Catching up with the voice of Steppenwolf

Despite his grueling schedule and his overall fantabulousness, I was able to snag an hour to catch up with one of Chicago's premiere theater publicists, David Rosenberg. He had so many interesting things to say, that we've decided to give you more "him" and less "us" this week. And one can't help but think that after learning more about Mr. Rosenberg, who is the current Communications Director for Steppenwolf Theater Company, you may want to go see a show at Steppenwolf just so you can meet this guy.

EDGE: David, tell me about your relationship with theater.
David Rosenberg: I have loved theater since I was a kid. Mostly musical theater. I did theater in grammar school and mostly in high school. I am from Highland Park originally and got involved in theater from an early age. Ross Lehmand, who is now a very well known Chicago theater actor, choreographed a high school production I was in. I went on to take a few theater classes at IU and then did a summer internship at Steppenwolf in, get this, 1985 when I was 17!

EDGE: Did you know then that you'd be working there one day?
DR: I certainly had a positive experience. Rondi Reed taught the class. I was a terrible actor. I always had such terrible stage fright. So I knew I wouldn't be acting there! (laughter) I mean, obviously I have always loved acting. The career? Not a wise choice. So I have found other ways to get involved. I didn't actually start out, career-wise, in theater, though.

EDGE: What did you do first?
DR: Well, I was in college and not sure what I was going to do for sure. And then, the movie Broadcast News came out with Holly Hunter. I definitely connected with Holly Hunter and connected with the movie, and, basically, decided I wanted to be her without the skirt... So, then, I got into broadcast news. And I was just fascinated by the industry and how it was portrayed in the movie and basically, I must say it is pretty accurate.

EDGE: And where did you go from there?
DR: I scored an internship in 1989 at Chicago's very own [network] WGN-TV, and then right out of college I landed a job at CNN Headline News in Atlanta, which is the gay hub of the South. I started out doing camera and teleprompter work, and then became a writer and then an associate producer, which was very exciting because it during the Gulf War and it was pretty exciting to time to be at CNN. And it was also very exciting for me because I came out in Atlanta.

EDGE: Tell me about that experience.
DR: I was fortunate to come out in such an open city and work environment. I discovered that as I came out, I was surrounded in the news room by a lot of other gay and lesbian friends, they kind of became my family down there, and to this day, I am very good friends with these people. It was a very positive experience for me. I lived in Atlanta for three years and then got itchy to be home with my family.

EDGE: So is that when you got more into the theater world?
DR: Not yet, actually. I came back and helped launch CLTV in January of 1993. I was able to come back home, be with my family and worked for about a year, and it was then that my love for theater started to kick in again. I left CLTV for a year and started doing publicity for a show called Party. It was sort of a cult hit thing in the city about seven gay men who get together for a party and, by the end, everybody gets naked. I was a producer for this.

EDGE: That must have been fun.
DR: I will tell you a funny story. The last two performances of Party, before they went to off- Broadway, one of the cast members became ill, and I actually had to fill in the show. I had seen the play 50 times, so I probably knew all the lines, and if I hadn't done the 'stand-in' we would have had to cancel the last two shows. So, there was nowhere else to go... Now, that is a dedicated publicist!

EDGE: That is funny.
DR: Yes, it was a great experience.

EDGE: So, how did all these experiences lead you to Steppenwolf?
DR: Well, also during Party, I was working with Cheryl Lewin on some of the shows at Briar Street and The Royal George. She had her own PR firm and taught me the ropes. So, I was working with her and then Party wound down and, then, Tracy Baines came to me and asked me to work for her for Outlines and Nightlines before she bought Windy City Times.

So I kind of switched hats again and became an ad rep for her. I did photography and wrote articles from time-to-time. I got an excellent look at how the newspaper industry works. And then started working on bigger stuff. And then I was also freelancing at WGNTV again as a writer and producer.

About three months after 9/11, then, a job at Margie Korshak opened up, which does all publicity for Broadway in Chicago. They do a ton of things, but that is the piece that intrigued me. It sounded like a dream job. I was so burnt out after 9/11 - thought I was going to try something new after seven years. I worked there for three and a half years, and I can't say enough how much I both learned from and enjoyed that experience.

Through Margie Korshak, I got to work on things like the pre-Broadway productions of Spamalot and Moving Out.

I then did broadcast news again, going back to CLTV, and I worked for Fox as well. And, truthfully, I never felt any of the conservatism people tend to associate with Fox.

I went back to Korshak and did The Color Purple and Jersey Boys. And that was when I got to work on Doubt with Cherry Jones. That was amazing. And during that time the job at Steppenwolf came along, and I was encouraged to apply.

And that is the long version to your question about how I ended up at Steppenwolf after all these years...

EDGE: Out of all of these experiences, what is something that you want people to know?
DR: Here is the thing: I didn't go into PR because I was interested in PR, I went into PR, because I was interested in theater. I absolutely love theater and the life I get to live because I promote it. I get to bring it to other people.

EDGE: So how do you see the worlds of broadcast news and journalism coalescing with your work now?
DR: It has really helped on the other end. If you understand what broadcast news and journalist needs are, you become a much better publicist.

EDGE: Interesting. And how is working at Steppenwolf different than doing more off-site or freelance work that you have done in the past?
DR: It is totally different in-house, and, here is the thing the really cool thing about Steppenwolf is that, unlike before, I get to see the artistic process happen. I see, you know, from page to stage and see the process evolve. I have loved all my jobs, but I never got to feel like I was really part of the theatrical process before. We would sell them and then they'd go away, but you'd never really see the steps that made the show happen.

I now feel I am immersed in the local theater community, and it is so amazing watching the plays become plays!

I am lucky for all my opportunities, and I also try to give back to smaller companies now. I recently was asked to do a round table discussion for the League of Chicago Theaters on giving smaller companies PR advice. It felt really good to offer support based on my experiences.

EDGE: OK. You are handsome. Smart. Accomplished. Do you find any time for dating in all of this?
DR: I am gay, happy about it and available. Let's just leave it at that!

Yet, after talking with David Rosenberg, one is left thinking it will never be left at just that. There are most likely many more exciting chapters to come...