Rock-n-Roll Meets Shakespeare

What do rock-and-roll DJ Jimmy Fink and Shakespeare Festival founder Terrence O'Brien have in common? For starters, they both participated in CrossTalk on July 15 at the Katonah Museum of Art.

CrossTalk is jointly hosted by the Katonah Museum of Art and the Katonah Village Library and is in its second year. It features two experts from unrelated fields, each discussing their history and backgrounds as individuals in a guest-speaker style. Afterwards the floor is opened up and the audience asks questions. The guests answer jointly, revealing insight and unexpected commonalities.

"It's always an interesting evening," said Sue Hirsch, an attendee and museum volunteer. She was munching on nuts and socializing amongst other attendees, who snacked and sipped on wine for a half-hour before the program began.

The two were introduced. First, Fink: current DJ of the Peak with over 40 years on the radio—iincluding time on WPLJ, K-Rock and ABC,  interviewing hundreds of rock stars along the way, from Billy Joel to U2.

Next, O'Brien, who is the founding artistic director of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, where he directed a Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and Macbeth, among others. O'Brien has also directed plays at the Los Angeles Performers Theater and the American Conservatory of Theater Studio in San Francsico, and is the current director of the American Shakespeare Lab in New York City.

Their attire reflected their creative fields. Fink—sporting white Chuck Taylor sneakers, a small earring and a pinky ring—sat aside O'Brien—himself wearing a short-sleeved black-and-white Hawaiian print shirt and velcro sandals.

O'Brien spoke first.

"When people ask me how I got into theater, I answer by saying I was raised Catholic," O'Brien began, to loud laughter. He then went on to explain what exactly he meant.

Describing his rural Minnesota hometown, O'Brien detailed how his experiences in church introduced him to the idea of a space with rules and expectations.

"There was a mystery about it, and I was drawn in," he said. "Something about the ritualized behavior people engage in to create a world of some sort."

While not religious, O'Brien was deeply moved by Catholic ceremonies and rituals such as singing in Latin and the preciseness of lighting the Easter candle. In the same way, he was attracted to the theater—a building where one has certain expectations upon entering, and rituals are carried out for a greater purpose.

"In the same way laws and expectations come together to create the experience of theater," he said.

Fink then began his monologue, but first joked that he was not going to be talking about his Jewish upbringing. Instead Fink talked about a college rock band he was in during the Vietnam War.

The band, "Jeremiah 6:14," performed covers of songs they learned to play through the radio.

"We would call the radio, ask them to play a song, record it and figured out how to play it," he said. "We were playing 'Hey Jude' before you could go out and buy it."

It was during one of his request calls made to a radio station when instead of being transferred to the DJ, he was instead directed to ABC Vice President Allen Shaw by mistake. Shaw began asking Fink about music, and by the end of the conversation Fink was invited to the studios to make a tape.

"It turned into a 12-year-stint at ABC," Fink said.

Since then, Fink has DJ'd for many stations, including K Rock, and now The Peak. He enjoys working for The Peak because they play a wide array of classic rock and remain focused locally.

"We focus on what's happening right around us," he said. "I am so glad to be working at a station that is constantly adding music."

When the floor opened for questions, people asked Fink which musician interview was his favorite (Barry Gibb) and to comment on the music and theatrics of Lady Gaga. And then, someone asked them both to comment on the secret of their success in their respective fields.

The rock DJ and the renaissance man agreed: in both their careers, they have strived to keep things fresh and current.

"You can't keep doing the same thing for 40 years," Fink said, citing how his current studio doesn't even have a single record player in it—when that was all he had at the beginning.

O'Brien, who is known for offering up hip and modern Shakespeare, agreed that it is important to keep up with the times.

"If people didn't find things they can relate to in Shakespeare plays, they would disappear," he said.

The next CrossTalk will be held at the Katonah Art Museum on September 16th. The wine reception begins at 6:30 p.m. Book agent Molly Friedrich and New York Times writer Lisa Belkin will be speaking. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and reservations are recommended.  For more information, click here.

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