Even though many know him mainly for his roles in indie flicks like The Squid and the Whale and oft-quoted Hollywood films such as Dumb and Dumber, Jeff Daniels — yes, that Jeff Daniels — juggles several careers at once, piling theater work and music on top of his more well-known film roles.
Before he hit the screen, Daniels worked in a number of Broadway productions, returning to the stage most recently to star in 2009’s Tony Award-winning God of Carnage. In between major theatrical productions and films, Daniels finds time to help run a small-town Michigan theater company and nurture a career in music.
The entertainer, who will perform in Frederick tomorrow, does not work for a major label. He’s not in it for the money either — the proceeds from his CD sales go to the theater.
And he’s certainly not in it for the fame.
“I had played for years, but it was just for me, either in the apartment or out on the porch,” Daniels said. “It wasn’t until the Purple Rose Theatre Company in Michigan, where we always have to raise money, needed something for Christmas week and New Year’s week. They said, ‘We saw you play your guitar at a bar once, when you were forced to. Why don’t you go out and play your songs?'”
Officially, Daniels acts as the executive director and chief fundraiser for the theater, though less is asked of him now that the theater is in its 20th year.
“Now, I’m predominately there to oversee it, as a liaison between the board and the theater group itself,” he said. “I’m the guy that we roll out to help raise money. And then I’ll write a play every year or so for the theater.”
In his role as chief fundraiser, Daniels continued to perform at the Purple Rose until, in 2003, his agent suggested he take his show on the road.
“Jim Fleming, the agent I have, saw me and said, you know, you could do this elsewhere if you want,” he said. “I liked the idea.”
While on the road, he has developed his show into a casual, alternately hilarious (his most infamous song is a jab at William Shatner’s failed foray into music) and moving show.
“I try to give off the feeling that I’m sitting on their couch in their living room, that I’m there to entertain them,” he said. “That just comes from the theater, having been taught that at 8 o’clock, when the play goes up, you grab them by the lapels. When the show is over and when the play is done, you let go but you never let them go before that.
“It’s kind of the last five years when I’ve gotten out on the road and built the show,” he added. “It’s like having a football team — you’ve got to have a deep bench. I try to have two or three or four different shows that I could insert this song and pull that one, depending on the audience or what I feel like playing.”
Despite Daniels’ success as a traveling musician, his songwriting process has not changed.
“As an actor and as a writer, you learn how to listen,” he said. “We’re trained to watch people and study people and see if that spurs something and turns into some kind of illumination of the human condition, or whatever loftier phrase you might find.”
Much of Daniels’ songwriting happens in between major projects.
“You have time away from it, and that’s when I can write the next play, work on songwriting,” he said. “For me it kind of all comes from the same place, which is the source of it all as a writer.
“You make them laugh harder than they have in a long time; you make them think, drop into one that’s moving, then make them laugh,” he said. “By the time it ends, they go, ‘Man, that was completely unpredictable. I had no idea what was going to happen. Let’s see that show again.'”
Jeff Daniels will perform at the Weinberg Center for the Arts tomorrow. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $27.50 for balcony seats.
diversions@umdbk.com
