Q & A with Jeremy Cohen, Producing Artistic Director
In this interview, Jeremy talks about what his days look like right now in his new role and his excitement about the opportunities OPC has to not only care for artists and develop their work but also to bring them into the conversation about the future of the American theatre. See our announcement naming Jeremy OPC's new Producing Artistic Director here.
What’s a day-in-the-life of Jeremy Cohen right now?
Pretty nonstop! I am still running the Playwrights’ Center, where I will continue through June of 2024, and where we are preparing to start construction on a new 20,000 square foot arts center here in the Twin Cities. At the same time, I’m working with the incredible staff at Ojai Playwrights Conference to not only think about the playwrights and plays we’re going to be working with this summer, but also about how to create a safe, meaningful, artist-centered retreat in Ojai for two weeks.
What excites you about your new role and what you’re learning about OPC so far?
I really love curating a beautiful meal—bringing a cohort of incredible artists to the table who haven’t probably met before who could really learn from one another and be inspired by one another; that’s incredibly exciting for me.
Every year at OPC we will meet a new set of artists and learn how they need us to show up for them. And while we’ll always create a sanctuary space for artists to come and find wellness and centered-ness and rest—they’re also coming to do a lot of work, which can be a really vulnerable thing. It’s an opportunity to create a space for artists to be taken care of in a way that they aren’t always in the field and in their daily lives, and for really great collaboration and growth to come out of it.
People’s identities and lived experiences get pretty reduced on a regular basis, so it’s always critical for me to think about how we can celebrate the beautiful and complex and multiple parts of these artists. Playwrights start with nothing but a blank piece of paper—or a blank stage in some cases—and create whole worlds, whole humanities, whole sets of stakes and circumstances. These are people who of course are capable of writing beautiful plays, but also of being great leaders and thinkers about how we can navigate the theater field—and the world—right now, which is really struggling in a way it hasn’t before. So I’m excited about coming to Ojai and creating that space where we can do the beautiful work that’s always been done, and also ask questions and investigate the advocacy work we could be doing together for the broader theatre field.
Anything else you’d like to share with OPC’s community right now?
As I’ve started to spend more time in Ojai, I’m loving getting to know the people in that community: the small businesses owners, the teachers, the artists, the folks who make things happen in that brilliant place. And because OPC works across Ventura County, especially with our Youth Workshop, I’d love to start talking out how we might be in more conversation with that broader community as well.
Of course, I’m also thrilled to join the Southern California theatre community where there’s a lot of transition happening right now, including the recent announcement of the brilliant Snehal Desai at Center Theater Group. I have so many incredible colleagues and collaborators in the area already, and I can’t wait to be part of this community and help OPC become even more of a beautiful center for new work, bringing everyone together.
I’m so looking forward to filling those rooms this summer with populations of incredible artists—playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, actors, designers, technicians, stage mangers—along with our staff, and all the people who love and support OPC in Ojai, in the LA area, and from across the country.