Elias Stimac talk to John Palotta, the playwright of Jane Ho, which is playing at The Lion at Theater Row from November 4-19, 2005

The Hudson Exploited Theater Company, Inc. presents the New York premiere of Jane Ho. Written by John Pallotta and directed by Arian Blanco, the play will be performed at The Lion at Theatre Row Studios November 4 through 19. The venue is located at 410 West 42nd Street (between 9th & Dyer Avenues). Tickets are $15 through Ticket Central (212) 279-4200 or by visiting www.ticketcentral.com.

As described in the press notes, “Jane Ho is a psychologically penetrating play about the world of a prostitute. It explores the inner workings of the ‘life’ by spending an evening with four ladies of the night as they reveal the things they tell their pillow, nobody should.” The cast includes Mikaela Kafka, Daina Michelle Griffith, Heather Male, A.B. Lugo, and Liche Ariza. The production features an original score by Andy Cohen, set and light design by Gregg Bellon, sound design by Joe DiSanzo.

John Pallotta has been involved as an actor in theatre, film, and television for over twenty years, having developed his craft under the tutelage of teacher William Hickey. As a playwright he has written over a dozen plays including “How I Killed My Roommate… and got away with it…” “Vegas,” and “Beyond the Palisades.”

NYCool: What are your inspirations as a writer?

Pallotta: I love the idea of working with actors in the writing process, though actors are not necessarily the writers. They give me [initial] characters and the form of the story. I truly value the special relationship that develops between all of us. When writing for actors or with actors, (for the stage) I listen to their biography, ideas, opinions, things they say casually; and the music behind their voices. We conceive of a scene and visualize it, enter into it imaginatively and use the actor's voice as a score. Words can arise out of that music or voice. Later a story emerges when one character butts up against another. It's only recently that I started this process and I think its working.

NYCool: How did the script for Jane Ho come about?

Pallotta: In the case of Jane Ho , I had to go undercover into the world of high class prostitution, not only uncover it, but become a part of it, with out actually participating. In all I interviewed over 200 escorts for this project and eventually narrowed down to seven of eight that would become the back bone and the structure of the script. In the course of six months or so, I would go out on calls with these men and woman, learning about their world from the inside. Gathering their emotions before they got the call, when they got the call and when their business was finished. The story about a call girl turned out to be a totally different one. While the story was being written about a prostitute, I found out that I was writing about any one of us.

NYCool: How did you get involved with The Hudson Exploited Theater Company (HExTC)?

Pallotta: A few years back I was a young playwright in a theatre located in Greenwich Village. The theatre was doing a series of readings from a Martin Denton book, “Plays and Playwrights”. One of my favorite plays in the book was titled “Cuban Operator” by Adrian Rodriquez. And it is the story of Abel, a young Cuban man born in exile, and his struggle to deal with his father's impending death. I met Arian Blanco right after the reading and told him that I admired his cousin’s work as a playwright. Arian and I became friends and I let him read several of my scripts. After tossing half of them aside he took notice of my new play Jane Ho. With in weeks it was read at the Dramatist Guild in NYC and a workshop production occurred later that year in Union City. We hired on the unique talents of Mikaela Kafka and AB Lugo and the script has grown and developed to what it is today

NYCool: Describe how director Arian Blanco has influenced the play.

Pallotta: Arian is an accomplished and powerful director. He guides us through the provocative underworld of Jane Ho, where we acknowledge the glamour of a lucrative and sexy lifestyle, but also sense the palpable loneliness, the yearning for the simpler things in life.

NYCool: What can audiences learn from exploring the inner workings of prostitution and the "life"?

Pallotta: Jane Ho is a sexy, disturbing and ultimately moving exploration of the inner workings of the life of a high priced call girl. The things she tells her pillow that nobody should. Once we see past the allure, past the disgrace of the institution - two sides of the same coin - Jane Ho becomes a truly provocative play. As a journey of the self, we begin to find points of contact, and yes, even empathy. Take away the word “prostitution”, and this play is really about any one of us. But the play is about prostitution. If this is our launch pad, our journey into ourselves is frightening. This magnified sense of emptiness works because we know our own void; the solutions are poignant because we know how much we grope for meaning. That is precisely what makes this play so gripping.

NYCool: How hard is it as a contemporary playwright to get a play produced?

Pallotta: In the early years I found myself writing furiously, with ideas flowing, I never knew how my play would translate onto the stage. I found myself thinking, “How will the actors in my play shape certain characters? Will audiences respond the way I want? Will the laughs come when they should? Will people be intrigued by your ideas or just confused?” I just had now idea what to do, where to go… There was no way of knowing until I found a theater that was going to commit to produce my play. I submitted one play after the other to one contest after the other and would never hear anything from anyone.

Finally one day while sitting in a session at The Actors Studio in NYC a speaker said something that would stick with me forever. He said “No one gives a damn about your work” He told us what he did in the early days of his career. If you truly want to make it, you have to get out there, write, act and produce you own stuff. Make them stand up and notice you.

NYCool: What advice do you have for fellow playwrights?

Pallotta: I never took a writing course in my life, but you know what? I am a writer now, a playwright, a dreamer, a story teller. I am in love with the theatre and I will forever write for the stage until my last breath. I have almost ten years as a playwright with sixteen plays under my belt. This, combined with my acting experience, allows me to analyze plays for weaknesses and strengths, and help me become confident that my work is stage worthy. I emphasize character development, dramatic tension, and clarity of narrative, but I place primary importance on recognizing the author's intention and keeping the play true to it self. My best advice? Just do it!

Tickets for Jane Ho are $15 at www.ticketcentral.com.