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[0:00] Robert Bannon: We love Canada, our neighbors. I'm in Detroit right now. I'm looking at Canada. It's beautiful over there, much more beautiful than here. And I'm so excited for you and this incredible new project and run that has come. Are you ready, everybody? If you have nothing to do, which you don't, from September 10th to October 10th, 32 performances right there at 59 East 59 Theaters, it's time for you all to see a brand new premiere. And you got to tell me about Lean. Tell me about Lean with the writer, the playwright, Stephen Sheffer is here at The Roundtable. Welcome to the show.

[1:06] Stephen Sheffer: Thank you, Robert. The play is called Lean-To. Do you want to do that part again or should I just keep going?

[1:14] Robert Bannon: No, I want you to tell me. Correct me, please. What is Lean-To?

[1:17] Stephen Sheffer: Well, a Lean-To is a rustic shelter that one would find in the middle of the woods. They're pretty specific to the Northeast. There's a ton of them in the Catskills and the Adirondacks. And it's a three-wall structure, typically made of logs. And it is a shelter in the middle of the woods.

[1:35] Robert Bannon: Really? Have you been in one?

[1:37] Stephen Sheffer: I've been in a million.

[1:39] Robert Bannon: For real?

[1:40] Stephen Sheffer: Yeah. So the play is called Lean-To and it's about three hikers who spend a night together at a rustic Lean-To shelter in the middle of the forest. And the play is based on my experience spending a night at a rustic Lean-To shelter in the middle of the forest with two strangers.

[1:57] Robert Bannon: Did it have a good ending or a sad ending?

[2:01] Stephen Sheffer: Well, you're going to have to come see the play to find out.

[2:04] Robert Bannon: I was going to say something else, but then I didn't want... Never mind.

[2:08] Stephen Sheffer: Wait, what were you going to say?

[2:10] Robert Bannon: I was going to say a happy ending, but that is a whole other connotation depending on...

[2:16] Stephen Sheffer: We're going to find out.

[2:17] Robert Bannon: Well, I'm not going to say that that doesn't happen.

[2:21] Stephen Sheffer: Did you have a moment with a stranger in a rustic Lean-To cabin somewhere?

[2:26] Robert Bannon: Buy a ticket, everybody. Now I'm sold. Steven, this is a soap opera and I'm here for it. What made you want to write this? When did the idea hit you that it was a play?

[2:33] Stephen Sheffer: Well, okay. Let's just also say that the experience that I had with the strangers at the Lean-To shelter was just the seed for what became the play called Lean-To. And what made me want to write it? Well, I'm a big outdoors person. I spent a lot of time in the woods and I really love being in the forest and spending time in the natural world. And part of what I want to do with the play is bring a little slice of the forest to Manhattan and remind all of us that we are connected to a larger fabric of being.

[3:09] Robert Bannon: That is beautiful.

[3:10] Stephen Sheffer: Yeah, you know, the natural world is around us all the time. I think sometimes, especially in the city, we forget, you know, we forget that we are a part of nature. I think a lot of times we think of ourselves as being separate from the natural world as opposed to connected to the natural world. You know, Times Square, 400 years ago, was a red maple swamp full of beaver dams. And it's not a distant memory. The natural world is around us all the time. And that's part of what the play is about. Connection with the natural world, connection with yourself and connection with others.

[3:45] Robert Bannon: I mean, in hindsight, knowing what Times Square is now, maybe they should have kept it with the beavers.

[3:50] Stephen Sheffer: I know.

[3:52] Robert Bannon: So that is fascinating. It's a good reminder. You know, I grew up in New Jersey and I always said what saved me living two miles from New York City is, you know, I had a backyard with a tree and a squirrel and a bird. And, you know, there is something about even in a metropolis, even in a city, even in a very dense neighborhood, there's nature and beauty everywhere. And it's a good reminder that we need to protect that. When did you know that you were a writer?

[4:17] Stephen Sheffer: Oh, gosh, that's such a great question. I've been writing for a really long time at this point. And I've been doing theater since I was a little kid. And I kind of wear different hats. You know, I'm a performer. I'm a writer. I'm a teaching artist. I do improv. I'm a singer. So I've always been a creative person my whole life. And I, you know, focus my energy in different ways at different times. But I feel most at home in theater and in a theater and in the world of theater.

[4:51] Robert Bannon: If you are a fan and want to know more about Steven, you can go to his website, which the link is below, and all of that fun stuff. Plus, you are a founding member of the Dirty Little Secrets Improv Show, which has been running for 11 years in the East Village.

[5:04] Stephen Sheffer: Yeah, yeah. I mean, there was a little gap there in the middle during COVID. But yeah, we've been doing the show. We've been doing the show in the East Village for, yeah, 11 years this fall.

[5:15] Robert Bannon: So how do you describe your job and your life? Like, are you just a writer, an artist, a performer? Like, who are, what, if I met you and said, what do you do for a living, what do you say?

[5:25] Stephen Sheffer: Multi-hyphenate?

[5:28] Robert Bannon: Yes, like Beyoncé.

[5:30] Stephen Sheffer: That's right, Steven.

[5:31] Stephen Sheffer: Yeah, I mean, yeah, I think I would say, yeah.

[5:35] Robert Bannon: Sorry, what were you going to say?

[5:38] Stephen Sheffer: I said, I think that's exactly what you are. We don't have to be one thing in this world. We can be many things.

[5:44] Stephen Sheffer: Right, exactly. I would say that I'm a multi-hyphenate, and I have a pretty specific voice, you know. The description that 59E59 wrote of the play, I think, is really accurate. They talk about how the play is part tender drama and part comedy. And I would say that my voice as an artist is definitely that. You know, I like to think of myself as a comedic person, and I also like to think that I have some, you know, quote unquote bigger ideas to share as well. And I try to blend the two so that, you know, folks can experience the catharsis of laughter, and also perhaps the catharsis of being moved emotionally. That would be my ideal scenario.

[6:30] Robert Bannon: Well, the world is a crazy place where it's probably, it's on fire as we speak. It's a wild rodeo we're in. Why is it important that people continue to support art, especially art off-Broadway, especially original art? What is your goal and hope for the people who come see this show?

[6:49] Stephen Sheffer: Wow, okay, well, you know, maybe a little bit of backstory kind of leading into an answer to the question. I remember during COVID, which is when I wrote this play, you know, first of all, like a lot of us, you know, I was cooped up at home in my apartment in Brooklyn, and I was starting to feel a little tired of staring at the wall and staring at my screens. And I wanted to get out and feel like I was a part of the world. And that's when I went on the hiking trip that ended up inspiring this play. During COVID as well, I remember thinking and feeling, you know, wow, here's an opportunity for us as a human species, as a global human species to unite around a shared existential threat. And that hope dimmed, you know, sadly, pretty quickly.

You know, I think the dream that I had that we as a human species would be able to direct our energy as a group towards, well, first COVID, and then let's take on the environment next is sort of what I was thinking. That obviously didn't happen. And we've emerged into a more fractured world and a more fractured landscape, right? I think we can all kind of agree that that's what's been happening in the wake of COVID. And I think what theatre does better than any other art form is put people together into a communal feeling. You know, we get to be transported and imagined into a new reality all together at the same time, without media in our hands, without screens in our hands. Obviously, we're not allowed to have phones in the theatre, right?

And that's a rare thing these days, that people share an experience together at the same time. And, you know, have that communal feeling. And I think that there is a great power in that. And I hope that through this play, you know, I was talking about before, that I can remind people that we are a part of a larger fabric of being, you know, and yes, okay, fine. A play probably isn't going to stop the next wildfire or stop the next wetland destruction, but perhaps it can remind people to tap into that sense of wonder, that sense of awe about that, you know, of the fact that we are, yeah, living beings connected in a way that is part of our birthright, in a sense. I know, kind of a big idea, right?

[9:15] Stephen Sheffer: It won't... No, there won't be human beings without our planet and without the world and without trees and flowers. I mean, it sounds dramatic, but it's not. It sounds... This is not just some, you know, snowflake-y conversation, even though I am... You know, this is about the future and about the world around us, not even the future, the today, right now. Art, do you feel, as an environmentalist, and are you somebody who, you know, you spend a lot of time hiking and being out in the world and in nature, what is the benefit of it for you personally? Why is that a part of who you are?

[9:49] Stephen Sheffer: Well, I grew up in a very outdoorsy family. And everybody in my family is really into the outdoors. So I grew up with this type of skill set. So I'm very lucky in that regard, that I have the skills to be able to go out there and get into the natural world and survive out there. And I love to do that. And I think part of it is because it does this thing that I'm describing that I hope I can translate through the play, which is feel connected to the world and to myself in a way that I don't always at home. You know, like looking at the beauty of nature in all of its balance and chaos, that those two contradictions can coexist, is something that I feel can also be captured through art and through theatre. And then sprinkle in some humour and some, the foibles of human relationships. And I hope that people can see themselves through those relationships and through that story and then connect to this larger, larger idea that we are connected.

[10:57] Stephen Sheffer: Tell me a little bit about that.

[10:59] Robert Bannon: Go ahead, please.

[11:00] Stephen Sheffer: Well, I was just going to say, yeah, you know, like I said before, I don't think a play is necessarily going to stop the next environmental crisis. But if, you know, 3,000 people come through to see Lean-To...

[11:09] Robert Bannon: Brings Lean-To to The Roundtable!

[11:39] Robert Bannon: Steven, in my head, what's beyond that is a bear, and that's why I'm scared to be in the lean-to with you. But if you're there with a taser or something to protect me, I'll think about it. I'm married to a black cowboy. That's what I say. He is ready to camp and sleep out in a tent in the backyard, and I am looking for room service. So I'm trying, Steven. I'm trying, okay? I'm going to try. I'm going to try. So I love this show. The characters aren't all super outdoorsy. One of them is super outdoorsy. One of them is want-to-be outdoorsy, and the other is not very outdoorsy at all. So I think that there are multiple points of entry into how the characters relate to the world in which they find themselves.

Awesome. I love the idea that you can get a ticket, everybody, for less than $60 in New York City and see a big, beautiful production, and that's a rarity in New York. When theater is outpricing it, people don't have the funds and ability to go see art. So what does it mean for you that this theater company is trying to keep the ticket prices as affordable as possible so people can access it without mortgaging their house?

[15:08] Stephen Sheffer: I think it's incredible. Yeah. I love theater, and I prioritize going to see theater. That's my number one activity and the thing that I pinch my pennies in order to be able to do. But I understand, you know, there's a million things that people could be doing and that people could be spending their money on, and I do think it's really, really cool that 59E59 has shows that are on the more affordable side of theater tickets out there in New York these days. So really excited to be affiliated with them, to be presenting there. Honored, really. And yeah, I'm stoked for people to come on out and check it out.

[15:44] Robert Bannon: I'm excited for people to come on out and check it out as well. So for you, as the writer of this, what's it feel like to give your baby to these actors? It's in their hands now, and the director. What is your job now? Are you a word-perfect guy? Are you sitting there with the script, or are you watching it in wonderment, or are you nervous? How do you feel? What's it feel like to hand this off?

[16:05] Stephen Sheffer: It feels great to hand it off. You know, I really love collaboration, and that's one of the things that I love the most about theater is that sense of family that emerges amongst the group who's putting the show on. You know, I'm not writing novels. I'm writing plays, and the reason I'm writing plays is because I want that filter of the other artists' perspectives, you know? One thing that I had a realization during the rehearsal process, and this is kind of deep, and I also think it's kind of cool, but you know, in dream analysis, or at least in some dream analysis, it is said that anyone who appears in your dream is you, and I feel the same way about writing sometimes, like all the characters are me, or pieces of me, and then at a certain point in the rehearsal process, I started to feel, oh, and now I'm starting to see, it felt like a handoff.

It's like, oh, I'm seeing the actors kind of pick up these pieces of me and make them their own as they should and as I want them to, and that's part of the filter that I'm talking about. Same with the director. You know, it's like I'm looking at this work through so many different lenses because there's so many parts of myself in it, and the director has helped, you know, filter the piece to refine what it is, what are the objects of focus in the material. It's really cool, but yeah, it's nerve-wracking. It's really nerve-wracking to watch it. You know, I'm a performer too, and I get nervous to perform as well, but I think they're kind of, you know, the same, the nervousness arising from the same place. You know, I get nervous because I care. You know, I think we get nervous when we care, and yeah, of course I care, so it makes sense that I'm nervous.

[17:48] Robert Bannon: I was going to say, if you didn't get nervous, you wouldn't care, and this is obviously, it's personal, it's your baby, and now people, and you give it to the world, and that's your gift, and we need, artists are documenting the future. It's the most noble profession to be able to write something that can help change the zeitgeist, and energy, and environment of the world we live in, and that's what you do, and how incredible is that?

[18:09] Stephen Sheffer: Thank you. I love that, and yeah, I hadn't thought about that, documenting the future, but it's true. You know, I think that that's what inspiration does. You know, when we feel inspired, we feel pointed towards possibility, and you know, I know that when I go see a show that really inspires me, that is how I feel. I feel like I can move forward with some wind in my sails, or some support, and if I'm able to do that for somebody through this play, then even one person, then honestly, mission accomplished.

[18:39] Robert Bannon: Well, it's going to be a lot more than one person, and you can get your tickets, everybody, when you go see this show. It's great for my ADD, it's 90 minutes, so I don't have to, you know, I don't have to start, I start to wander after, I'm bad at it, I'm so bad at it, Steven, I'm getting better, I'm trying. I want everyone to know that this show is up and at them here in New York City, you have a beautiful limited five-week run, but a beautiful run, what a great run, September 10th to October 10th, opening night is September 13th, you can get your tickets right now, shout out to the director, Jesse, shout out to this incredible cast, shout out to these incredible theater companies who are coming together, New Light Theater Project and Pendragon Theater to put this baby up and at them, and you can get your tickets right now, click the link below and get your tickets, 59e59.org is where you can get them, and you can follow Steven and go to his website and all that, it will be below as well.

I'm sure you're immersed in this and you're up there doing this show, but do you have new ideas, do you keep a book, do you keep a note on your phone, do you keep ideas of what's next? I'm sure there's a lot to be inspired by to write.

[19:43] Stephen Sheffer: Oh, of course, yeah, actually, while Lean-To is running, I'm going to be doing a staged reading of one of my new plays at 59E59, and that one's called SOS, and it's about a group of co-workers who embark on a team-building trip to the Grand Canyon gone horribly wrong, so that is happening while Lean-To is running, we're going to be doing the staged reading on the Lean-To set, so really excited to see that, how that, and experience how that syncs up with an audience for the first time, so Robert, you're invited to attend if you're in town, and then I've written a new one called A Hundred Year Flood, and just the first draft, actually this afternoon I'm going to run off to the theatre, I've assembled some actors and we're going to read through the first draft, so yeah, that nervousness about that is, that'll be very vulnerable, you know, because it's certainly not polished and it's definitely not ready for prime time, but it is complete, so I'm going to take that first step and hear it out loud for the first time and see what I'm working with, because I know there are good ideas in A Hundred Year Flood, and I need to, you know, take the step and see how I'm going to really synthesize everything, and there's a current, you know, running through these works, and it's not that, I mean it's not unintentional, but I'm not like, I want to be a forest playwright per se, or a wild world playwright, but I am finding and have been finding that what I'm really interested in exploring are the wild worlds that exist within us and all around us, and that's what my work is exploring.

[21:17] Robert Bannon: And that's what you're meant to do, follow your heart and your spirit and let's go, let's do it. Everybody, that's Stephen, congratulations, kudos, break legs, have the most incredible run, have an incredible reading this afternoon, who knows what this will lead to, something incredible, and the future, the best is yet to come, as I always like to say, I believe that, and what you're doing is really, you know, the universe and God or whatever we all believe in's work, that you're putting out this word and it's going to inspire and change people for the best. Thank you for being here.

[21:46] Stephen Sheffer: Thank you, Robert, I appreciate your time today.

[21:48] Robert Bannon: Go get them, let's go, look at that yank, I love a purple yankee hat, that gave me life, I was like, he's my people, even if he's sleeping in a hut in the woods, which scares me, you're my kind of guy, thank you for being here.

[22:00] Stephen Sheffer: Thanks, Robert.

[22:04] Robert Bannon: Thank you.