Steven Cheslik-deMeyer

Fresh out of art school in the early ’80s, Steven Cheslik-deMeyer bought a used guitar in a junk shop on St. Marks Place, learned three chords, and taught himself to write songs by listening to Dolly Parton records. He insinuated himself into the post-punk neo-folk scene in the East Village, but soon discovered the world of downtown theater. Through the late ’80s and early ’90s, he wrote and performed music in several experimental productions with Tiny Mythic Theatre Company and directors Kristin Marting and Tim Maner. In 1992, he and Jay Byrd created an act called Y’all, singing original songs and telling stories in the style of old-time country vaudeville. The act sprang from the downtown theater scene but went on to play in coffeehouses, churches, retirement homes, and rock clubs across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In ten years, Y’all recorded four CDs, published two books, appeared on MTV and Comedy Central, and went broke. Their last two years together, they lived in a camper on the road with a third partner. Steven made a documentary about that relationship and the final years of Y’all, Life in a Box, which premiered in the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2005. After the demise of Y’all, Steven returned to New York where he continues to make music and theater and musical theater. He is a 2019 Jonathan Larson Grant finalist, a MacDowell Fellow, and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in American Studies. For more information, go to stevencheslikdemeyer.com.