by Chloé Hayat, edited by Kevin Russell Poole, photos by Kevin Russell Poole
This week, Chloé called up Tori Lassman for a (not so) brief chat about the kind of theatre she likes to make. Chloé and Tori have been best friends for 12 years, so it was less of an interview, and more of an energetic smorgasbord of laughter, friendly insults, and incredible analogies. Tori was wearing a Lou Reed t-shirt, and what can only be described as Sexy Lady Silhouette earrings. She, as usual, looked amazing. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Chloé Hayat: Hi Tori!
Tori Lassman: Hi!
Chloé: I’m excited to ask you some questions!
Tori: I’m excited to answer some questions!
Chloé: Okay, well I just wanna know how you identify as an artist, like, how do you describe what you do, how many hats do you wear?
Tori: I am like… Ever heard the story of the man with many hats?
Chloé: Caps For Sale!
Tori: Caps For Sale, monkeys keep stealing them?
Chloé: (Laughs)
Tori: Yeah monkeys keep stealing his hats and he doesn't know who took his caps. Anyway, I like to imagine myself as both the man, all the hats, and the monkeys stealing the hats. And while I say that I mean that I first and foremost identify as a playwright, but that's the man selling the hats. But I love selling hats so much and hats are so amazing that I would love to put as many hats on as I can because I’m interested in all the different aspects of things to do.
Chloé: Tori i think you're going to want to rephrase this you’re not making any sense. (laughing) Okay let me rephrase the question.
Tori: I’m gonna keep the analogy.
Chloé: No, no, please don’t keep the analogy. Hi Tori, how do you identify as an artist?
Tori: So you know the story of the man who sells lots of caps? And the monkeys keep stealing them? (laughs) Okay okay, I identify foremost as a playwright but I really am interested in all aspects [of theatre]. First I started in acting, and then through that found playwriting.
Chloé: And that was in middle school?
Tori: In middle school.
Chloé: You played Viola in Twelfth Night.
Tori: Oh it was horrible. My acting teacher once told me that my eyes were so dead that you could stick two pencils through them! (laughs) But anyway, I'm also interested in all aspects of theatre in terms of producing, a little bit directing, and really just everything.
Chloé: You have a lot of experience self-producing.
Tori: That's true, and I really like self-producing!
Chloé: Tell us all about your experience self-producing. Where did you start?
Tori: I would say [self-producing] first started in high school when I would mime on the street and make characters to sell clothing with my friend. I think that was like the beginning of self-producing. I was really interested in just dressing up and interacting with people and going on the train and you know, like, creating something. And then through college with you and Anna [O’Connell] and a bunch of other people, we kind of started doing our own self producing.
Chloé: And Gabby Sprenkle, who is also in The Line-Up.
Tori: Of course, yeah, and everything we do with [our theatre company,] After School Special Theatre is all independently produced, and I am just excited by that. It’s fun, I think, especially with self-producing and doing theatre that's kind of unconventional and a little bit more interactive, it’s really fun interacting with people in a character and having someone play with you because it brings you back to being a little kid. And we’ve done a lot of shows where we give [audience members] cue cards of what character they are and it frees people to enjoy themselves and be childlike and dirty and raunchy and I think that's really fun to bring that out in someone.
Chloé: Yeah and you're really good at letting an audience lose [their] inhibitions because you’re so over the top when you're performing, that it encourages people to follow your lead.
Tori: Yeah, I call it, “I Make a Fool of Me, You Make a Fool of You”
Chloé: That is what you call it! You say it all the time! This is not the first time I’ve heard it!
Tori: This better be in the write-up or I’m fucking blowing this cat up. (Kevin’s note: Tori, I have met your demands, please back away from the cat!)
Chloé: Okay, how did you get involved with Breaking & Entering?
Tori: Well, obviously [we] both interned at New Dramatists where I met Emily [Bubeck, Artistic Director] and Kevin [Russell Poole, Associate Artistic Director] through [you], who met them at New Dramatists.
Chloé: (laughing)
Tori: Long story short: New Dramatists!
Chloé: And so tell me about your first show with [Breaking & Entering].
Tori: Oh yeah yeah, the first show I did was the Rooftop Reading [Unadjusted AKA Milk is Dairy Days are Daily] and I had the very lucky opportunity to work with Miss Emily who is so fantastic, and several of the Line-Up artists were in that as well!
Chloé: So it was Kevin, Lauren [DiMario]
Tori: Gabby [Sprenkle]
Chloé: and E.B. [Hinnant]
Tori: Yeah and Aleigha [Spinks]! I think it really helped me work on that play. And I thought the space was really exciting too!
Chloé: Yeah because so much of [the play] takes place on a street corner, and there were such good sound effects on the rooftop in [Brooklyn] of, like, sirens; it just worked so well!
Tori: Yeah I feel like it made it so much more cinematic. Which is cool because I see that play that way too.
Chloé: And then the next thing you did was PEA Fest last year.
Tori: Yeah, where I also got to work with Emily again which was also amazing.
Chloé: All Star team! Okay, what words would you use to describe your artistic sensibility?
Tori: I would say that a lot of it is based in making the filthy things in life beautiful. I think I'm interested in outsiders and weirdnesses in the world that excite me and the little magical moments that make life exciting. I am interested in the poetry of being a pervert, sexual power dynamics, and the gore and triumph of being a lady. Also I am interested in creating work that's somewhat political but still accessible and fun.
Chloé: I think that's a really good description of your work. Is there a moment from your childhood that you could use to describe who you are as an artist now?
Tori: Once I was with my parents in this store– I forget where we were, but it was kind of a fancy store– and i was probably 7-ish or 8, and the lady was getting mad at me because I kept touching everything and she was being really snotty. She made a rude comment to me about not touching the stuff, and I got mad at her, so I picked my nose and, while she looked away, I rubbed my boogers all over the glass cabinet. I think [I’m] making work that is like rebelling or revolutionary in some way but [I’m] doing it through [my] boogers. That's my rebellion.
Chloé: Yeah it is, I think that's true and I think it's a good rebellion. What's your favorite theatrical experience that you've been a part of? That you've written or acted in or participated in in some way.
Tori: In terms of shows that i've participated in and gone to would be when Taylor Mac was doing [A 24-Decade] History of Popular Music, I saw one of those shows and it was really amazing and a lot of audience participation was involved, and at one point I volunteered because it was a song that was about mooning, like being under the moonlight, and they had people come up to flash their butt whenever Taylor Mac said moon, so that was really fun.
Chloé: (laughing) How did I know that's where that was going?
Tori: Am I the worst?
Chloé: No not at all! Okay, what is your proudest artistic achievement?
Tori: I would say one of them would definitely be when I did Sweet Shop with Emily at PEA Fest because it was the first time I had ever really had anything close to a production of a play I had written. It was one of the most fantastic experiences in my life to write something and work with really amazing people. It was so cool to have all these different people involved, it wasn't just me, like, doing costumes.
Chloé: And there were actors who were hired to be actors.
Tori: And there were actors who were actually actors and not just people I found off the street or that I had begged to be in it! I just felt like seeing it was exciting since I wrote this, but we all did this. And it was really cool to have that instead of being one of the main people doing everything. I felt like I was really able to watch that and be present and see my work and see how amazing we did.
Chloé: I am so happy that we got to sit down and chat about your work. I love you, and I love you as an artist.
Tori: Aw I love you and I love you as an artist too!
Chloé: And I'm glad that we have you in The Line-Up, and I’m glad that I learned the story about you putting boogers on fancy objects.