Directing Thesis Interview: Cabaret
Musical Classic Cabaret Finds New Meaning in Jonathan Seinen’s Third-Year Director’s Thesis
Current student Jonathan Seinen ‘20 directs Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret. In his production, Seinen reimagines the iconic Kit Kat Klub as a space of Queer Utopia. Using Oscar Wilde’s concept, “A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at,” Seinen directs a heartfelt ode to the queer community. We sat down to hear more about his vision.
Why did you decide to do this particular production for your thesis project?
I wanted to do a musical because that would be an exciting challenge for me. Having worked extensively in performer-created work and in script based ‘straight’ plays, I was inspired by living in the United States for the past two years and the prevalence and cultural relevance of musicals in the theatre scene. I was drawn to this musical specifically because its structure is one that allows it to speak to the unique specifics of late Weimar Era Berlin and also as a metaphoric interrogation of our own times. It also felt like an exciting opportunity to engage in dialogue with this text and find new resonances and that is what we have been able to do.
What do you hope the audience will get out of the performance?
I want the audience to have a glimpse of Queer Utopia. We are excited to present a reading of the piece that provides an opportunity to see what it is that we are in danger of losing, both in the face of contemporary political realities and also with the approaching climate catastrophe. By creating a space that is so full of life and potential, the hope is that an audience is able to therefore imagine beyond the here and now toward a ‘there and then’. In this regard, I have been greatly inspired by José Esteban Muñoz’s book Cruising Utopia.
What is the most exciting part about this project?
The most exciting part is going into rehearsal every day. We have an amazing group of people who are all invested in the vision for the production. There is a great sense of community already in the rehearsal process, and I hope this translates into a theatre experience that is also welcoming and expansive. I am grateful to have found a company of artists who really get what it is we’re doing. There’s really nothing better.
What has been a crucial lesson from your training?
I would say that my time at Columbia has been about gaining confidence in my practice as a director, and then about deepening my engagement with the material on a personal level. I think the most crucial lesson is that I am enough, and that if I bring myself to my work fully, this will create the context for my collaborators to do the same. It’s also been crucial to learn that it is okay to say “I don’t know.” Especially with working on this musical, I kept saying to my collaborators: “I’m here to learn.”
Tell us something you found surprising about the process of this production?
I have been surprised at both the rigor and flexibility of the text. Because our approach demands that certain aspects of the play turn 180 degrees from where they usually are, we have had to ensure that the text can support these adjustments. And it does! But at the same time, the text keeps revealing layers of meaning and storytelling beyond what I first glimpsed. This has been especially useful in regards to my own growing appreciation of musicals.
What is your philosophy for directing?
My interest in directing is to craft human behavior and moments between people on stage in a metaphorical context so that it is simultaneously recognizable and revelatory. I believe in the power of theatre to transform perspectives and ignite the imagination, and at this time in human history, I believe we need to find the means to imagine beyond our present circumstances to find solutions to our present dilemmas. For this production of Cabaret, I believe theatre must be a place where we can glimpse the world in which we want to live, and for me that is radically welcoming, full of understanding across difference, and grounded in a strong sense of community feeling.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
That’s a tough one. I’d say hopefully continuing to make work that I believe in with both new and long-term collaborators who identify in all sorts of ways. I’d like to work internationally, so staying connected here in New York, back home in Canada, and also abroad is very interesting to me, as I think we need global connections to deal with the challenges of our times. But I’d also love a home someday, so hopefully moving towards finding myself a community in which to live and where I feel I can be of service.
Jonathan Seinen is a third-year MFA Theatre Directing student at Columbia University, where he has also directed Our Town, Measure for Measure and The Seagull. Before moving to New York, Jonathan was based in Canada, where he produced and directed classics and new works, including the Dora Award Nominated Iphigenia and the Furies (On Taurian Land) (Saga Collectif) and Black Boys (Buddies In Bad Times Theatre/Saga Collectif), Deathwatch (lemonTree/Toronto Pride), Hamlet (Swallow-A-Bicycle), and The Visit (University of Alberta), among others. He has been an Assistant Director at the Stratford Festival (Timon of Athens) and the National Arts Centre (The Sound of Music), as well as an actor at theatres across Canada such as the Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, the Citadel Theatre, and Theatre Calgary.