Evanston RoundTable, Oct. 18, 2024

Exciting news from the highly creative Fiffer clan, longtime northwest Evanston residents: When last heard from on these pages two years ago, Steve Fiffer was celebrating the publication of The Moment, his 20th book of non-fiction. It included first-person accounts from 38 influential “changemakers” explaining what impelled them to press ahead with important social justice work. The Moment has been used in schools around the country to inspire and guide students to be their own changemakers.

And in 2015, the RoundTable chronicled the publication of two of Fiffer’s books in just nine weeks.

His latest work of non-fiction, Dancing With the Dragonpublished Oct. 1, is a collaboration with Texas energy entrepreneur Patrick Jenevein about the perils of doing business in China.

Subtitled Cautionary Tales of the New China from an Old China Hand, the book is “very timely,” said Fiffer, citing the many critical issues the U.S. faces with China, including tariff wars, threats to Taiwan and a bilateral trade relationship equaling $575 billion in 2023. (Full disclosure: Fiffer and his wife Sharon lead a writing workshop that enabled me to conceive and write my own second novel.)

“Jenevein’s story reads like a thriller,” blurbed Retired Brigadier General Rob Spalding. “Knowing he made it through the journey and prevailed, his takeaways from brawling with the Communist Party add perspective that can and should help any US administration stand up to China.”

Fiffer will interview Jenevein, who now consults on contemporary China issues with the U.S. government, major companies and NGOs, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20 at The Book Stall, 811 Elm St. in Winnetka. There will also be a book reading and signing.

A film with Evanston ties

But during a recent interview, Fiffer was far more interested in talking about his daughter Nora’s first movie, Another Happy Day, a dramedy about a new mom’s struggles with postpartum depression.

Evanston actors Marilyn Dodds Frank (left) and Lauren Lapkus in Nora Fiffer’s new film Another Happy Day. The scene was shot in Evanston’s Larimer Park. Credit: Nora Fiffer

The movie, which premiered last December at Vail Film Festival, has since been shown at the Santa Barbara and Beverly Hills festivals.

Sun-Times movie critic Richard Roeper called the movie “a vibrant and utterly real film, with sharp writing and endearingly relatable performances.

The film has a strong Evanston provenance. Writer and director Nora Fiffer was born and raised here and graduated from Evanston Township High School in 2002. Speaking from her home in Peterborough, New Hampshire, she said, “I have a lot of Evanston pride. I spend a lot of time there. It will always feel like home to me. That’s where I fell in love with theater, appearing in YAMO and in A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Aaron Carney, who’s still there.”

Carney, the longtime technical director for ETHS theatre productions, said Fiffer was a freshman in 1998, his first year on the job. “Streetcar was the first major show I directed, so there were a lot of firsts with Nora. She just had that spark, so joyous, such a great energy and presence,” he said. “She challenged and inspired us all to learn more, to be more curious, to give our everything to what we were doing. I’m sure she’s still inspiring people to this day.”

Joanna, the new mom in the movie, is wonderfully portrayed by former Evanston resident Lauren Lapkus (a 2004 ETHS grad). She said it was a “dream come true” to film in Evanston. “It was truly so special to make this movie with Nora. I remember being in awe of her when she performed in plays at ETHS when we were students there. She is such a brilliant writer, an incredibly intuitive director and a great friend.”

The critical role of Miriam, Joanna’s estranged aunt, is played by longtime Chicago theater maven Marilyn Dodds Frank, who lives in south Evanston. A short but hilarious scene features Dodds Frank with veteran Evanston actor and screenwriter Tim Kazurinsky, who plays a commercial casting director.

‘Happy family’ on set

Kazurinsky said Fiffer was wonderful to work with. “All actors are insecure and neurotic. Nora kept everyone in a good frame of mind and created a happy family.” He also lauded her ability to get what she wanted in a performance. “She was very adept at giving actors direction without triggering all their usual defensiveness and negativity.”

Parts of the movie were filmed in Evanston, including a scene at the Fiffer home on Wesley Avenue, a house in south Evanston and exteriors at Larimer Park.

Fiffer, who has co-written, directed and produced four short films, 12 plays and the web series Matching Pursuit, said the idea for Another Happy Day came to her around the time her daughter was born in 2015. “I had the same vantage point as Joanna. I remember times when the baby was sleeping on my stomach and I literally could not move. I was figuratively and literally stuck.” Sleepless nights and exhausted days led her to start scribbling ideas onto Post-it notes, which eventually resulted in the first of 30 drafts in 2016.

Evanston’s Nora Fiffer (right) directs Marilyn Dodds Frank in a scene from Another Happy Day, which Fiffer also wrote. Credit: Nora Fiffer

With the full support of her lead producer Jessie Holder-Tourtellotte, Fiffer insisted on limiting filming to eight hours a day and having child care available on set, which she said was “appropriate for a movie about the challenges of first-time motherhood. We also wanted to make the workplace accessible to new parents to best tell this story.” Variety magazine said this way of shooting — versus Hollywood’s typical 16-hour days — just might be “the future of movies.”

A shoestring budget and a tight 20-day shooting schedule meant there was little room for delays. To prevent problems, Fiffer prepared a 77-page document that broke down every shot at every moment.

It worked. The film finished on time and on budget. It’s a delight. You can see it on Amazon Prime or at its Chicago premiere 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28 at Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago.

Meanwhile, Fiffer continues with her New Hampshire-based Firelight Theatre Workshop, which she co-founded in 2017 and has since mounted more than 20 original theater and film works. She’s also writing her next screenplay, which she said will explore the intricacies of a new friendship, and has signed on to direct Holder-Tourtellotte’s next film project, a drama.