity and written copy… and I found it all to be an extension of our storytelling. We start telling the story of the show when we announce it, and (if we do a good job), we guide the audience into the space and set them up for success. And surprise.

I currently balance my work at Steppenwolf with directing and producing for Kokandy, and taking on projects that really excite me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Oh, ya know. Always a bump or two. I think the biggest struggles were initially internal. Self-doubt, imposter syndrome, comparing my career trajectory to others. There’s no right way to carve a path in the arts, so steps forward can be terrifying.

And for our industry, like so many, the pandemic was a huge blow. The consequences are still resonating. Audience muscles have atrophied. Socializing almost feels like exercise now. It’s been difficult to watch companies close, artists shift paths and our community struggle.

The silver lining (we should always find one, right?) is that it’s led me to really focus on the live experience of theatre. We deal in real space and time. The show is happening in this moment, in this room, with these people. Like concerts, sporting events and parties, we really have the opportunity to offer visceral, invigorating experiences for our audience.

There’s no point in competing with the couch and the TV, bc staying at home tends to win. It does for me, at least. Let’s lets give them something they can’t experience at home.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

This interview has been a fun opportunity to look back and really reflect on what I’ve been up to the past several years. My hope is that the processes of creating the art has been as memorable as the art itself. I hope the artists had as much fun collaborating with me as the audiences have experiencing the shows.

With any show, Kokandy or not, I always look to find the tension between the extremes: the laugh-out-loud moment that leads to the gut punch, or the death rattle that makes you gasp…then giggle. I’ve gravitated toward musicals in recent years, because the sense of heightened reality is attractive. If this is a world where we can sing and dance, what the hell else can we do?

In programming for Kokandy, we’ve settled into a two show season. It tends to be something a bit more whimsical and fun in the summer (Cruel Intentions, The SpongeBob Musical, Alice by Heart) followed by something a bit darker in the fall (Sweeney Todd, American Psycho, Into the Woods). Every show has a season, I think. The way we crave certain foods and drinks during the summer, the same with shows.

I’m grateful to have been able to bring so much of myself to the shows we produce. In the absence of a solid high school theatre program, I feel like my initial training was through the rest of pop culture: movies, music videos, concerts and improv. It helped me develop a language that pulls from horror movies, Spotify playlists, queer culture and all sorts of niche pockets of “have you ever seen _____?”

My hope is that when someone sees a show I’ve worked on, they can recognize little pieces of me, pieces of themselves and pieces of the rest of the team. It’s all collaborative from beginning to end, and we all contribute to that shared moment in time and space: the show is happening right here, right now, with the people in this room.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?

Take it all seriously, but take none of it personally. Theatre is beautiful, transcendent, life-changing art. It’s also a silly bit of pretend. It’s both. It’s always both. It has to be. Remembering that keeps me sane.

And save nights for sitting at home and watching movies with your boo. I do. There’s nothing better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.derekvanbarham.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dvbarham/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derek.v.barham
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/dvbarham?si=ac9b094e6ba64385

Image Credits
Photos by Tyler Core, Evan Hanover and Brave Lux