By: Matthew Kwatinetz

Seattle-based writer, actor and alt-country singer Joanna Horowitz made a grab for some serious country “cred” in February with her one woman show 100 Heartbreaks. Growing up in Eastern Washington, Joanna performed at some suitably down-home venues, including Taste of Thorp, PUNCH Gallery Summerfest and the Ellensburg Farmer’s Market. In Seattle, she acted and directed for Suzan-Lori Parks’ 365 Plays/365 Days project, directed for ArtsWest and Youth Theatre Northwest, and is the communications associate at Seattle Repertory Theatre. A regular contributor to the Seattle Times, the Seattle Kite, and a former editor of Punch Magazine, this is Joanna’s first work of (mostly) fiction.

LiveWire sat down with Ms. Horowitz to get the her about the story behind her hit production.

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LiveWire: What inspired 100 Heartbreaks?

Joanna Horowitz (JH): I’ve been doing theater most of my life, and I studied it in college, along with journalism. I’ve always loved performing, but I had been choosing music as my creative outlet of choice since finishing school in 2004. Then I ended a long term relationship about a year and a half ago and was single for the first time in a long time. I was going on a series of unsuccessful first dates and thinking a lot of about love, to the point where I was even writing a dating column for the (now defunct) Seattle Kite. Then on one date, a guy asked me that dreaded first date question: “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” I said I wished I could do a project that would allow me to write, sing, and act. Then I thought, “Ah ha!” The idea for the story came later, but I always knew it would be a one-woman country show and that it would have to do with love.

LiveWire: Is the main character, Charlane, modeled on you or a real person that you know? What is your connection personally to country cred?

JH: Not really, although I was definitely inspired by some of Dolly Parton’s show-womanship. For the most part Charlane is who I would want to be if I were a country singer—a sassy, sexy, whiskey-loving sweetheart who can hold the audience in the palm of her hand and has a nightly love affair with fake eyelashes.

Personally, I’m from in Ellensburg, which is a little bit country. But growing up I tried my best to be as un-country as possible, playing in a punk band and dying my hair purple. My love for the music itself came slowly, but I really began to appreciate the simplicity of the lyrics. Playing country music always felt a bit fake to me, though, like I hadn’t earned the right to do it. So when I came up with the idea for the show I realized I could finally have an outlet to be a bonafide country singer, of sorts.

LiveWire: What do you hope the audience member walks away thinking about?

JH: First off, I hope they have a good time. This is a fun, fast show. I think this piece certainly speaks to the the dilemma that a lot of creative people face: do I need to suffer for my music, theater, art, etc.? Can I be happy and still make impacting work? The show doesn’t necessarily give you an answer, but I hope it makes an someone consider what’s important in his or her life and what they would or wouldn’t give up for it.

LiveWire: Many people might not know this, but you have another life in the theatre as a marketing guru. How does it feel to be on the other side of the project?

JH: You’ve revealed my secret identity! It feels good to be on the other side. Working in marketing, most of the time you don’t have any control over the product you’re selling, even if that product is theater. But being the product is pretty exciting, from a marketing perspective. It was never a stretch to tell people, “I know this is going to be a great show” (although it’s much scarier to think, “What if it’s not?”)

LiveWire: You did a reading of this show here at CHAC, right? How was response to that?

JH: Fantastic. For one, the space is perfect for this piece, so it just felt right from the beginning. And the crowd was so responsive and excited, it made me positive that I needed to develop it further and that I wanted to do it here.

LiveWire: What made you choose your current collaborators nad what have they added for you?

JH: I chose Jen because I had seen the work she did on Marya Sea Kaminski’s one-woman show and on “Awesome”’s “Here’s What Happened” and I just really liked her aesthetic as a director, and I love her vision as a set designer. I wanted this piece to have a certain quality about it, somewhere between gritty and dreamy, and I knew Jen could help me shape that.

John Osebold (the music director and a member of theater/music collective “Awesome”) is an amazing songwriter and guitar player, and he really understands how to tell a story with song, which is what country is all about. And that’s really what “Awesome” is about too. They’re not traditional country, but they use a lot of rootsy instruments, banjos and whatnot, to weave these crazy tales. Then John also just has this great love for Loretta Lynn and other old school country greats, so he knew exactly how to hone the songs and make them really pay homage to that style.

LiveWire: What are your plans for the future of this show?

JH: Once the run is over, I would love to look into traveling with the show. It’s built to be mobile, and it would be fun to take it on the road. I’ve also been talking with local alt-country singer (and former Screaming Trees drummer) Mark Pickerel. He’s interested in having me open for him in the spring as Charlane, not necessarily doing 100 Heartbreaks, but performing in character, so that could be really cool.

LiveWire: Thanks and we wish you the best!