Conversations with Warren Epstein

Today we’d like to introduce you to Warren Epstein.

Hi Warren, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
“I have to DO SOMETHING!”

That was my thought as I doomscrolled on the beaches of Bali. I had gone on vacation to get away from it all. But the news wouldn’t go away. The constant daily tragedy happening in America wouldn’t let me just enjoy a few moments in paradise.

If I were a revolutionary, I’d take up arms. But my only weapon has been theater.

I was born in Monticello, New York, the heart of the Borscht Belt, the cradle of American comedy. I watched this vibrant resort area, which had been immortalized in “Dirty Dancing,” slowly deteriorate. It spurred me to write and star in “Borscht Belted,” a one-man show about that beloved Catskills resort town.

Now, I’m watching the destruction of something bigger than my hometown. America.

I knew that all my friends and my colleagues in the arts felt as frustrated and helpless as I did. Then, on a podcast, I heard a Native American woman give the best advice: When things are being destroyed, it’s time to build.

After a gathering of local creatives in Manitou Springs, we built The Arts Uprise.

We would create a festival that brought together several arts groups, doing original theater, spoken word, music and art, expressing our frustration and rage about this moment in our country, culminating in a festival at The Millibo Art Theatre. It was a successful fund-raiser for the Millibo, which, like many small arts organizations, faces threats to its state and federal funding.

But the Arts Uprise is more than a single performance or festival. It is a movement and an invitation.

I invite all arts groups and individual artist to express their resistance through their chosen medium. Wherever they are.

We know we have to DO SOMETHING. Here is something we can do.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the challenges we faced in putting together The Arts Uprise was the question of preaching to the choir. Are we really going to convince any diehard MAGAs to burn their red hats? Not a chance.

But preaching to the choir, we decided was a decent goal, especially when that choir has been so beaten down.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an actor, director and playwright, and I also perform standup comedy. I most proud of the moments when I create a play, and then see a talented group of actors breathe life into it, making it something much bigger than I’d ever dreamed of.

How do you think about luck?
Meeting my wife and best friend, Jane Turnis, a talented musician and writer, has been the best stroke of luck I’ve ever had.

Image Credits
Photos. by Eli Epstein