Interview: Jennifer Jonassen of EXQUISITE PRESSURE at Odyssey Theatre

 You never know when you might meet your hero—doubly so when they’ve already passed on. But in her new play, “Exquisite Pressure” , playwright Jennifer Jonassen takes that premise and adds a dose of magical, whimsical theatricality to imagine what happens when a devoted Tennessee Williams fan discovers that her daily visits to the playwright’s statue can lead to something much more unexpected. 

“Exquisite Pressure” follows Hanna as her admiration for her literary hero takes an extraordinary turn. Jonassen’s inspiration for the play is remarkably personal. An ardent Williams fan herself, she found herself sitting beside his statue while studying playwriting at Mississippi University for Women, in the very town where Williams was born

Jonassen is also directing and producing the production, which stars Joey Landwehr as Tennessee Williams and Sonya Leslie as Hanna. Here, she talks about the real-life inspiration behind “Exquisite Pressure,” the influence of Williams on her writing, and the joys and challenges of bringing new work from the page to the stage.

“Exquisite Pressure” is described as a tragic fairytale about a devoted Tennessee Williams fan whose relationship with his statue takes an unexpected turn when he comes to life. What inspired you and drew you to explore the intersection of devotion, loneliness, and imagination through this unusual relationship?

I have always been an ardent fan of Tennessee Williams myself. So, when I found out my graduate program at Mississippi University for Women was based in the same town that he was born in (Columbus, Mississippi), I was over the moon excited. The program is primarily online but for two summers you spend an intensive residency on campus. At the end of each day, I would go sit on the bench next to Tennessee Williams’ statue to decompress. At the same time, I was taking playwrighting classes. And I loved the image of someone visiting his statue as a daily ritual and tried to find a story to grow out of it.

I think that finding Hanna’s deep loneliness was perhaps the way in to telling the story. Here is a woman who has no one else in her life to talk to but a statue of her hero. And I also think that the longing to meet our heroes is universal. This led me to the exploration of: what would happen if we met those that we looked up to? And do we get to see them clearly or is it our imagination and our projections that we might experience?

Tennessee Williams remains one of the most celebrated American Playwrights, and Hanna’s connection to him is rooted in both admiration and longing. What does Tennessee Williams represent within the world of the play, and how did his work influence your approach to writing “Exquisite Pressure”?

We find so much longing and admiration in many (if not all) of Williams’ works. As cliché as it may sound, I think that Tennessee Williams represents kindness. He is kind to Hanna while the rest of the world is not. He really sees her while she remains invisible to the rest of the world.

What I found fascinating as I wrote this play was that I would take a little bit of Tennessee’s style, add my own very different voice (I grew up in Brooklyn), and mix a lot of imagination into it for good measure. In particular, I was drawing on my favorite of his plays: "Summer & Smoke"- a play that I still feel closest to and is deeply rooted in longing & admiration.

Your play explores difficult and timely themes, including addiction, mental health, and society’s treatment of its elders. How did you approach balancing the magical, fairytale elements of the story with the very real human struggles Hannah faces?

My hope is that the magical elements of the play- particularly the statue coming to life- inherently balance the harsh realities that the character Hanna finds herself in. This is a woman who has done everything she was told to do in life. She did all the right things and still ends up struggling.

You are taking on multiple roles as writer, director, and producer of this production. What has the process been like bringing “Exquisite Pressure” from the page to the stage, and how has working with actors Sonya Leslie and Joey Landwehr shaped your vision for these characters?

These are two powerhouse actors! Joey is channeling Tennessee Williams’ spirit in the most beautiful and poignant way. Sonya Leslie’s audition was so powerful and dynamic there was no question that she play Hanna. They both breathe so much life into their characters that my words are elevated in an unexpected and profound way. I think there is a beautiful alchemy that happens when an actor brings their creativity and perspective to roles I write. I love seeing my characters transform in the process.

This production is being presented as a self-produced work at the Odyssey Theatre. What has the experience of independently creating and sharing this piece taught you about the challenges and rewards of bringing new work to audiences?

There are so many challenges and rewards in self-producing your own work. There is a lot of preparation behind the scenes before the first rehearsal even begins. And no matter how diligently you prepare, there are definite bumps in the road. Example: Needing to find another rehearsal space because the air conditioner in our current rehearsal studio does not work (of course on the hottest day of the summer)

I am about midway through the process of producing “Exquisite Pressure”. There are a million little details involved with getting the page to the stage: Artistically, technically, administratively, etc. I have been keeping a journal as well as logging everything I do each day, and the list is impressively daunting. But it is also exciting because this is a play that I wrote, that I believe in, and that I get to work with extraordinarily gifted actors.

What do you hope audiences take away after spending time with Hanna and Tennessee?

That is a tough question. First, because I don’t want to give too much away about the plot. It is hard for me to boil it down to one message. But also, my hope is that each audience member finds something that resonates with them in the script and characters. I always love to hear what the audience members experienced and what they individually take away from the play. Each of their specific perspectives really fascinates me.

“Exquisite Pressure” offers audiences a chance to spend an evening somewhere between reality and fantasy, alongside a woman whose devotion to a literary hero becomes something far more complicated—and perhaps far more human. For Jonassen, the play grew from a very real place: a playwright sitting beside the statue of a writer she admired and wondering what story might emerge from that encounter. The result is a play that asks what it means to be seen, and what can happen when loneliness and imagination collide.

How To Get Tickets

“Exquisite Pressure” runs Saturday, September 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 6 at 2 p.m. at the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. Admission is free, and no reservations are necessary.

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