Obie Award-winning performer, David Cale, chats with Tanya Palmer (Artistic Associate, Pivot Arts) about his video performance in the Pivot Arts (Un)Touched Series and his extensive career as a solo artist.
David Cale is a playwright, solo performer, actor and songwriter. Seven of his shows have been presented at the Goodman Theatre, including the Obie Award-winning LILLIAN and most recently his solo musical, WE’RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, for which he and co-composer Matthew Dean Marsh received a 2019 Jeff Award for New Musical and Cale received a Jeff Nomination for Solo Performance. WE’RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME subsequently opened in New York City at The Public Theater and received a 2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nomination for Outstanding Solo Show and Cale received a 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award and 2020 Drama Desk Award Nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. Other recent works include the solo play, HARRY CLARKE, starring Billy Crudup, for which Cale was the recipient of the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show.
Tanya Palmer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance at Indiana University and head of the M.F.A. in Dramaturgy program. Prior to joining the faculty at IU, she was the Director of New Play Development at the Goodman Theatre where she curated and produced New Stages, the theatre’s annual new play festival, and served as the production dramaturg on a number of world premieres including Dana H. by Lucas Hnath; an original adaptation of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 written and directed by Seth Bockley and Robert Falls; and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined by Lynn Nottage. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she holds an MFA in Playwriting from York University in Toronto.
Photo of David Cale by Albie Mitchell.