Scott Westerman, a multi-talented artist, actor, director, and educator, discusses his creative process, artistic influences, and the future of the arts in an exclusive interview with Sukanya, for Different Truths.
Scott Westerman is the founding Artistic Director of Go To Productions, a 501©3 nonprofit that develops projects that explore the nexus between live theatre and film. He created and directed the web series Hamlet & Ophelia, which won Best Picture at the New York Film Awards, Best Web Series at the LA Film Awards, and Best Mobile Series at the 2022 New Media Film Festival. Scott has directed stage productions for The Artistic Home, Citadel Theatre, ChiArts, City Lit Theatre, Chimera Theatre Company, Beyond This Point, Barter Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, The Smithsonian Institution, American Theatre Company, and Reverie Theatre Company. Scott is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, an ensemble member with The Artistic Home, a Gray Talent Group client, and a teaching artist with Lookingglass Theatre, Writers Theatre, and Filament Theatre. He has an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Academy. As an actor, Scott has worked with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Lookingglass, Northlight, The Shakespeare Theatre Company and Ford’s Theatre in DC, Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, the Warehouse Theatre in South Carolina, and the Barter Theatre in Virginia, to name a few. On Camera credits include Chicago Fire, Machine Gun Preacher, Heist 88, and Prison Break. ScottWesterman.org
Sukanya: Educational Foundation: How has your MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Academy shaped your career in both theatre and film?
Scott Westerman: I excel at text analysis. If you can perform Shakespeare, you can do anything. Shakespeare requires any actor to master voice, body, strength, and intellect. My prowess in text analysis has helped on every project I’ve ever done, whether the language is heightened or not, whether it’s for the stage or film.
Sukanya: Genre Mastery: What draws you to genres like horror, thriller, and drama? Could you share examples of how you blend these to enhance narrative depth?
Scott Westerman: I approach any performance with the same question: What story am I telling? Taking on a new genre is exciting; I recently directed The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, which was fun because I’d rarely had the chance to work within the structure of a mystery. Still, I think genre is a bit of an artificial construct, and the edges of so many things blur. Mystery usually contains elements of horror, and drama is enhanced by humour—and vice versa.
Sukanya: Artistic Influences: How have your family’s artistic endeavours influenced your career path and creative process?
Scott Westerman: I didn’t come from an artistic family, but I married an artist. The deep respect we have for each other and our desire to support each other’s artistic endeavours is a cornerstone of our relationship. It seems like a rare thing, and I treasure it. My wife is a writer, and I do theatre and film, and there are simple trade-offs we can offer each other: for instance, Abby runs lines with me as I memorize, and I read everything she writes aloud to her. There are simple trade-offs like that, but it’s the bedrock of support that is everything. We make decisions for our family based on creating that space to be artists.
Sukanya: Navigating Industry Challenges: In your roles as both an actor and a director, how do you tackle the challenges posed by the evolving landscape of Hollywood and theatre?
Scott Westerman: The reason I started a production company was because I was done asking for permission or waiting for somebody to hire me or cast me. It’s interesting that the more I do my work, the more I seem to be getting opportunities elsewhere. Work begets work, and if you’re not getting work, make some work.
Sukanya: Research Techniques: Describe your research approach, especially when venturing into unfamiliar genres like Westerns.
Scott Westerman: I don’t research based on genres. I researched the project to the extent that I felt comfortable telling the story. I start with the script that is handed to me. Too much research can be stifling to the creative process. It can create a black hole that sucks up your time, and it can also take up all the room on stage, leaving no opportunities for spontaneity. In theatre, we call it research dramaturgy, and I’m so glad some professionals do that for us–and deserve to get paid for it.
Sukanya: View on AI in Arts: What are your thoughts on the integration of AI in filmmaking and theatre? Do you see it as an asset or a challenge?
Scott Westerman: There are so many wonderful and valuable things that these tools can accomplish in the right hands and with the right ethical decision-making. The problem is I don’t trust that all the professionals out there will do it ethically. When a weapon is placed in the wrong hands, it can be devastating. Go watch Oppenheimer. Decisions about it should be made by artists, not by corporate money-making machines.
Sukanya: Preview of Upcoming Projects: Can you provide insights into your upcoming projects, such as the three-picture film series and the internet horror ARG?
Scott Westerman: We are producing a night of live theatre called “The Go To New Play Festival” in September, paid for by a grant from the University of Kansas, and all proceeds will go toward making two more films in a trilogy with F.U. Air. The writer, Douglas Post, has written two more scripts.
I’m seeking funding for a current project called “Do Better,” an industrial for predominantly white institutions that features discussions and interviews with Black and Brown artists about their experiences attending and working at PWIs, interspersed with reenactments of microaggressions, examples of allyship, pathways for advocacy, examinations of what to do when called out, and tools for anti-racism.
I have so many projects and collaborations that I want to do, to start, to embark on, but I refuse to do it without paying people, and there’s the rub.
Sukanya: Advice for Emerging Writers: What guidance would you offer to aspiring writers and directors looking to make their mark in the industry?
Scott Westerman: Tell your story. Do what you do. Find like-minded artists and say yes a lot. When auditioning, I think that I’m a possible solution to their problem. You have to give focus to get focus.
Sukanya: Inspirational Quotes: Do you have a favorite film or life quote that guides your creative philosophy?
Scott Westerman: My other life quote: You cannot express yourself unless you know yourself. A movie I often think about is Basquiat. There’s a scene in which a prince is imprisoned, and he begins banging his head against the bars, and the echo of his crown on the metal reverberates throughout the country and the world. If you make art in a basement, is it still art? There’s something about that image–the beautiful sound of this painful moment as he makes music out of nothing.
Picture provided by the interviewer
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