THE BARKSDALE BUZZ: Behind the Scenes at Barksdale Theatre in Central VA

Thanks to My Fair Cast

2011-12-10T12:11:00.013-05:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
There's an old saw that goes "Nine tenths of directing is casting"--the point being that if a director is fortunate enough to be able to cast the right actors in the right roles, everything else sort of takes care of itself. Of course, this is overly simplistic crazy talk. Yeah. But it's also kinda true.

In my own experience, I'm reminded of Do Lord Remember Me, Crimes of the Heart, The Normal Heart, The Little Foxes, Boleros for the Disenchanted, and the Smoke on the Mountain trilogy. Somehow I wound up with perfect, surprising, wonderful casts in each of those shows, and my job in rehearsals became refreshingly joyful and easy.

The same is true with My Fair Lady. Will any theatre anywhere have a more perfect cast for this irreplacable classic? I don't think so. Of course, these are the words of a lovesick director so they cannot be trusted. Most of you already know to take this and everything I ever write with a grain of salt. If you didn't know that before, you now have been so advised.

Having admitted that, here's some gospel truth you can take to the bank. Any stage director who has the privilege to work with Stacey Cabaj, Joe Inscoe, Jason Marks, Suzanne Pollard, Matthew Costello, Lauren Leinhaas Cook and Ben Houghton should count him/herself blessed. And having a supporting cast that includes Brian Baez, Andy Boothby, Dawn Hall, Robin Harris, Michael Hawke, Maggie Horan, Christie Jackson, Paul Major, Mark Persinger, Russell Rowland, Ali Thibodeau, Alana Thomas, Durron Tyre and Ingrid Young ... well, that's just an embarrassment of riches.

Not only are these people talented, experienced and smart, they're fun to be around, they expect serious and focused work from each other, and they give every moment of rehearsal and performance everything they've got.

The show is going great guns, and prompting among the most enthusiastic audience feedback (phone calls, emails etc.) that I've ever encountered. These are the first people I need to thank. And I do so, now, with a full and happy heart.

--Bruce Miller

"A Year with Frog and Toad" Set to Open This Friday

2011-11-02T03:00:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV have been working in official strategic collaboration since July 1, 2001--just over ten years. While some may think of us as one company--both nonprofits have spent over a decade sharing a common staff--in several important ways our two theatres have maintained their individual identities throughout every day of the last 124 months. Barksdale and Theatre IV continue to operate with separate missions, Boards, seasons, budgets, assets, audits, development campaigns, and brands.

In some ways, it's hard to believe that our two theatres have been in courtship mode for over a decade and we've yet to bring our two theatres together. Chalk it up to devotion and commitment. In reality, the powers that be at Barksdale are so strongly in love with their legacy and mission to adult audiences, and the powers that be at Theatre IV are so completely dedicated to their legacy and mission to children, families and schools, everyone is still trying to find the right way and time to come together.

If and when the engagement is formally announced and the date of the wedding is set, "we" will be a new company with an unsurpassed commitment to adult audiences and an equally strong dedication to kids and education. If you look closely at nonprofit theatres around the nation, that profile is amazingly rare.

Our next demonstration of our belief in children, families and schools opens this Friday at Willow Lawn. A Year with Frog and Toad is itself unique, in that it was the first all-out children's theatre musical to be produced on Broadway, based of course on one of America's favorite series of children's books.

Arnold Lobel (1933 - 1987), creator of the Frog and Toad series, was one of our nation's greatest children's book authors and illustrators. He wrote and illustrated 30 books (two published posthumously), and illustrated an additional 42 books by other authors. His works include the beloved Frog and Toad series (1970 - 1979), plus Owl at Home (1975), Mouse Soup (1977), Fables (1980, Caldecott Medal winner), and Ming Lo Moves the Mountain (1982).

Willie Reale, who wrote the book and lyrics for the musical, is a playwright and lyricist who often works with his brother Robert. He is a major creative force behind the 2009 revival of The Electric Company on PBS. In 1981, he founded NYC's 52nd Street Project, a nonprofit that brought inner-city children together with professional theatre artists to create new work. In 1992, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship ("genius grant") for that accomplishment. In 2006, he was nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) for his lyrics for Patience from the film of Dreamgirls.

Robert Reale, Willie's brother who created the music for A Year with Frog and Toad, is a composer with a long list of credits in film, TV and theatre, creating the original music heard on Good Morning America, Primetime, 20/20, and Inside Edition. In 2003, the Reale brothers received a Tony Award nomination for their score for A Year with Frog and Toad.

Arnold Lobel died when he was 54 years old, and his daughter, acclaimed scenic designer Adrianne Lobel, committed herself to extending the life of his work. She had graduated from the Yale School of Drama, where she studied with iconic designer Ming Cho Lee. While continuing her own career creating world-renowned sets for Arena Stage, the Guthrie Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, PBS Great Performances, and the Metropolitan Opera, she posthumously published the final two books in her father's beloved Frog and Toad series. She also commissioned the musical based on her father's characters. She designed the sets, basing her work on her father's original creations.

The musical was workshopped in 2000 at Vassar College, and later produced by the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. It transferred to Off-Broadway at the New Victory Theatre in 2002, playing to good reviews and sold-out houses.

A Year with Frog and Toad opened on Broadway on April 13, 2003. The show is credited with breaking new ground by bringing professional children's theatre to Broadway for the first time. It's success enabled the Children's Theatre in Minneapolis to become the first children's theatre in the nation to receive the prestigious regional theatre Tony Award in 2003.

We hope you'll join us for this delightful show--truly a holiday treat for the whole family.

Richmond is blessed to host visits from touring productions of family shows like Wicked, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. We are equally blessed, and I believe this with all my heart, to be the home town of a major professional theatre that cares just as much about children and education as we do about national caliber productions for adults.

Using any and all criteria for excellence, The Velveteen Rabbit was one of my favorite productions of the year last season. I'm really looking forward to spending some time this holiday season with some of the most lovable and cherished animals you'll find on any Virginia stage.

Hope to see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Jackie Jones Explains Why the Artsies Were So Much Fun

2011-11-01T03:00:00.006-04:00

We recently received this very gracious email from veteran Richmond actress Jackie Jones. It's filled with so much of Jackie's signature joie de vivre that we asked her if we could post it here. We think the spirit of her note captured the evening's excitement perfectly. If you were unable to attend, this is what the Artsies felt like.

To my Friends at Theatre IV,

Please accept my thanks for hosting the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards 2011. Also, please pass along my appreciation to all the staff involved. I had a ball!

I was grateful that the strike after our final Cat on a Hot Tin Roof performance ended early enough for me to curl my hair. Yet all the hairspray that kept it together even with the force of Big Daddy’s hand every performance of Cat was not enough to help when a man fell into me and uncoiled my coif.

Some of my favorite RTCCA 2011 moments were:

~ The valet parking! Wow, they were expedient.

~ Being escorted to my seat by the stunning peach-satin-clad usher who only hours before had been striking at Firehouse. Annella Kaine was our Cat on a Hot Tin Roof sound tech and I forgot that she might have a life outside of a dark theatre and her crew blacks.

~ Telling the man next to me to stop texting (and he did … and then moved at intermission!).

~ Audra Honaker’s bird (see photo of Audra and Jackie at top of post). Kim Jones Clark’s golden mermaid dress. Terry Snyder’s authentic Davy Crockett scarf. Everyone’s gorgeous self.

~ Chatting with Regina Carreras before the Awards began, peeking back at her when Morrie Piersol won her necklace, and looking forward to Carol Piersol wearing that necklace to the next big soiree!

~ Bryan Harris and his amazing RTCC band. Thank you to the playbill compilers for naming Stephanie, Craig, Steve and Bryan in the playbill.

~ The script. Funny and insider and what a kick.

~ David Janeski’s imitation of John Porter!

~ Terry Snyder’s thank you song and everyone snapping with him.

~ His students’ loving tribute to Ernie McClintock and then later, J Ron Fleming’s proud proclamation that without Ernie’s inspiration, J Ron would not have become an actor.

~ Michael Gooding’s heartfelt swell and Don Warren’s fond remembrance of Jay and his laugh. During the pre-show reception, Don noted how many of us wearing purple and commented that it was Jay’s favorite color.

~ The audience response to what we thought was the end of “9 People’s Favorite Thing” (see photo of cast above and to the left) and after a forever ovation, the tag to their song--especially since [title of show] did eventually tie for Best Musical!

~ Scott Wichmann’s eloquent toast to his challenges of the past year and the new ones to come.

~ The concept of The People’s Choice Award: more Fundraising and FUN-raising.

~ 2 Men / 1 Dream - starring Jason Roop and Jack Lauterback and featuring caricatures of a few favorite Richmond directors and choreographers played by themselves. Side note: Frances Wessells was my choreographer for Youth on Stage in 1974. We toured the state; her life experience and wisdom made a profound impact on me. I realize now as I type that even then she was further along in her life than I am now in my own! Maybe I still have time to catch up.

I missed the grand promenade of the RTCC members from Artsies of old. I hope next year the powers-that-be will reinstate that segment so we can see all the critics standing together and applaud their efforts to put on this wonderful celebration of our theatre community, for bestowing nods and awards which stroke our egos, offer terrific marketing tools for the companies and individuals, most especially for supporting the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund - and of course providing a perfect “theatre prom” to don my purple sparkly dress, new rhinestone combs, and University of Richmond loan of my Big Mama necklace, courtesy of Heather Hogg.

The evening went by in a flash! My one suggestion might be to include phonetic spellings for the more unusual names to spare the presenters/hosts embarrassment. Oh, and also for the mics to be a bit louder or more well-placed--there were some presenters who were hard to hear. I mention this hint for presenters not used to hard copy scripts: perhaps they should consider either marking their cues with tabs OR carrying their scripts to follow along. (I guess that was three suggestions. Oh well, good things come in threes.)

I can hardly wait for next year.

Warmly,

Jackie Jones

Final Words of Wisdom & Friendship from Evan Nasteff

2011-10-31T03:00:00.005-04:00

It's our farewell conversation with Evan Nasteff who plays Chris, son of the title character in Becky's New Car. Becky's continues to cruise at Barksdale's Hanover Tavern home, and will be delighting audiences through Nov 6. Pretty much everyone agrees that this is a Barksdale show you won't want to miss. And if you've never been out to the Tavern, this is a perfect introduction. The historic Tavern dates back to the 18th Century and the lifetimes of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, but Becky's New Car couldn't be more fun and fresh. Don't miss it!

Q - Welcome back, Evan, for our third and final set of questions.

A - Fire away! I'm having fun.

Q - Okay. Lots of actor hopefuls say it's impossible to arrive new to the scene in Richmond and get cast in your first audition, and yet ... you did it. What's it been like to join the Barksdale family with this production? Will we be seeing more of you in the future?

A - I will be auditioning for as many shows as I can. Being in this play, with this awesome cast, and under the amazing direction of Billy Christopher Maupin...the experience has reignited me. As for the other part of your question, what I find appealing is how welcoming everyone in the whole community has been. In terms of our cast, I didn't know who Melissa Johnston Price was, even though she's in STYLE Weekly as one of Richmond's favorite actors. I didn't know Gordo or Dave or Daniel or Christine. I'd met Maggie because I saw her kick butt in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Dog Sees God, both directed by BC, on back-to-back nights; but I didn't really know her, or anybody. As I started to learn who these people were, and how incredible they are and how rife they are with professional theatre experience ... then I freaked out. But they were all so welcoming, so nice, that if they didn't have so many damn stories of past plays together, you'd think that they could be on their first show too.

All the new people I've met now in the theatre community, I'll shake their hand and say, "Hi, I'm Evan Nasteff, nice to meet you" and they'll say, "Oh, you're the one in Becky's New Car!" and I'm like, "How the hell did you know that?" Everybody's been so welcoming to me, and that's what's been so appealing. I was a complete outsider, scared out of my mind of these amazing actors, and now I'm a part of it and I get to act right alongside of them. And now that I'm friends with all of them, they don't impress me at all anymore. Kidding.

Q - What do you think is the message of Becky's New Car, if there is one? What does the play have to say to people in our age bracket?

A - Um, I think we all imagine that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, and that we all worry about becoming complacent and not achieving our goals and dreams; and, without spoiling anything, Becky's explores what MIGHT happen if someone decided to just hop over that fence really quick and just check shit out. Becky wonders if maybe she can attain greater things in life. I don't want to sound too corny, but Becky's message is that life is about the journey. It's not where you've been and where you're trying to get to, but it's the journey that matters, and we all find that out in this show. Hey, come to Becky's New Car! Dave Bridgewater will give you free beer! That's another message.

Q - Being new, you can see things from a fresh perspective. Do you have any constructive suggestions to offer to Barksdale or the Richmond theatre community in general?

A - Everybody seems to get along really well. I think. It just seems like everyone supports everybody else. All the different theatre companies go to see each other's shows. I met the artistic director from the Firehouse Theatre, Carol Piersol, on Opening Night of Becky's. And I read the great things Bruce said about going to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Firehouse, and I know he went out to the Mill too to see the Carter Family show. I guess I always thought the different theatre companies met in the streets and had West Side Story knife fights. That's what Maggie said in her interview, right?

Q - What does the future hold for Evan Nasteff? Any dreams you can share?

A - I'm moving to Hamburg, Germany! I'm going to go work at the Hollister store there. They have a Hollister in Germany. They speak English fluently in Hamburg, and the store is completely English-speaking! I need to brush up on my German, and by that I mean I need to LEARN German, but at least while I work I will have no communication barrier to break down. I've worked at Hollister in the past, and the opportunity arose and I decided to jump on it. I figured, if I didn't, I would regret it forever, plus Melissa Johnston Price told me I had to, so there wasn't really choice involved anyways. I'm going to give myself at least a year there, maybe more if I love it, which is likely, but as soon as I get back I'm going to dive right back into theatre and acting in general, so nobody get out of the pool while I'm gone, okay?

(Photo captions: top, middle and bottom - Evan the bartender with some of the beautiful women in his life.)

Goodbye to "Becky" & "Kimberly"; Hello "Frog and Toad"

2011-10-30T03:00:00.004-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
On Friday of this week, we'll open one of our two Broadway for the Holidays musicals, A Year with Frog and Toad, directed by Steve Perigard and choreographed by Leslie Owens Harrington. This is one of those times when we can shout out "Fun for the Whole Family" and really mean it. Please make plans today to treat your children and grandchildren to this joyous classic.

On Saturday evening, we will celebrate the final performance of Kimberly Akimbo, and on Sunday we'll bid a fond farewell to Becky's New Car. We hope you won't let either terrific show pass you by.
All week we'll be putting the final touches on our new lobby paint job at Willow Lawn. Many thanks to the terrific volunteers at Altria for choosing this as one of their community volunteer projects. After 15 years, our Willow Lawn lobby definitely needed a little sprucing up. In all sincerity, Altria, we couldn't have done it without you.

Olives on the Front Porch, our first Bifocals show of the season begins touring this week to senior centers and retirement living facilities throughout Greater Richmond. I'm so proud of the wonderful theatre artists who are pouring their hearts, souls and talents into this exceptional service initiative.

All told, we'll be presenting 68 live performances this week--our busiest week so far this season. Here's some of what's happening at your theatre.

Monday, Oct 31
FIELD Arts Project - 2 classes Chesterfield Co VA
Olives on the Front Porch - 3 pm Beth Sholom
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Westmoreland Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Chesterfield Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows Martinsville VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Harrisonburg VA

Tuesday, Nov 1
Kimberly Akimbo - 7 pm Theatre Gym
FIELD Arts Project - 1 class Henrico Co VA
Frog Prince - 2 shows Cedar Falls IA
Hugs and Kisses - 1 show Fairfax Co VA, 1 show Prince William Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Louisa Co VA, 1 show Hanover Co VA
Snow White - 2 shows York Co VA
Tales as Tall - 1 show Halifax Co VA, 1 show Mecklenburg Co VA

Wednesday, Nov 2
FIELD Arts Project - 2 classes Chesterfield Co VA
Olives on the Front Porch - 1 pm Lifelong Learning
Frog Prince - 2 shows Oelwein IA
Hugs and Kisses - 1 show Prince William Co VA, 1 show Fauquier Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows Accomack Co VA
Snow White - 2 shows Halifax Co VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Nottoway Co VA

Thursday, Nov 3
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
Olives on the Front Porch - 7:30 pm Cedarfield
Hugs and Kisses - 1 show Amherst Co VA, 1 show Bedford Co VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Vera Beach FL
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Hanover Co VA
Snow White - 2 shows Richmond VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Chesterfield VA

Friday, Nov 4
A Year with Frog and Toad - 7 pm Willow Lawn (opening)
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
FIELD Arts Project - 2 classes Chesterfield Co VA
Olives on the Front Porch - 2:30 pm St. Francis
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Prince William Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Lecanto FL
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Loudoun Co VA
Snow White - 2 shows Halifax Co VA
Tales as Tall - 1 show Richmond VA, 1 show Chesterfield Co VA

Saturday, Nov 5
A Year with Frog and Toad - 2 pm and 7 pm Willow Lawn
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym (closing)
Snow White - 1 show Dublin OH

Sunday, Nov 6
A Year with Frog and Toad - 2 pm Willow Lawn
Becky's New Car - 2 pm Hanover Tavern (closing)

Hope to see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Evan Chews Fat on Tats & Tips to Attract 20-Somethings

2011-10-29T03:00:00.004-04:00

We're back again with Evan Nasteff, the young but seasoned pro (college level) who is new to Richmond theatre but knockin' 'em dead nonetheless at every performance of Becky's New Car. So far our actor interviews have run veteran (Frank Creasy), 20/30-something (Maggie Roop), veteran (Jill Bari Steinberg), and 20-something (Evan Nasteff). Evan brings a youthful perspective and a lot of energy to the production. We're glad he was discovered by the director of Becky's, Billy Christopher Maupin. Becky's must close on Sunday, Nov 6. Now would be a GREAT time to call 282-2620 to buy tickets, or order tickets online at www.barksdalerichmond.org!

Q - Thanks again, Evan, for putting up with all the questions. This one's a bit cliche, but ... do you have any favorite moments or scenes in Becky's?

A - See, this is really tough. I knew you'd ask me this, but I'm still finding it hard to answer. There are so many amazing moments, and this thing is hilarious. If I had to pick one, I would say that there's a part at the end of the play where the mood is incredibly tense and somber, and Steve, played by Daniel Moore, is just completely oblivious to it. He's in his own world, talking about Pomegranate Spritzer and hiking, and it's just completely perfectly ridiculous and hysterical. When you're playing a character like that, you can't shy away from that obliviousness, and Daniel goes all the way. He gives an amazing performance, and I'm laughing in my head right now thinking about the way he says the line "Trail-friendly gorp."

Q - Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway have been making it pretty clear that they're all about attracting younger audience members into the theatre. Becky's New Car has a lot to say, I think, to audience members of all generations. For me, it's good to look up on stage and see someone like you who's approximately my same age. Are you personally having any success convincing 20-somethings to come see you at the theatre, or do you think Barksdale in general is having any success, based on who you're seeing at Becky's New Car? Do you have any ideas on how to attract our demographic?

A - Um, it's hard. It's extremely difficult, and I know because I've been struggling with it every day. The people I've been trying to bring in are young, and some of them would rather go pay fourteen bucks to see Michael Bay blow some shit up in 3-D than see a quality theatre experience that would stick with them for a lifetime, you know? What would I do, or what should Barksdale be doing? Well, I guess I would advertise on some medium that young people are going to look at every day. We don't read the paper, we watch TV and check Facebook. STYLE Weekly is good, though: it's free, and free is pretty affordable to young people, and STYLE takes time to talk about and review theatre, which is great. That, and doing shows that young people might recognize or at least be intrigued about, like Spring Awakening, which Barksdale will be doing next summer.

Q - Are your co-workers and friends from the bar coming to see you in the show?

A - It's been tough because I've been having some issues getting some of my co-workers to come. With the Hookah staff, though, it's not an issue of wanting to come. They have all been very excited for me, and very supportive. The problem is that most of the shows fall on nights when they have to bartend, so it's been tough getting some of them out to the Tavern. Those who have come to the shows we've had on Wednesdays and/or Sundays have raved about it to their friends and the staff, so we'll see what happens here in the home stretch.

Q - One of the benefits of that towel scene--see, I'm just like that girl who talked to you on Opening and fixated on your few scantily clad moments--anyway, one of the benefits is you get a chance to show off your tattoos, which are cool I think. What are they and do they have any special meanings to you?

A - Well, I have four. On my left wrist is a Triforce, from Zelda. Yeah, a video game. It stands for Power, Wisdom, and Courage, and if you can be the master of all three parts, well, you're pretty much set. On my chest is a symbol from Super Mario Brothers. I know, I know...

My right arm is a scene of a young me and my grandfather. We're sitting on a bench near the Chesapeake Bay and he's teaching me how to play the harmonica. It's a beautiful scene of a beautiful memory, and I wanted to remind myself that, although he's gone, the lessons he taught me are not.

My left arm is a quote from "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles: "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see." What I take from that quote is that it's easy to get through life unaware of your full potential, but it's something else entirely to open your eyes and fully realize your true capabilities. That, or Lennon was on a lot of acid. But it serves as a constant reminder to me to pursue success in things that matter to me-- like theatre-- and to be the best me I can be.

(Part 3 coming this weekend!)

Jill Bari Steinberg - Part III

2011-10-28T03:00:00.002-04:00

After introducing you to Evan Nasteff yesterday, today we're back for Part 3 of our interview with Jill Bari Steinberg. I guess we're testing your ability to multi-task. I'd know for sure what we're doing but I'm too confused. Anyway, in case you need reminding, Jill Bari is appearing this weekend and next in Kimberly Akimbo, the quirky comedy that is attracting new fans every day. Kimberly is produced by Cadence Theatre Company in partnership with Barksdale's Theatre Gym. Following unanimously rave reviews, its final five performances are as follows: Saturday Oct 29 @ 8 pm, Tuesday Nov 1 @ 7 pm, Thursday Nov 3 @ 8 pm, Friday Nov 4 @ 8 pm, Saturday Nov 5 @ 8 pm. We hope you'll join us for the fun!

Q - Hi Jill Bari. We're glad to have you back. Sorry we had to bump Part 3 of your interview so we could sneak in a little promo for Becky's New Car?

A - Is that what that Evan the Bartender thing was all about?

Q - Well, sort of.

A - Yuuuch. (a Yiddish noise that sounds like a shoulder shrug) I did like his joke about the top hat. (deep, dirty chuckle)

Q - Anyway, Kimberly Akimbo concerns a dysfunctional family, and your character is a major part of the dysfunction. What does this family have to say to us? Why should we spend two hours with them?

A - “What dysfunction? I’m just trying to get to Miami . I don’t understand the question. Do you have a spare $20?” – That’s what Debra would say. I have yet to meet a family that was dysfunction-free. For that reason alone people should like this play. Either they will recognize themselves, recognize their family members, they will be happy they're not as crazy as the Levacos, or probably a little of all the above. Through the Levaco’s dysfunction there is a real positive message about living life.

Q - Speaking of living life, how did you meet Steve and how does he deal with your theatre habit?

A - I met Steve because of theatre. I was in a Firehouse show and the stage manager, Kathleen Boyle, had a birthday so we took her to a place she liked called Chuggers. I had never been there. Steve's band was playing a gig there and then we got married. It only took 8 years. As a musician he understands being an artist and has only ever supported me and encouraged me. He was even in Hedwig with me at the Firehouse. He was great!

Q - Barksdale strives to be a major national theatre. Does Richmond need a major national theatre, or would our community's artists and audiences be just as well served if all the theatres were of a smaller size?

A - I think the more theatre the better, that being said I do prefer quality over quantity, that being said many smaller theatres in Richmond put out great quality shows, that being said...oh, I don't know what I'm saying anymore. These questions are too hard.

It would be great if Barksdale was a major national theatre. They already are in my mind. And it would be great for our city if Barksdale gained even more national attention.

Q - All of us at Barksdale believe we benefit from constructive suggestions. If you could change one thing at Barksdale, what would it be?

A - A year ago I would have said please bring back Theatre Gym but that's what you just did! Now I wish only for calm seas and smooth sailing, financially speaking. And I know that's not easy.

Q - What's the weirdest audition experience you've ever had?

A - Years ago I was at an audition and I was in a packed room full of actors I didn't know. I read the scene and the director asked me to read it again. That was all he said – “Read it again." I don't like auditioning in front of crowds of other actors. Auditions are hard enough and that is a lot of pressure, especially in a room full of strangers. So I was already not feeling very confident and I had only been cast in two plays in Richmond at that point and didn't know a lot of people but I read it again anyway. The director looked at me and said loud enough so everyone could hear, "When I asked you to read it again I meant with more personality, not less." I must have looked like someone punched me in the gut. I just walked out. Now that I have been in this city so long I always make it a point to introduce myself to the new guys at the auditions if I can. I remember that feeling of being sort of an outsider and it sucked.

I have never had an experience like that since then and I never auditioned for that director again. But I hope he saw The Syringa Tree.

Coincidentally that was also the day I won a Phoebe Award for A View from The Bridge. After I left that horrible audition I ran into my friend Paul James in the lobby and he said “Congratulations, Jill Bari!” I looked at him like he had two heads and said “What do you mean, Congratulations? I was just humiliated in that audition!” He just smiled and said “You just won a Phoebe.”

It ended up being a pretty good day after all.

(Photo captions: top - hosting the first RTCC Awards, with Duke Lafoon and Vicki McLeod; middle - appearing in The Laramie Project with Theatre IV; bottom - her legendary performance in The Syringa Tree)

Bartender to Barksdaler--The Secret Life of Evan Nasteff

2011-10-27T03:00:00.000-04:00

We've decided to save Jill Bari 3 to sneak in another plug for the final two weekends of Becky's New Car. So today we begin our--is it too soon to say "traditional"?--three-part interview with Evan Nasteff, the attractive young bartender who's setting aside his martini shaker Thursdays through Sundays to stir up some mischief in BNC at Hanover Tavern. When you're strategically seeking to attract a younger audience--and yes, Barksdale is making steps in that direction--it's not stupid to recruit the talents of a guy like Evan. He's young, he's hip, he's tatooed, he's completely comfortable appearing in swimwear--and at the same time, he's clean cut, polite, smart, and would make a good impression if you took him home to meet your mother. In short, he has the potential to attract a younger crowd while also pleasing American theatre's more traditional ticket buyer. Not a bad skill set--behind a bar or onstage at Barksdale. Becky's New Car runs this weekend and next before driving away and into the sunset. Everyone loves this quirky, contemporary comedy. What's the matter with you? You haven't seen it even once!?

Q - Hi Evan. Thanks for agreeing to talk with us. You're a new face in professional theatre in Richmond! Welcome. Where was your previous acting experience?

A - I'm four years out of college and thrilled to be returning to the theatre scene. Becky's is the first professional play I auditioned for in Richmond, and it will not be the last. I acted in high school, and ended up as a theatre major at Hampden-Sydney College. Hampden-Sydney has a small theatre program. As a result, everyone involved in it is completely immersed and extremely passionate. I had the privilege of studying under the amazing wife-and-husband team of Shirley Kagan and Matt Dubroff. Together they run the theatre program at H-SC, and they take turns directing plays, demonstrating their unique and contrasting styles. Because they're so different in their approaches, but equal in passion, their shows always feel fresh.

Q - What were your favorite shows with Kagan and Dubroff?

A - Playing Buckingham in Shakespeare's Richard III, which Matt set in the modern era and re-titled K-R:III. We were flying on wires, shooting each other, and fighting in slow motion. Very cool. Acting in Rashoman, a sort of murder mystery classic adapted for Broadway by Faye and Michael Kanin from an even more classic Japanese film, the 1950 masterwork by Akira Kurosawa. The film in turn was adapted from two dark Japanese short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Just like many Japanese film classics, the story in the play--a murder mystery told from several different perspectives--starts out quietly, the storytelling is very subtle, and then everything slowly builds momentum. There was some incredible work done in that show.

I loved performing in Noises Off!, a farce to beat all farces--just about the funniest thing I've ever read, seen, or been a part of. Shirley pulled out all the stops and we crashed over, under and through the revolving set to packed houses every night. I also flipped out over every single second of playing Marc in Yasmina Reza's Art, and every nanosecond of working with the amazing people in that show. It was my thesis. Grant Mudge from Richmond Shakes came and reviewed me. I got an A! Fun was had.

Also, in Noises Off!, I got to have my pants systematically fall down every night exactly when I wanted them to. Gotta love that.

Q - You're a much-acclaimed bartender at Off the Hookah, or so I've been told by several of your fans. Do you find any similarities between your work behind the bar and your work on stage?

A - Actually, being a bartender has a lot in common with theatre. Whether you're grinding out crushed red pepper in fine dining or slinging vodka-cranberries at a nightclub, people come expecting some kind of show. It's my job to give them that show. In fine dining, paying customers at the bar expect to be provided for, and in most cases, engaged in some sort of conversation. At Off The Hookah, we have different actors playing different roles. We have machines, bartenders who dispense drinks as fast as humanly possible; we have the girls, the eye candy behind the bar who keep the guys coming in droves; and we have the circus, the bartenders that throw bottles way up in the air and breathe 151-proof fire. I fall in the "machine" category. I would say "eye candy," but I'm not sure a sparkling sequin glitter-bra would look very good on me.

Q - I don't know. In Becky's your character comes on stage for one scene wearing nothing but a towel. And no one in the audience complains. How do you feel being exploited as a hunk of man candy?

A - Oh shit. You know, I didn't even feel that way at all, and--I haven't told the cast this, I was going to save this story for our cast party. On Opening Night, we had a party afterwards in Hanover Tavern's tap room, and... well, there was an open bar. This cute girl comes up to me, and I had never seen her before, and she goes, "So what were you wearing under your towel?" Not, "Good job!" Not, "I'd like to discuss your political stance on withdrawal from Iraq," but, "So what were you wearing under your towel?" That's one of the few times when I sorta thought, oh, maybe they are using me as a steaming hunk of whatever-you-called-it. But, the way I see it, whatever sells tickets, man. Everyone who knows me knows that I really don't have any boundaries at all, and I'm not afraid of anything--except spiders-- so it isn't an issue for me.

So she says, "What were you wearing under your towel?" and I said, "A top hat."

(Coming Soon - Part 2. Photo captions: top right - promo shot for Becky's with Melissa Johnston Price, center left - at the Artsies with his new friend Audra Honaker, bottom right, on stage in Becky's New Car)

Spielberg Dolls Up the Empire for Her 100th Birthday

2011-10-26T03:00:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
We're gavotte-ing into rehearsals for My Fair Lady this week, the 100th Anniversary production of the historic Empire Theatre. Our fair (and historic) theatre opened on Christmas Day, 1911! The consensus among those in attendance seemed to be that last night's read through/sing through went incredibly well. Tonight Leslie has her first choreography rehearsal. I'm excited and scared to be underway. The Empire herself must be pretty excited too. Steven Spielberg and his actors will be filming inside our landmark performance hall soon. They've completely transformed the inside of the theatre--removing seats, leveling the floor, constructing a full, beautiful period set on stage. I'm not allowed to say much more than that. But what I can say is that the design team for this film, led in part by Richmond-based art director David Crank (who also works, when we're lucky, as a Barksdale designer), is extraordinarily talented. What a nice pre-centennial birthday tribute for the magnificent Empire. Spielberg is going to make her a star!

What better way to celebrate Halloween than by going to the theatre, where people wear costumes all year long! We have two treats running this weekend: Becky's New Car at the Tavern and Kimberly Akimbo (special Wednesday matinee tomorrow at 2) at Theatre Gym. Call 282-2620 for your tickets today! Also, the restored art deco marquee is going up on the Empire this week, and we're repainting the lobby at Willow Lawn (with help from Altria volunteers!). And, we're presenting 51 live performances. Here's some of what's happening at your theatre.

Monday, Oct 24
Frog Prince - 1 show Flint MI
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Richmond VA
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Topeka KS
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Henrico Co VA

Tuesday, Oct 25
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Caroline Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Spotsylvania Co VA
Snow White - 1 show Halifax Co VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Henrico Co VA

Wednesday, Oct 26
Kimberly Akimbo - 2 pm Theatre Gym
Frog Prince - 2 shows in Albemarle Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 1 show Norfolk VA, 1 show Isle of Wight Co VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Rockbridge Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows in Roscommon MI
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Henrico Co VA

Thursday, Oct 27
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Frog Prince - 1 show Dinwiddie Co VA, 1 show Chesterfield Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Suffolk VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Chesterfield Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Euclid OH
Snow White - 2 shows Louisa Co VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Henrico Co VA

Friday, Oct 28
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
FIELD Arts Project - 2 classes Henrico Co VA
Frog Prince - 2 shows Chesterfield Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Isle of Wight Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Henrico Co VA, 1 show Richmond VA
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows Fairfax Co VA
Snow White - 1 show Hanover Co VA, 1 show Richmond VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Henrico Co VA

Saturday, Oct 29
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
Snow White - 2 shows Phoebus VA

Sunday, Oct 30
Becky's New Car - 2 pm Hanover Tavern

Hope to see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Jill Bari/JB - Call Her Anything 'cept Late for Casting Call

2011-10-25T01:40:00.004-04:00

We're back for another visit with Richmond favorite (and Theatre Gym veteran) Jill Bari Steinberg. From what I've observed, most of Jill Bari's friends call her "Jill Bari" ("Bari" being pronounced exactly the same as "Barry"), although JB also seems to be popular. At least one close friend consistently calls her Jill. Jill Bari is married to musician Steve Organ.
Q - Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. Should I call you Jill Bari, or JB, or Jill?

A - Yes.

Q - Do you have a day job, other than acting?

A - I work at the Library of Virginia. It's wonderful being surrounded by history, genealogy, and so many books. It's also nice to see people research their own family records. Corrie Barton, Jacquie O'Connor and Dan Stackhouse also work there, so one of us is always promoting one Richmond production or another. There's a group of my co-workers that comes to see most of my shows, and that group seems to be growing, so that's nice. We all have to do what we can to build the Richmond audience.

Q - You've had the opportunity to play a great variety of characters. Does any one role stand out as being particularly challenging or invigorating?

A - There's something challenging about every role and every performance. Sometimes I feel good about my work, and sometimes I fail miserably, but there is always a lot to learn from every experience and from every person you get to work with. I think I've had the chance to work with and learn from the best directors in town--Anna (who's directing Kimberly), Steve, Keri, Bruce, Scotty, Bo, Rick (St Peter--I'm new and had to ask), to name a few. The role I'm currently playing is challenging and fun because she's crazy and grounded at the same time. Luckily, I'm not alone. I have Anna to guide me, and an amazing cast of actors to listen to on stage. With Irene Ziegler, Debra Wagoner, Richard Koch and Matt Mitchell by my side, performing the role of Aunt Debra is a real blast.

Q - What's the best thing about working with Anna Senechal Johnson?

A - She's positive and supportive and wicked smart. This production is her vision of this great material brought to life. It's not easy to tell a bunch of seasoned (ie: old) actors what to do, but Anna always knows what will work best for the play. She directs with equal parts listening, problem solving, kindness and skill.

One of my favorite Anna directing moments happened during rehearsals for My Children! My Africa! (mid-90s). There's a moment in the script when the character I was playing has a complete meltdown--she screams, cries and even collapses. At the time that seemed like the scariest thing in the world to me, so I tried convincing Anna that it would be a lot stronger moment if I held back and didn't go there. She didn't agree and said something like, "That's what that moment is all about, losing all your confidence and comfort and control. Use your fear. I know you can do it." What resulted was--for me--a real breakthrough and one of my favorite moments ever on stage. That is something cool that the best directors I've worked with all have in common--they have always said something along the lines of "This is something you can do." That confidence in you from someone you admire goes a long way.

Q - If you go just by the numbers, one could say that the majority of the Richmond mass audience attends only touring blockbusters like Wicked or The Lion King, touring shows at the Landmark. What would you say to these masses to encourage them to attend a locally produced production?

A - First I'd say, "Good for you! You went to the theatre! Didn't you love it?" Then I'd gently suggest that they're really missing out if that is all that they're seeing. If they love musicals, I'd tell them to go see whatever musical is currently playing at Barksdale or Theatre IV or Swift Creek, and suggest we talk about it afterward. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Putnam County Spelling Bee, Once on This Island, Joseph, Annie, Seussical, Urinetown, The Sound of Music--the list of truly great, splashy, locally produced musicals goes on and on, and all of them were better than any bus and truck show I've ever seen. We buy local produce and goods because they are just better. It's the same with theatre. Not that I'm biased or anything.

(Part 3 coming soon to a blog near you! Photo captions: as the daughter in On Golden Pond with Joe Inscoe, as the mother in Last Days of Judas Iscariot with Jesse Mattes, as the niece in How I Learned to Drive with Gordon Bass)

Theatre Gym Veteran JB Steinberg Discusses "Kimberly"

2011-10-24T03:00:00.015-04:00

This week we're posting a three-part interview with Jill Bari Steinberg, one of Richmond's finest. JB is currently starring as the truly dysfunctional Aunt Debra in Kimberly Akimbo, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay Abaire, running for two more weekends at Theatre Gym, the 81-seat studio theatre space in the historic Empire Theatre complex. Kimberly is directed by Anna Senechal Johnson, and produced by Cadence Theatre Company in partnership with Barksdale's Theatre Gym. Theatre Gym used to be the name of Theatre IV's initiative through which facilities and other services were shared free-of-charge with independent artists who wanted to co-produce outstanding, contemporary, provocative theatre. Today, Theatre Gym is the name of not only the initiative, but also the facility itself. The 81-seat studio space is no longer named The Little Theatre--it's now Theatre Gym. New signage will be coming soon! Jill Bari is practically a founder of Theatre Gym. The Barksdale Buzz was pleased to catch up with her to discuss present and past experiences.

Q - Thanks for talking with us, Ms. Steinberg. I'm told you grew up in Portsmouth. What brought you to our fair city?

A - I came to Richmond for VCU and stayed. My first professional Richmond production was Boys' Life, directed by Dan Ruth and produced by Keri Wormald. For a couple wonderful years Dan and Keri had a small stage company called Shadowcast Theatre Works. It was a great experience. The show was performed upstairs at what was then the Paradise Cafe-- now it's the deLux Diner & Lounge--one of the many Richmond theatre spaces that have come and gone.

Q - Has Richmond theatre changed that much over the years?

A - I think we have more theatre companies around now. That's a good thing in that it gives more people a chance to develop their craft.

Q - You've performed a lot in Theatre Gym. What's the experience like?

A - I love Theatre Gym because of its intimacy. In its early days, Theatre Gym provided a venue to a lot of actors and directors when not many other spaces were open to them, a way to produce something yourself to show the world what you had to offer. I feel like I grew up there in an artistic sense, having acted in My Children! My Africa!, How I Learned to Drive, Heathen Valley, The Cripple of Inishmaan, A Devil Inside, and the initial run of The Syringa Tree--as well as working behind the scenes on Jack and Jill and Raised in Captivity.

The intimacy of the space is great, but it also offers challenges. For some reason, people in the front row think it's OK to rest their feet on the stage. I guess it's nice that they're so comfortable there, but it drives me crazy. One night during The Syringa Tree, a gentleman's cell phone rang, which would have been bad enough but he decided to answer it, and then, while talking to his friend, he proceeded to walk across the stage to the actors' exit door. All 24 characters in my head wanted to scream at him. But I stayed cool, ignored him and continued the play.

One of my funniest moments on stage happened during A Devil Inside (pictured to the right). My character was dead after throwing herself under a moving train. Bill Blair and Bridget Gethins were playing a scene next to my decimated body. Bridget was supposed to shoot Bill at the end of the scene, and then he dies--I think just about everybody in that play died in the end. Anyway, Bridget goes to shoot Bill and the gun doesn't make a sound. So Bill grabbed his chest, started to collapse with a final death groan and haltingly shouted, "Oh! A silencer!!"

My poor little train-ravaged body started shaking with laughter and I couldn't stop. Since the audience was only three feet away, someone had to have noticed. Now if only I'd had that silencer when the guy with the cell phone walked across stage...

(To be continued... Photo captions: middle photo--Jill Bari with her husband Steve Organ; bottom photo--the cast of A Devil Inside: [back row, left to right] Steve Perigard, Bill Blair, Rick Brandt, [front row, left to right] Jill Bari Steinberg, Bridget Gethins, and an actress whose name Bruce can't remember, 'cause he doesn't think it's Donna Coghill but he might be wrong. Can someone help us please?])

The Empire Theatre's Design Firm Wins Top State Award

2011-10-23T03:00:00.002-04:00

Posted by Phil Whiteway
Congratulations to our good friends at Commonwealth Architects. They have been selected to receive the 2011 T. David Fitz-Gibbon Award, the highest honor given by the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects. Commonwealth Architects is the firm we've contracted to design the restoration of the neo-classical and art deco facades of the historic Empire and Little Theatres, known jointly as the Empire Theatre Complex. Kjellstrom and Lee is managing the construction. The facade should be fully restored to its 1911 glory, as pictured above and to the right by Feb 2012.

The Fitz-Gibbon Award recognizes a Virginia firm that has consistently produced distinguished architecture during the preceeding decade. The award will be presented at the Virginia AIA's Visions for Architecture Gala, to take place at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on November 4. In his letter of nomination, Richard Sliwoski, director of the Virginia Dept. of General Services said, "Commonwealth Architects' ... philosophy of reinforcing communities by rehabilitating existing buildings and encouraging compatible infill development is their hallmark.

Robert "Bob" Mills, a founder of the firm in 1999, states that the Richmond-based company has built its practice around a mission of "rebuilding community." The three recent projects that helped to convince us that they were the right firm for our job included:
* the adaptive renovation of the historic Chamberlin Hotel at Fort Monroe into a continuous-care retirement community,
* the transformation of the historic Miller & Rhodes Department Store in downtown Richmond into a mixed-use project featuring condominiums and a Hilton Garden Inn, and
* the redesign and reuse of a historic locomotive manufacturing plant into Bowtie Cinema's Movieland at Boulevard Square.

Commonwealth Architects specializes in pedestrian-scaled, mixed-use urban infill architecture and adaptive use. Over the next decade, as we expand our historic Empire complex to include the property to the west, which we have purchased, and the two properties to the east, on which we hold a right of first refusal, we know that Commonwealth Architects is providing an excellent foundation upon which we can build our expansion.

Commonwealth is also highly experienced in the use of state and federal historic tax credits, a skill set that is now integral to all historic renovations. Investment tax credits can save owners like Theatre IV as much as one-third of a project's rehabilitation costs.

We're proud to know that we're partnering with such a distinguished firm as we continue to exercise appropriate stewardship of our historic treasure--the oldest major theatre in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

--Phil Whiteway

Tommy Mc, When Are Ya Comin' Back?

2011-10-21T17:26:00.005-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Our resident great guy, Tom McGranahan, showed up at work today. You just can't keep him away from the place. "I just wanted to see if any checks came in, so that I could get them to Tracy," he said. Tom does all the invoicing and check accepting for our playbill advertising. After determining that no checks had arrived, he headed home again. But all in all, I gotta say that he seemed no worse for the wear.

When I asked him if he remembered anything about passing out in the lobby, he confessed that three days of memory were completely wiped out. But he says he's looking forward to getting zapped by the gamma knife next week.

And he said to THANK EVERYONE for their cards and good wishes.

Gotta love that guy!

--Bruce Miller

"Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas" on Hardscrabble Knob

2011-10-21T03:00:00.005-04:00

Posted by Phil Whiteway
We're pleased to announce the cast of Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas, our world premiere holiday musical at Hanover Tavern, running Nov 25 - Jan 8. Returning from our Smoke on the Mountain trilogy will be five beloved actor/musicians: Emily Cole, David Janeski, Drew Perkins, Aly Wepplo and Eric Williams, all members of Barksdale's version of the Sanders Family. Joining the fun for the first time will be Katrinah Lewis, Nick Shackleford and Anthony Smith.

Direction is by Anna Senechal Johnson, with music direction by Drew Perkins. The original script is by our artistic director, Bruce Craig Miller (he uses his middle name only as a playwright, to avoid confusion with another writer named Bruce Miller). The music is mostly traditional mountain music with English and Irish origins. All instruments (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, flute, piano, harp, bass, etc.) are played by members of the cast. Kelly Kennedy is offering assistance with music and choreography. Set design is by Terrie Powers, and costume design by Lynn West.

A Little Background - In 1912, a team of U.S. Forest Service employees headquartered at an inn named Mountain House, located about 20 miles outside Staunton. They walked, drove, rode on horseback, and surveyed the mountains and valleys of Virginia's Highland, Bath and Augusta Counties. Their work led to the 1913 purchase of more than 38,000 acres on and around Shenandoah Mountain--some of the first property to be acquired for the Shenandoah National Forest.

Connecting Mountain House with Hardscrabble Knob, the second highest peak on Shenandoah Mountain, a creek called Ramsey's Draft flows freely through these high Allegheny Mountains. From its headwaters of mountain springs at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation, the stream drains the wilderness's 6,500 acres. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps build a road that roughly followed the path of the draft, allowing Shenandoah Valley residents unique and previously unavailable access to Hardscrabble Knob.

On cold December evenings in the 20s and 30s, the mostly poor Appalachian residents who once owned this land would travel in horse drawn wagons, up the new rough road, toward Hardscrabble Knob. Before reaching the peak, they'd leave their wagons at road's end, and climb through a dense stand of old growth hemlock, giant trees that had begun as seedlings at about the time that Columbus was "discovering" America. At the rocky peak, they would join as a community to perform their treasured holiday traditions, sing and play their ancestral songs, and celebrate this Garden of Eden that their English, Irish, Scotch-Irish and German ancestors had settled in the 1700s.

Historian and writer Lella Smith, who's family has lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains since before the American revolution, writes that in the 1930s, two areas in the United States were acknowledged as sacred: the Four Corners area of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada; and the mountains surrounding the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Several peaks contained "dancing grounds, sacred places where paths crossed and people gathered to dance by moonlight."

Today, Mountain House is nothing but a wayside parking lot with picnic tables. The road constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps was washed away by Hurricane Camille in 1969. The majestic hemlocks have been devastated by an infestation of the wooly adelgid, and nearly all of the 500-year-old trees now have died.

In Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas, we'll venture back to December, 1938, to Hardscrabble Knob on Shenandoah Mountain (from which you can look east to the Blue Ridge), and revisit a merry night during the Great Depression when a group of warm-hearted Appalachians gathered in joy on a cold mountaintop to honor a sacred season and celebrate a magical land that was no longer theirs.

--Phil Whiteway

Safely Back in NYC; Missing My New Family in RVA

2011-10-20T03:00:00.003-04:00

Posted by Nick Ciavarella (pictured below at the RTCC Awards and in Lend Me a Tenor, with Chris Stewart)
It was a very strange feeling getting off the train from Richmond back into New York City and making my way to Brooklyn, where I reside. There was a faint recollection of arriving in New York 3 years ago, suitcase in hand, for the first time. It seemed unfamiliar and exciting. I’ve been away for 2 months for other gigs before and getting back to New York always felt like getting back to the grind, but this time was different. It occurred to me that despite the fact that I had spent a mere 9 weeks in Richmond, I still felt as though I had just uprooted myself to begin anew. How, after so short a time spent in one place, could I possibly have become so attached?

I wonder if you in the Richmond theatre community realize what you have. I felt like I had stumbled into the back door of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and noticed the Oompa Loompas going about their business and I kept wanting to ask them, “Do you realize this is the greatest place in the world to work??” (I hastily add that in no way am I implying that my Richmond friends remind me of Oompa Loompas. No twisting my words, anonymous talk-backers!)

Here is a place where actors can make a living as actors while being a part of a tight-knit community of other talented artists. Every time a friend from New York asked me how Richmond was, the word that I kept using was “anomaly.” If another theatre community exists like this anywhere else I certainly haven’t stumbled across it yet.

On Day 1, walking into my first rehearsal for Lend Me a Tenor, I was literally shaking with nerves. Everyone knew each other and had worked together numerous times and here I was feeling like I was walking into someone else’s family dinner with my plate in hand saying, “yeah, I’ll have the biggest piece."

No sooner did rehearsal start than I felt embraced by everybody in the room as if I were one of them. From that point forward I felt at home.

I was so fortunate to meet so many people (and still not enough) during my time in Richmond. People were consistently warm and welcoming. I never felt like an out of town actor, but instead like someone who had just moved to a friendly neighborhood.

Not that it was all peaches and cream. Let it be known that I survived a hurricane which knocked out my power for 8 days, an east coast earthquake, and I broke down not one but two company cars. The first one broke down when my parents were in town (and in the back seat), and the second one broke down somewhere outside of Staunton on the side of the road at night where I was sure Leatherface would pop out at any moment. (The conversation with vehicle fleet manager Gordon Bass went a little bit like this: “Hey Gordon, the van is making a funny noise so I took it to a mechanic who said that if I drive it any further the back wheel might actually pop off. What should I do?” “Oh those old vans are always making funny noises. Why don’t you see how far you can make it?")

The van was pronounced dead 5 miles later, and I spent the night in Waynesboro’s ironic Quality Inn. It’s funny now and it was honestly funny then because during both breakdowns I knew people were scrambling to save me, which they did. Leatherface never caught up with me.

Now I’m back in New York and I miss everything and everyone in Richmond already. The cast and creative team behind Lend Me a Tenor were all so beyond talented and a pleasure to work with and get to know. Everyone would get their own paragraph if I started thanking people directly so I will spare the readers. But I hope they all know how much they meant to me during my time and how much fun it was to have created such a successful and zany show with them.

I do, however, want to single out Bruce Miller who saw me in a Shakespearian tragedy and thought I might do well in a modern farce. Bruce gave me a chance and I couldn’t be more grateful.

I look forward to returning to what honestly now feels like my second home sometime soon. Until then, thanks to all who made my experience so rich and meaningful!

--Nick Ciavarella

Confessions from the Queen of Paper Cuts

2011-10-18T22:54:00.005-04:00

Posted by Annie Hulcher
What can you learn from stuffing envelopes?

I suspect anyone who has ever interned has asked himself or herself this very question. I was asking myself this question a few weeks ago, wondering what I could possibly gain from this besides multiple paper cuts.

I'll admit that after sitting in a classroom all day learning about calculus and reading Beowulf, it's nice to come to the welcoming environment of the Theatre IV offices and do something that is relatively mindless. I get to talk to the other volunteers I'm working with, or staff members who come and take a break from their own work and chat with me for a bit. Ultimately, doing this mindless work gives a girl time to think.

A major component of my mentorship course is writing a college style research paper on a topic related to what I'm doing “in the field." I've been thinking a lot about this recently, and the topic I keep coming back to is how technology is being utilized in the theatre community, specifically marketing and development.

The letters I was stuffing contained a plea to patrons to donate money so that Barksdale and Theatre IV can keep producing Broadway caliber shows, such as this past summer’s hit Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. As Bruce has stated in previous blog posts, Barksdale is taking steps to become a nationally recognized regional theatre, and they are well on their way. Obviously, without donations from patrons this wouldn’t be possible.

Any-who, while I was stuffing, I couldn’t believe so many trees were being killed when this could all be done via e-mail, facebook, or twitter. After discussing this with Barksdale's staff, I learned that right now, research indicates that approximately 44% of Barksdale's subscribers--the people most likely to contribute--don't actively communicate via email, much less twitter. I also learned that national research indicates that funding requests sent through the U. S. Postal Service initiate 72% of all contributions made in response to a written request. Only 28% of these contributions are made in response to email requests.

As each year goes by, more people respond to email, or give Barksdale their email addresses in the first place. Still, I am slowly becoming fascinated by how theatres around the world are reaching their widest base of patrons by using both snail mail and email. Barksdale in particular has patrons who have been committed to the theatre since the 50’s. Barksdale's job is to appeal not only to them, but also to budding theatre enthusiasts such as myself, and everyone in between.

Theatres today have to consider the demographics of their audience from all angles, including:

* what shows are selected each season,

* what language, images and media are used to market those shows,

* what creature comforts add most to the theatregoing experience, and

* what technologies and/or traditional dissemination methods can be used to reach all patrons.

What a perfect concept for my paper! Not only that, but how have theatres been making the transition from doing all of their marketing via mail, to incorporating e-mail, and now facebook, twitter, four square, and a variety of other social networks. Even this blog!

I will be doing extensive research over the next few months. Right now, it seems like a mix between the old and the new is the approach Barksdale/TIV is taking. I look forward to learning much, much more about this through observation and research.

And I thought I couldn’t learn anything from stuffing envelopes.

--Annie Hulcher

Yeah, But What Are You Doing for Me This Week?

2011-10-18T03:00:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Considering the theatre work week to be Monday through Sunday, last week ended with a bang, with Central Virginia's talented theatre artists taking home 12 of the 20 Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards for their work in Barksdale productions! Our favorite moment in this year's ceremonies was when our production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tied with Triangle Players' production of [title of show]. You gotta love it when David and Goliath end in a draw...particularly if you're Goliath. Congratulations to all the nominees for their outstanding performances.

This week we begin rehearsals for our World Premiere of Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas, we open our first Bifocals production of the 2011-12 Season, Steven Spielberg and company move into our historic Empire Theatre, and we welcome Henley Street back to Willow Lawn for their annual Bootleg Shakespeare adventure--this year, a free showing of Troilus and Cressida! All told, we're offering 52 performances this week. Here's some of what's happening at your theatre.

Monday, Oct 17
Frog Prince - 2 shows York Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Cumberland Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Culpeper Co VA

Tuesday, Oct 18
Hugs and Kisses - 1 shows Spotsylvania Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Harrisonburg VA
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows Belle Glade FL
Snow White - 1 show Halifax Co VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Chesterfield Co VA

Wednesday, Oct 19
Frog Prince - 3 shows Aurora IN
Hugs and Kisses - 1 show Richmond VA, 1 show Henrico Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 shows Fairfax Co VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Henrico Co VA

Thursday, Oct 20
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
Olives on the Front Porch - 1 pm Willow Lawn lobby
Frog Prince - 3 shows Aurora IN
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Roanoke VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Hanover Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Chesterfield Co VA
Snow White - 2 shows Louisa Co VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Spotsylvania Co VA

Friday, Oct 21
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
Olives on the Front Porch - 1 pm Willow Lawn lobby
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Prince William Co VA
Little Red Hen - 3 shows Wayne Co NC
Snow White - 1 show Hanover Co VA, 1 show Richmond VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Chesterfield Co VA

Saturday, Oct 22
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
Bootleg Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida - 7:30 pm Willow Lawn
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows Troy OH
Snow White - 2 shows Phoebus VA

Sunday, Oct 23
Becky's New Car - 2 pm Hanover Tavern
Kimberly Akimbo - 7 pm Theatre Gym

Hope to see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Bootleg Shakespeare

2011-10-17T03:00:00.008-04:00

Posted by James Ricks, Artistic Director, Henley Street Theatre
I’ve been invited by Barksdale to say a few words on the subject of the upcoming Bootleg Shakespeare Project to be performed for its third year at Barksdale Willow Lawn. Before I go into all that, I have to say that we at Henley Street Theatre are truly blessed to have such good friends at Barksdale to welcome us into their space and present something as special as an evening of free theatre to the community. It’s always an amazing experience and we couldn’t do it without 'em. Thanks again guys!

So...what is Bootleg Shakespeare?

Bootleg: v.tr/n - an audio and/or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist, or under legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging.

This kind of production has taken various forms across the U.S. at some of the larger Shakespeare companies, but the term ‘Bootleg’ was coined by my good friends in Washington, DC at Taffety Punk Theatre who host their annual Bootleg Shakespeare at the Folger Theatre. Taffety Punk is a company comprised mostly of classically trained actors who froth at the mouth at the idea of taking on some of Shakespeare’s lesser known works and kicking it around in a free and friendly environment. That is exactly what the Bootleg shows are designed to do. I took part several years ago playing Henry in their production of Henry VIII and I can describe it as nothing less than a transformative and magical experience. It’s also the kind of theatre that I knew Richmond audiences would love.

Yes James, but you haven’t told us what it is yet…
Right, so here it is…

A cast of actors are given their roles 30 days before the day of the performance. Those actors are responsible for learning their lines on their own and assembling their own character, right down to all their props and costumes. On the day of the performance, this cast of lion-hearted actors meet at 7:30 am at Barksdale Theatre where we stage the show as thoroughly (and quickly) as we can. We repose for dinner and then mount the production at 7:30 pm, to a free and usually full house.

This project is awesome for three reasons:

1. The actors that take part in this project take their preparation quite seriously. Their primary direction from me during those 30 days of homework is to bring in strong choices. It’s only one night after all. Why just come in and recite lines? It’s always exciting to see what actors bring in.

2. These actors come into a performance environment where they don’t have the benefit of repetition and the comfort of getting familiar with those that are on stage with them. This can strike fear into the hearts of modern actors who are comfortable with a long rehearsal process. This project forces them to not only rely on their own devices and creativity, they also have to be hyper-aware of everything that’s going on around them within each moment. They don’t necessarily know what another actor is going to send their way. For me, it’s a perfect demonstration of what makes theatre magical: Actors that are truly living in the moment and listening to all the new stimulus around them, saying words with a freshness and vitality that feeds directly off the energy coming from their fellow actors.

3. The audience is complicit in this type of performance because they are aware of the rules of the exercise. They charge the air with their excitement and anticipation over any potential train-wreck. Interestingly, when a train wreck does occur, the audience rewards the actors with a kind of love you’d never see in a rehearsed production. Most importantly, they are even more energized by all the beautiful moments that actors find, even without the benefit of rehearsal. This energy creates a form of communication between actor and audience that is fearless and loving. I think that’s the kind of relationship we all strive for in life. To experience it on stage, even if for only a couple of hours, is pretty special. If you come to the show, you will see that this dynamic is palpable.

I kept the name ‘Bootleg Shakespeare’ because it lends itself to a feeling of illicitness and irreverence. This is not museum piece Shakespeare. While these actors are highly trained and come in tremendously prepared, there is a youthful, almost child-like approach to the work. Usually with the Bootlegs we produce the plays of Shakespeare that are not very well known. This prevents actors from falling back on their preconceptions of how it is ‘supposed to be done’. Rather, it gives them permission to dive into the deep end of the creative pool. As long as it tells the story, the actors are free to make as bold a choice as possible. It’s only one night after all – and it’s free. No worry of setting off some punctilious reviewer and no worry over the box-office take. It’s a celebration of theatre and it’s actor driven.

At the end of the night, we hope people are galvanized by the fact that they saw a play by Shakespeare they will likely never see, even at a professional Shakespeare company. They will see actors perform a production that is very often much better than many main stage productions, simply due the energy that can only be found at a ‘one-night-only’ performance. They will feel the playfulness that actors bring to the text, thereby giving them permission to listen and react in a way that they might not at a ‘proper’ production where they might feel more self-aware. And at the very end of the night, they will be introduced to the final member of the cast, Phil. Phil, the bucket. I don’t think I need to go into detail about Phil. But I will say that he is hungry to help us keep doing what we do.

I highly encourage you to come out and experience what is truly a memorable evening of theatre. It really is enormously fun, it’s full of great talent and hey, it costs you nothing to attend. What more could you ask for in this economy?

Here are the artists involved in this year’s production: Daryl Clark Philips, John Mincks, Zoe Speas, Foster Solomon, Joe Carlson, Liz Blake White, Kerry McGee, James Rees, Brendan Titley, Jeff Cole, Emma Mason, Ryan Bechard, Adam Mincks, Dean Knight, Matt Hackman, Zach Page, Stan Baranowski, Chris Yarbrough and Cynde Liffick.
Music by: Beggars of Life & Drawn a Blank

The performance is on October 22 at Barksdale’s Willow Lawn theatre. The box office opens at 6:00 pm where people can grab their tickets. There is a two ticket limit per person, so get there early!

There is a preshow performance in the lobby at 7:00 by Beggars of Life, where you can sit and enjoy the offerings of Barksdale’s bar.

For more information, check us out at:
HenleyStreetTheatre.org

Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting live theatre!

--James Ricks, Artistic Director – Henley Street Theatre

All photos courtesy of Henley Street Theatre

Part 3 - Sister Maggie from "Doubt" Explains It All for You

2011-10-16T03:00:00.002-04:00

Well, we promised this post for Monday, but since the Sunday post isn't quite ready yet, we have Maggie 3 one day earlier than expected. This is the conclusion of our interview with Maggie Roop, one of Richmond's finest 20-something/30-something actors. Maggie will be continuing to perform in the new comedy, Becky's New Car, for another three weekends at Hanover Tavern. Don't miss her!

Q - Just a few more questions, Maggie, and then we'll set you free. You're married to one of Richmond's finest scenic artists. Are there any advantages to having a partner "in the business"? Any disadvantages?

A - I don't think Adam's work in the theatre has really affected mine in a positive or negative way. Except that we are especially invested and supportive of one another because we are both working in the same field and community.

Q - We at Barksdale know that we greatly benefit from constructive suggestions. If you could change one thing about Barksdale Theatre, or Richmond theatre in general, what would it be?

A - Well, this is probably going to make me sound like a super idealistic hippie flower child...but I think that we all need to support each other more. There's enough drama in theatre already! This is probably another unavoidable downside to being a theatre artist but sometimes I wish that we could all just get along. I don't mean to say that anything terrible is happening interpersonally in our theatre world here (and this is not directed at any one person or theatre by any means) but I think an extra pinch of sensitivity and tact would make our recipe for success as a community almost perfect!! Harmony and understanding, man.

Q - Sympathy and trust abounding. What is the most unusual, funniest or scariest thing that has ever happened to you on stage?

A - I thought of so many answers right away that I had to call my friend Audra (of the Honaker variety) to help me remember the best one and here it is: First Baptist of Ivy Gap (five of the six cast members are pictured to the left) was directed by Bruce Miller at Hanover Tavern last year. In one scene Jan Guarino's character jokingly smacked Ali Thibodeau (I'm laughing as I tell the story) on the forehead, in the style of a charismatic evangelist, and then Ali would fall backwards into my arms. One night Jan accidentally put a little more force than usual into said smack, or Ali's head was in the wrong place--I don't know; these things happen. Anyway, the smack left a visible, hand-shaped mark on Ali's forehead. When Ali turned around and I noticed this mark I completely fell to pieces. Which I guess wasn't very helpful, but ... Ali was reeling a little from the experience, and I spent the remainder of the very long scene trying and failing to recover from the fit of laughter and tears. I would say this falls under "unusual", "funny" AND "scary." Phew.

Q - What about your work as an actress may come as a surprise to others who aren't "in the business"?

A - Well, I never think I'm any good. It's true that I'm proud of my work and encourage people to come to my performances, but I'm also never convinced that I am doing very well. I think this is the conflict all artists experience. If I felt like I had really done a bang-up job and patted myself on the back, then I wouldn't have anywhere to go from there. It is the constant desire to build and improve that keeps me auditioning and keeps me hard at work.

Saturday Salmagundi

2011-10-15T16:10:00.015-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
It's another week's end grab bag post, but since I didn't really want to use the words "grab bag" again, I searched for synonyms and found "salmagundi," a noun, meaning "a salad plate of chopped meats, anchovies, eggs, and vegetables arranged in rows for contrast and dressed with a salad dressing (sounds good), or a heterogeneous mixture of anything, a hodgepodge." So, this post is not a Weekend Grab Bag; it's a Saturday Salmagundi!

Many thanks to singers Robin Harris, Christie Jackson, Katrinah Lewis, and Anthony Smith (who also played piano); narrator Phil Whiteway; and staffers Derek Dumais, Chase Kniffen, Bruce Rennie, and Brittany Taylor for pulling together the movie music cabaret we presented on Thursday evening for the Metro Richmond Convention and Visitors Bureau (under the title As Time Goes By) and on Friday for the Virginia State Rotary Convention (under the title Hooray for Hollywood). Both programs went very well, I thought, providing solid entertainment for their intended audiences.

Kimberly Akimbo, the inaugural production in our new Theatre Gym partnership with Cadence Theatre Company, previewed on Thursday and opened on Friday with two terrific performances. I'm going tonight (I was tied up with the cabaret on Thursday and Friday), and can't wait to see this fun, quirky, heartfelt comedy. Artistically, the show is a huge success, I'm told by people I trust, but ticket sales are sluggish. We had about 20 audience members on Thursday and 15 on Friday--five of whom were critics or their plus ones. The show runs in the Theatre Gym (81 seats) in the Empire complex now through Nov 5.

We know from lots of previous experience that reviving anything successful, like Theatre Gym, takes time. It's hard to sell tickets when three other shows (Lend Me a Tenor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Merchant of Venice) are in their closing week, and Wicked and the Richmond Folk Festival are working their magic at other venues.

My hopes for the Cadence/Theatre Gym partnership are strong as ever. All of you who would like to see Theatre Gym return, or would like to support Anna Johnson's terrific Cadence Theatre Company, or who just want to see a great new show--please buy your tickets today by calling the Barksdale box office at 282-2620. Or, if you want to buy them online, you can do so at www.BarksdaleRichmond.org.

All box office receipts go to pay the salaries of the theatre artists participating (Cast: Richard Koch, Matt Mitchell, Jill Bari Steinberg, Debra Wagoner, Irene Ziegler; Director and Designers: Anna Johnson, Lily Lamberta, Matthew Landwehr, Terrie Powers; Assistant Directors, Stage Manager, House Managers, Other Staff: Tomas Bell, Brian Baez, Jason Campbell, Jay Paul Photography, David Powers, Melissa Rayford, Jesse Senechal, Susan Senechal, Claire Yenson--some of whom may be working as volunteers).

Top ticket price is only $26, with $19 tickets for Barksdale/TIV subscribers or groups of 10 or more, and $10 tickets for students. I'm hoping that tonight, tomorrow, and next weekend will do land office business. There's a special 7 pm industry performance (open to anyone) on Tuesday, Nov 1.

The Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards will take place tomorrow (Sunday) in the Empire Theatre at 7 pm. The orchestra is sold out, but there are still plenty of good seats upstairs in the balcony. (That's where Phil and I will be!) Tickets are only $15 for a grandly entertaining evening, and 100% of all box office receipts goes to support TAF (the Theatre Artists Fund). You can purchase tickets by calling the Barksdale box office at 282-2620, or online at www.BarksdaleRichmond.org. Click "Special Events & Programs" in the menu to the left of the home page, then click "RTCC on Oct 16" in the drop down menu.

Phil and I debated again this year whether or not to reserve a block of tickets for the theatre artists with whom we were privileged to work last season, and decided again not to do so. I've been told that Chamberlayne Actors Theatre, Henley Street Theatre (Jacquie O'Connor), Richmond Shakespeare (Grant Mudge), and Richmond Triangle Players all purchased blocks of seats to resell and/or distribute to their home teams, and some people have wondered aloud why we haven't. It appears that AART, Barksdale/TIV, Firehouse, and Swift Creek have all chosen not to try to seat their casts together.

Our rationale is this: virtually every theatre artist who works at Barksdale and Theatre IV also works at other theatres in town. We really don't have and don't seek a "home team"; we think our "home team" includes everybody. We wouldn't want any artists to be put in a position where they had to decide which theatre's section they wanted to join for this community-wide celebration. Tomorrow night, the Barksdale/TIV family will be spread out throughout the audience, just as during the season they spread themselves out amongst all of Richmond's theatres. That seems appropriate to us. We mean no insult to anyone in the Barksdale/TIV "family," each of whom we respect enormously.

We're VERY excited that two of our nominees this year are coming to the awards event from out of town--and they're both competing in the same category! Best Actress - Musicals nominees Rachel Abrams and Michelle Lookadoo have their tickets reserved. Rachel flew in from St. Louis, and Michelle took time off from her current Broadway gig (Anything Goes with Sutton Foster; Michelle is pictured to the right, backstage with the beutiful women of Anything Goes, and onstage as Hope Harcourt) to come to Richmond with her husband for the event and some fall foliage hiking in the Virginia mountains. It will be WONDERFUL to see both of these talented women with us for all the fun!

Hope to see all of you at tomorrow's festivities! Good luck and congratulations to ALL nominees! Please remember, designated drivers can get their hands stamped and receive free sodas throughout the evening.

--Bruce Miller

Roop Raps on Shofner, Maupin, Nasteff, Hanover Tavern

2011-10-13T03:00:00.003-04:00

We're in the midst of an interesting interview with Maggie Roop, who is playing the ingénue role of Kenni in the new comedy, Becky's New Car, playing now through November 6 at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern. This is Part 2 in a three-part series. In the photo below, we see Maggie with Durron Tyre and Mark Persinger in Theatre IV's 2011 production of Honk!)

Q - Thanks again, Maggie, for talking with us about your experiences in and around Richmond theatre. Enquiring minds want to know.

A - Don't you mean "inquiring"?

Q - Well, yes, but ... It's a slogan used in the 80s by the National Enquirer, so ...

A - Now you're starting to scare me.

Q - I'm sorry. I'll try to sound less like someone who's lurking in the shrubbery with Bat Boy. Do you supplement your acting with a day job? What is it?

A - I'm very lucky. During the day I work at Romp n' Roll in Midlothian. The company is locally owned and provides classes in Gym, Art and Music for children under 5. I'm the manager there and I also get to teach classes. It's a great way to spend my days before I head to the theatre. In addition to my love of theatre, my next great passion is educating children and nurturing their development.

Q - What are your long term career aspirations?

A - Some Richmond theatre community members may not know that Matt Shofner (VCU grad, actor/singer/dancer and all around fantastic person and pal, pictured to the right) has just moved backed to RVA. Matt and I have a strong desire to bring something more to the theatre community so we are currently working on a new project together. We will be producing some exciting new events starting in the New Year which will help to bring the theatre community together and showcase the rich talent that our fair city has to offer. Stay tuned for more news!!

Q - Now you're the one being cryptic. I like that.

A - Happy to oblige.

Q - You've worked with a variety of directors over the years. How much specific blocking / character advice etc. do you like to receive from a director? Or do you prefer a more organic process?

A - I think one of my greatest strengths as an actor is my willingness to be a piece of clay. At the beginning of my process I really like to give in to what the director is offering me and flow with it. This is something I have honed since school. I find it easier to start out not resisting what the director gives me (within reason) and then as the process continues I start to build on that foundation with the character nuances and specific choices I've found along the way. I think this is what makes Billy Christopher Maupin (pictured to the left) and me such a good team. We have a great push-pull relationship and we speak the same language. Which is why, if you look at my resume, you will see his name peppered generously upon it!!!

Q - You recently had the chance to meet the Staadeckers, the couple that contributed the funding to originally commission Becky's New Car in Seattle. What was that experience like?

A - It was, for lack of a better word, magical. Their passion for this play and for the process of commissioning a play is so inspiring. I hope they are paving the way for more people to take a chance and do what they did, so that theatre across the country and the world can continue to flourish in such a collaborative way.

Q - This is your second show at Hanover Tavern. Can you describe for our readers one example of something that makes the Tavern experience unique?

A - There's no denying that it is a wonderful experience to work in such a beautiful, historic building. The story behind the Tavern makes me feel like I am part of something special. I love the Tavern audiences too! Richmond is blessed with an exceptionally supportive and growing base of theatre patrons. But there's something about the folks who come to Hanover Tavern. They have an energy and appreciation for the shows we do that is palpable.

Q - Some people think of Richmond theatre as a closed shop, or Barksdale as a closed shop. What is your opinion about that issue?

A - I think this is an unavoidable issue in any theatre community. But honestly, I feel like I'm meeting new theatre artists and seeing new actors in Richmond theatre all the time. Evan Nasteff (Chris in Becky's New Car, that's Evan peering over Maggie's shoulder in the Becky's promo shot to the right, with Gordon Bass) and Christine Fonsale (Ginger in BNC) are perfect examples of this. Becky's New Car is Evan's first show in a few years, and Christine is a Williamsburg actor making her Richmond debut. They are both new, fresh faces on a Richmond stage. There's always going to be a core group of people at any theatre who are consistently cast because of their talents and abilities, or because directors and producers know how great they are to work with. A wonderful aspect of Richmond theatre, to me, is that we have both--a broad base of experienced professionals always welcoming a new crop of fresh talent. I like the mix, and wouldn't want to lose one for the other.

(the third and final installment coming next Monday)

Maggie Roop Buckles Up for Interview 'bout "Becky's" etc.

2011-10-12T03:00:00.014-04:00

Maggie Roop has been earning admiration and loyal fans for a while now at Barksdale, Theatre IV, and other theatres around town. She contributed mightily to the musical merriment of Honk!, Seussical, Annie and Guys and Dolls, played a conflicted nun in Doubt (see photo below and to the left, with Irene Ziegler), and a recalcitrant organist in First Baptist of Ivy Gap. Now, in Becky's New Car, she's the young heiress who longs for a life more real. The Buzz caught up with Maggie to ask her a few questions about her flourishing career.

Q - Thanks, Maggie, for agreeing to take a test drive in our new interview series on the Barksdale blog. Billy Christopher Maupin, the director of Becky's New Car, made me promise not to ask anything that might give away plot points, so forgive me in advance if any of my questions sound cryptic.

A - No problem. I like cryptic.

Q - Before we all fell in love with you on our three stages, you must have come from somewhere. Where?

A - That wasn't cryptic at all.

Q - I haven't gotten to the cryptic part yet.

A - I grew up in Herndon, VA which is in the D.C. area near Dulles airport. My first show was a production of Oklahoma! with a children's theatre company in Northern Virginia in which I played one of a herd of gingham-clad square dancing children and I loved it. Then in High School I was cast as Essie in You Can't Take It With You and I was completely hooked. That was when I really knew that I needed to be in theatre. I originally went to the Boston Conservatory as a musical theatre major. It was an excellent program but it didn't focus enough on the theatre side of things for me. I liked the productions I saw at VCU prior to attending and my friends who went there had great things to say about the instructors. So I applied and ... that's how I wound up in Richmond.

Q - Were there any professors who influenced you significantly?

A - Joe Sampson was my acting professor for one semester my first year at VCU and he really taught be to be fearless. He pushed us to make strong choices and I learned from him how to compose a character in terms of the intensity of that character's needs within a play and a scene. My junior year I had Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates as an acting instructor for Shakespeare. Her instruction, in conjunction with the work I was doing that year with Janet Rogers in Voice and Speech, helped me make a huge step forward in my actor training.

Q - You married a fellow VCU theatre grad, the talented scenic artist, Adam Dorland (see picture to right). How did you and Adam meet?

A - Actually, Adam and I met in middle school. We both grew up in Herndon and became close friends in high school. At first we went separate ways for college but we both wound up transferring to VCU (ok, it wasn't exactly a coincidence). We've basically been together since I first moved to Richmond and then we got married last year!

Q - Like a lot of actors, you made the move to NYC following graduation. What was that experience like? What brought you back to Richmond?

A - I moved to New York for one year after I graduated from VCU. Adam graduated two years prior and had been in "the city" during all that time, so I wanted to be with him and give New York a whirl. I had some really wonderful experiences that year teaching theatre to kids. I loved that opportunity. But the city itself wasn't right for me. The culture was thrilling and it is a dynamic and wonderful place, but we all know how expensive it is. I missed a more intimate city with a more laid back pace, like RVA. Someplace that made sense financially. My experience living in NYC and RVA has created in me a great passion for the smaller theatre community. I am a strong believer in this town and the ability we have as a cohesive and tightly involved theatre community to keep growing and maturing and making theatre that is at the caliber of the larger cities and beyond. So, Adam and I decided to make the move back. And we're glad we did.

(to be continued)

Theatre Gym Returns with Cadence's "Kimberly Akimbo"

2011-10-12T00:01:00.010-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
With Thursday's preview and Friday's opening night performances of Kimberly Akimbo, our fabled Theatre Gym series will rise again like a phoenix from the ashes. Kimberly Akimbo is produced by Cadence Theatre Company in partnership with Barksdale's Theatre Gym. Directed by Anna Senechal Johnson, this quirky comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire stars four of Richmond's favorite actors: Irene Ziegler, Debra Wagoner, Richard Koch, and Jill Bari Steinberg, joined by recent Theatre VCU grad Matt Mitchell.

Theatre Gym began in 1991 as an indie initiative of Theatre IV. Through our Theatre Gym program, independent theatre artists were given the opportunity to produce edgy work of their own choosing for adult audiences. Theatre IV provided free-of-charge use of the Little Theatre, box office services, and access to our set, costume and prop inventories. One hundred percent of ticket revenues went to the independent producer, and artists were paid a percentage of those revenues rather than a set fee.

Outstanding Theatre Gym productions included My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard, The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, Jails, Hospitals and Hip Hop by Danny Hoch, Oleanna by David Mamet, How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel, The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien (pictured with Jill Bari Steinberg to left), Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, Italian American Reconciliation by John Patrick Shanley, Heathen Valley by Romulus Linney, Life Under Water by Richard Greenberg, Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan, Keely and Du and Jack and Jill by Jane Martin, Rules of the Lake by Irene Ziegler, Boom Town by Jeff Daniels, SubUrbia by Eric Bogosian, Jesus Hopped the A Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis, The Dead Monkey by Nick Darke, Abundance by Beth Henley, and Raised in Captivity by Nicky Silver, and many others.

One of our 1990s Theatre Gym productions was A Devil Inside, an early work by then novice playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Anna Senechal in her pre-Johnson years. Anna was and is friends with Lindsay-Abaire's wife, Chris, and Theatre IV's Theatre Gym was one of the first companies in the nation to produce his work. Twenty years later, Lindsay-Abaire would win the Pulitzer for Rabbit Hole. Now, once again, Anna Senechal Johnson (pictured to the right with Cadence's cast of Fool for Love) will be directing another of his plays, Kimberly Akimbo, in partnership with Theatre Gym.

There are two major changes in Theatre Gym now vs Theatre Gym then.
1) It used to be that the initiative was named Theatre Gym, but the performance facility was named the Little Theatre. Now, both the initiative and the facility are named Theatre Gym.
2) It used to be that each Theatre Gym production was co-produced by a different independent producer. In 2011-12, and we hope beyond, all Theatre Gym productions will be produced by Cadence Theatre Company in partnership with Barksdale's Theatre Gym.

Barksdale still provides the performance venue, box office services, and access to set/costume/prop inventories free of charge. We also provide limited PR and lots of producing advice. All ticket revenues are still used to pay the artists involved with the production.

Theatre Gym has been on hiatus for the last several years, initially because of interior damage caused by a leaking roof, and then because we were just too busy with other projects to add anything else to our plates. By partnering full-time with Cadence Theatre, we hope to be able to keep the program going without over-burdening our already ridiculous workloads.

If you would like to be a part of history re-making itself, please join us for Kimberly Akimbo, opening this Friday evening. It's going to be a great show, and herald the long-awaited return of an important and innovative Richmond theatre initiative.

--Bruce Miller

Good News for Tom + Latest Reports as They Come In

2011-10-11T02:58:00.010-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Latest news as of Thursday 2 pm, Oct 13 - Marie McGranahan, Tom's daughter, reports that Tom will be going home from the hospital in a day or two. In about two weeks, the doctors plan to perform non-invasive surgery on his brain tumor. Basically, they're going to zap it with a gamma knife, keeping that thick skull of his intact. The hope is that the tumor is still small enough that this treatment option should eliminate it completely. It will be out-patient surgery. Visitation is still "family only," please. Tom is tired, and talking is difficult, mainly due to a raspy, sore throat caused by his recent aspiration.

Latest news as of Wednesday 5:30 pm, Oct 12 - Jackie Jones reports that Tom's son-in-law Gayle Turner says that Tom has begun talking. I know he's glad to have that ability back again!

Latest news as of Wednesday afternoon, Oct 12 - Marie McG, Tom's daughter, reports that Tom was taken off the ventilator this afternoon. He is breathing on his own, feisty and smiling at the family! Visitation is still family only, please.

Latest news as of Wednesday noon, Oct 12 - Tom's family would like Tom's friends to know that his doctors have determined that his collapse was due to a previously undetected brain tumor. Tom lost a kidney earlier this year to cancer. He is still in intensive care at St. Mary's, under heavy sedation. He is still not talking, but Kevin is unsure whether this is due to the sedation or the continuing effects of the brain tumor. Tom's doctors are doing tests to learn more about the tumor, and will provide care options to Tom and his family when those tests are completed. To the best of our knowledge, visitation is still family only.

Thank you for keeping Tom and his family in your prayers. We will continue to add updates to this post as they are provided by Tom's family.

Latest news as of Tuesday afternoon, Oct 11 - Tom has been stabilized at St. Mary's. His son Kevin reports that Tom was sitting up in bed (with some difficulty), mostly alert, attempting some give and take with the nurses (that's our Tom!), still not talking. Doctors have yet to determine exactly what is transpiring. I have no word regarding visitation.

Now here's the original post from Tuesday morning.

A million things are going on at Barksdale and Theatre IV this week, but none is more important than taking a moment to offer up a prayer for Tom McGranahan and his family.

Tom collapsed yesterday afternoon in the lobby at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn around 3:50 pm. He had just finished setting up the chairs and tables for Coffee & Conversations. After a call to 911, the emergency medical technicians were there in about five minutes and Tom was taken to St. Mary's Hospital, where he is being cared for now. I don't know his status regarding visitors.

There is not a more generous, caring and kind man in the world than Tom, who celebrated his 80th birthday just a few months ago. When anything happens, he never thinks "what can I get out of this?" He always asks "what can I do to help?"

When I last heard from Tom's family, the doctors still were trying to determine what was happening.

If ever there were a good Irish Catholic who believed in the power of prayer, Tom is that man. I hope and trust that all of us will hold Tom and his family in our hearts during this difficult time.

Thanks.

--Bruce Miller

Working Hard to Earn Your Support

2011-10-11T02:10:00.008-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Our exciting new partnership with Cadence Theatre kicks off this week in our intimate Theatre Gym space with Kimberly Akimbo, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay Abaire. This quirky, poignant comedy stars Irene Ziegler, Debra Wagoner, Richard Koch, Jill Bari Steinberg, and Matt Mitchell. As that show opens, it's hard to believe that the first show of our Signature Season is about to close. Lend Me a Tenor has six performances this week (including a Wednesday matinee and evening) before wrapping up its hugely successful six-week run on Sunday. If you haven't joined in the laughter yet, you have this week only to catch the comedy hit of the year. Finally, our first special offering of the year, a movie-themed cabaret entitled As Time Goes By, will be presented this week for the Richmond Convention and Visitors Bureau on Thursday, and the Virginia Rotary Convention on Friday. And of course, on Sunday, the RTCC Awards will return to the Empire Theatre. All told, we're offering 56 performances this week. Here's some of what's happening at your theatre.

Monday, Oct 10
Frog Prince - 1 show York Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Fairfax Co VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Chesterfield Co VA

Tuesday, Oct 11
Coffee & Conversations - 9:30 am Willow Lawn
Frog Prince - 1 show Spotsylvania Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Prince William Co VA
Snow White - 1 show VA Beach VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Spencer Wisconsin

Wednesday, Oct 12
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 2 pm and 8 pm Willow Lawn
Frog Prince - 1 show Dinwiddie Co VA, 1 show Prince George Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 1 show Powhatan Co VA, 1 show New Kent Co VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Towson MD
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows Mamaroneck NY
Snow White - 1 show Lancaster Co VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Wautoma Wisconsin

Thursday, Oct 13
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 8 pm Willow Lawn
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
As Time Goes By - 8 pm RCVB
Frog Prince - 1 show Bedford Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Albemarle Co VA, 1 show Madison Co VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Hartford CT

Friday, Oct 14
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 8 pm Willow Lawn
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
As Time Goes By - 8:30 pm VA Rotary Convention
Frog Prince - 1 show Hanover Co VA, 1 show Powhatan Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 1 show Prince William Co VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Hartford CT
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Henrico Co VA, 1 show Goochland Co VA
Snow White - 1 show Loudoun Co VA

Saturday, Oct 15
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 8 pm Willow Lawn
Kimberly Akimbo - 8 pm Theatre Gym
Snow White - 1 show Westhampton Beach NY

Sunday, Oct 16
Becky's New Car - 2 pm Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 2 pm Hanover Tavern
Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards - 7 pm Empire Theatre

Hope to see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Learn More About "Lend Me" Over Coffee and Danish

2011-10-10T00:23:00.003-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Our first regularly scheduled Coffee & Conversations event is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 11, in the Barksdale Willow Lawn lobby. I hope you'll join us for this fun and informative program. Doors will open at 9 a.m., and the continental breakfast buffet will be set up by 9:10. The program will begin at 9:30 a.m. and last one hour.

Tomorrow's program will be Behind the Scenes of Lend Me a Tenor. Jill Bari Steinberg will moderate a panel comprised of three members from the Lend Me a Tenor cast: Nick Ciavarella, Frank Creasy, and Susan Sanford.

Nick (pictured to right) plays Max, the young, eager beaver assistant to the general manager of the Cleveland Opera. Nick himself is a dashing, NYC-based newcomer to Richmond theatre. He earned his Equity card with this production. Acting and other theatrical pursuits are his only job. His perspective will be a little different from the local professionals we all know well and love.

Frank (pictured below and to left) plays Saunders, the general manager, father of the beautiful young woman whom Nick's character would like to wed. Frank himself has been working in Richmond theatre for the last 30 years, and is one of our most respected and reliable character actors. He is not a member of Actors Equity. Frank is married, owns a home here, and is employed full-time by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Susan (pictured below and to right) plays Maria, the passionate Italian wife of the world renowned operatic tenor of the title. Susan herself is, in terms of her life's commitments, somewhere between Nick and Frank. She's one of the finest comic actresses you'll find anywhere. She is married to another theatre artist, Foster Solomon, and they are the proud parents of two sons. She earned her Actors Equity card a few years ago, I think, in either a Barksdale or Theatre IV production. She is Richmond-based. She tries, and mostly succeeds, to earn her living exclusively with work in the theatre. As she'll tell you, it ain't easy.

One of the defining features of professional theatre in Central Virginia is that we're sort of betwixt and between. Ever since the collapse of TheatreVirginia, we haven't had a LORT theatre that uses full-time professional theatre artists almost exclusively. In my opinion, and I think I can be trusted on this one, Richmond doesn't have a LORT theatre today because Richmond cannot support a LORT theatre under current realities. When you add up the resources available in terms of contributions and ticket sales, and divide those resources among ten professionally-striving theatres, there simply is not enough money to elevate any one theatre to LORT status. If you want a #1 reason why TheatreVirginia went belly up, in my opinion, that's it.

So at Barksdale and Theatre IV you'll see a mix of AEA artists and non-union theatre professionals who earn their living working 9 to 5 somewhere else. Out of town professionals who come here to work are frequently stunned that we rehearse only in the evenings. Personally, I LOVE the mix, and think it's a strong part of what makes our theatre community so rich. The majority of theatre artists you'll meet in a Richmond theatre are REALLY invested in our community.

One of the reasons we have programs like Coffee & Conversations is so that we can talk about the unique aspects of Richmond theatre, and the impact these realities will have on the future of our artists, audiences and institutions. Everyone I know who comes to Coffee & Conversations has a REALLY good time. I hope you'll join us for this and subsequent programs, so that you can see what really goes on behind the scenes. We hope to see you there, sometime before 9:30 a.m. I know you'll be glad you came.

--Bruce Miller

Emergency Escape Routes Shut Down to Keep Casts Cool

2011-10-09T08:58:00.004-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
If you happened to be driving down Broad Street not too many days ago, and you noticed it was blocked off to traffic, and you wondered why, here's your answer.

Theatre IV finally replaced the giant air conditioning unit that sits atop what historically was the Little Theatre and then the Maggie Walker Theatre. This is the unit that provides cooling to our dressing rooms, costume shop and rehearsal hall. Fortunately, it was this unit, not the one that sits atop the Empire and provides cooling to the theatre itself, that went on the fritz just prior to the final two weeks of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

There were a couple of cast members who would not agree with me about the "fortunately" part. When the cooling suddenly stopped in the dog days of August, our initial plan was to repair the unit and immediately restore a livable environment backstage. We tried, but were quickly told that repair was no longer possible. The unit was dead; no one of this world was going to be able to bring it back to life.

So we rented a portable air conditioning system that had giant plastic tubes that I could crawl through running down all the hallways, and enormous fans creating gale force winds that were capable of cooling the backstage spaces while at the same time blowing your wig into Kentucky. It was not an ideal situation. But it was manageable, and we thanked our hard-working cast profusely for putting up with it all.

There were a couple folks who wondered aloud why we didn't just replace the unit that had died, as if it were something you could just pop out of a window and toss into the dumpster. The reasons it took us several weeks were:

1 - money (it cost $22,000 and we didn't have that amount just sitting in a drawer),

2 - finding a final resting place for the old unit which was about the size and weight of a '68 Buick, and

3 - getting the necessary permits to close off Broad Street so that we could hire a crane to take down our old deceased buddy and hoist up our new one.

If you've ever tried to close off Broad Street, you know it's not the easiest thing to do. Probably since the Civil War, Broad Street has been THE legally designated emergency escape route that will allow hundreds of thousands of Richmonders to flee whatever and head to Charlottesville. Look out UVA, we're comin'. It takes practically an act of Congress to shut it down. Well, more accurately, it takes about seven weeks.

But finally all the pieces and parts were put into place, including the giant crane pictured above.

So now, all that ominous tubing that looked like something pulled from where IT lived in A Wrinkle in Time has been removed. And if you'd like to come cool down in our rehearsal hall, dressing rooms or costume shop, please, as Lumière and all his kitchen companions would say, be our guest.

--Bruce Miller

"Scoundrel"'s McCarthy Takes on Challenge in New Tuner

2011-10-08T12:05:00.009-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
At least two reviews are in as of this writing (Saturday morning), and it looks like Jeff McCarthy, the dashing Broadway-leading-man star of Barksdale's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, has created another critically acclaimed character. In the New York premiere of the new musical, Southern Comfort, which opened last night, McCarthy stars as Lola Cola, a real life, transgender woman currently living in rural Georgia.

McCarthy is no stranger to playing dynamic leading roles on Broadway. Before earning his Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award nomination for Best Actor in last summer's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Barksdale, Jeff created memorable leading man roles in the Broadway productions of Urinetown, Side Show, The Pirate Queen, and Smile. He also replaced male leads on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, Zorba, and The Pirates of Penzance.

This is the first time that Jeff, with all his athletic baritone masculinity, has played a woman.

Jeff co-stars with Annette O'Toole (pictured with Jeff to the right), who received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance in the ABC miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts. She is best known for her co-starring role as Clark Kent's mother in the hit CW series Smallville, and has had a recurring role on Nash Bridges, in addition to numerous TV guest appearances. With her husband, Michael McKean, she received an Oscar nomination for co-writing the song A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, featured in A Mighty Wind. Her Off-Broadway credits include Kindness at Playwrights Horizons and The Seagull at the Classic Stage Company.

Here's what this morning's critics have to say:

"As touching as it is idiosyncratic, Southern Comfort effectively redefines the term 'family musical.' Based on a 2001 Sundance award-winning documentary, it features perhaps the strongest family to be seen on a New York stage. The show movingly depicts the characters’ constant struggle for respect and tolerance from both family members and the community. The patriarch of the clan is the 50-something Robert (Annette O’Toole), who’s dying, ironically enough, of cervical cancer. His partner is Lola (Jeff McCarthy), a hulking figure who struggles to wear blouses that downplay her massive shoulders. The gentle country/bluegrass-flavored score, performed by a four-piece band whose members also play minor roles, is filled with a few too many emotive ballads of self-empowerment. But some of the songs, such as Bird, Lola’s lament about “the cruel sound of my own voice,” are very touching. If there was ever a show with its heart in the right place, it’s this one. The comforts it provides are far more than just the Southern variety." - Frank Scheck, New York Post

" The strapping, deep-voiced McCarthy strikes a resonant chord in Bird as Lola bemoans the disparity between the "pretty little thing" she knows herself to be "when I see behind my eyes" and her actual, physical being, which will never come close." - Sandy McDonald, TheatreMania.com

The new musical is based on Kate Davis's 2001 documentary, also named Southern Comfort. Davis's film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Subsequent awards included First Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival and Special Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Southern Comfort tells a true story about transgender friends living life openly, honestly and courageously in rural Georgia. After an initial reading at Playwright's Horizon, this is a limited run AEA Approved Showcase produced by CAP 21 Theatre Company, which bills itself as "America's Musical Theatre Conservatory." The showcase is supported in part by the National Fund for New Musicals (a program of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre) and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Also in the cast is Richmond theatre alum Allison Briner. Since her work here at TheatreVirginia and the Haymarket, Allison has appeared on Broadway as Rosie in Mamma Mia!, and in the national tours of Mamma Mia!, Titanic, and Les Miserables. Off Broadway, Allison starred in Forbidden Broadway, Listen to my Heart, Pete 'n' Keely, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Song of Singapore, and Return to the Forbidden Planet.

Jeff seems to be having a grand time in this terrific new role. He checked in to say that rehearsals were going well, and he was excited for Opening Night. We're really proud of him for taking on this challenge. We wish both Jeff and Allison all the best.

--Bruce Miller

Interview with "Lend Me a Tenor"'s Frank Creasy - Part 3

2011-10-06T08:28:00.013-04:00

This is the final installment in a three-part interview with Frank Creasy, one of the stars of Lend Me a Tenor. We greatly appreciate his taking the time to talk with us. The picture to the right is a recent promo shot Frank made for the Virginia State Fair.

Q - You've played some terrific parts over the years, and your current role in Lend Me a Tenor is certainly among them. Are there any dream roles that you'd still like to play?

A - Can I send you the complete list in an Excel spreadsheet? Okay, okay...truth be told, I’ve had some dream roles already, such as George Schneider in Neil Simon’s Chapter Two at CAT (that's a role I’d like to do again, actually). And although I love character parts and I love comedies (see previous question and answer in yesterday's installment), I’d like to have the chance to tackle the role of Johnny in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally. Probably without the nudity. As a “man of a certain age,” I’m not sure that would appeal to ANYONE. But I absolutely love the play and the role.

Q - Have you dabbled in any other arts activities?

A - Believe it or not, I did a semester with the modern dance company at Longwood. You’ll notice I’ve never been asked to dance in any Richmond theatre productions; I guess that speaks to my skill as a dancer more than anything else I could say.

Q - Does your wife Carol (pictured with Frank to the left) share your interest in the arts?

A - Carol sang in the UVA women’s chorus and still has a lovely voice to match those beautiful eyes. She also did all the interior design and decorating in our home. Guests always ask who we hired. "I didn’t hire someone," I tell them, "I married someone."

Q - When you're not at work at Anthem, or acting in a production at a Richmond theatre, what are your other interests? What other aspirations have you pursued?

A - I was a “jock” in school – wrestling was my thing, and during my first year of college at George Mason (before Longwood), a pinched nerve in my neck led to an x-ray. That’s when I learned about an injury two years before that had caused a dislocated cervical vertebra. I'd been wrestling for two years with a dislocated vertebra! I'm very lucky that I didn't wind up in a wheelchair. I quit wrestling after that, under doctor's orders. I got healthy, took up acting after transferring to Longwood, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Q - Why do you think theatre has held your interest all these years?

A - I just really enjoy it, I guess. I come to the theatre to have fun. But I approach what I do very seriously. It could be a farce like Lend Me a Tenor (the picture to the right shows Frank with Tenor co-star Jan Guarino), or a violent epic like The Spanish Tragedy (Henley Street Theatre), or a brand new avant garde piece where I’m playing an apartment building, like I did in Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), a show I did last year at the Firehouse. Whatever show it is, first and foremost, I try to be entertaining and interesting because the people who work hard and pay for their tickets deserve that.

I try to be versatile, to honor the play and the role and the direction, to create a character who is unique, who has a little bit of “Frank” in him, but is still, hopefully, different from anything else I’ve done before. I'm not really interested in rehashing a previous performance or falling back on some schtick from my acting “bag of tricks."

To me, my highest achievement would be for an audience member to see my name in a playbill and think, “Frank Creasy is in this play. That should be fun. Wonder what he'll do this time.”

Creasy Talks More about "Tenor" and Richmond Theatre

2011-10-05T23:06:00.019-04:00

We're pleased that Frank Creasy, one of the leading actors in Lend Me a Tenor, agreed to talk with us about his experiences on and off stage. Both show shots are from Lend Me a Tenor (the first picture also features Aly Wepplo, the second also features Chris Stewart). This is Part 2 in a three-part interview with Mr. Creasy.

Q - Thanks again, Frank, for responding to all these questions. You've been in a lot of shows, and participated I'm sure in a lot of auditions when you weren't cast. What advice would you give to actors who feel like they audition and audition, and seldom get offered the roles they want?

A - The same advice I give to myself. Be ready to give your strongest audition initially so that you're invited to call backs. Listen carefully to the directions given during call backs. Come prepared to read the character you want to play in a variety of ways, based on what the director asks for. If you get to read several times, try it slightly differently each time. Perhaps most important, be ready to throw out everything you’ve prepared and do something completely different on the fly if requested.

You can’t control whether you’re too tall or short or skinny or fat or young or old for a role. Just be flexible, commit to your choices, and have fun. And by all means, be pleasant, friendly and courteous to everyone in the theatre. No one wants to work with someone who’s a pill or a pain in the neck.

Q - What's most fun about performing in Lend Me a Tenor?

A - I don’t think you'll have enough space to include all the things that are fun. Some highlights: the role (Saunders) is a gem; the script is extremely well written, every single character and scene; the actors I work with are absolutely first rate, top to bottom, and I love and respect what each one of them brings to the production. Our director, Scott Wichmann, put together an amazingly tight, funny, wonderful production, and behind the scenes, our stage manager Rick Brandt and our dresser Caron Sinnenberg keep things running seamlessly.

Q - Other than that Opening Night wine bottle, has anything else funny or unusual happened thus far in the run?

A - Usually things go smoothly, but with that much running around something is bound to happen. One night, as I ran into the bedroom with Max (Nick Ciavarella) in Act II, I pushed the door open and accidentally caught my jacket on the door handle, suddenly getting yanked backwards. In “Saunders fashion” I blamed Max and barked at him as if it was all his fault.

Q - What don't people in the rest of the world realize about Richmond theatre?

A - The vast amount of talent we have here. Truth be told, there are some folks at auditions or in some local productions and, honestly, I don’t believe they're all that wonderful. But then-- and this happens all the time--I'll see someone I've never seen before, and they just impress me greatly with their talent. All in all, it confirms for me how lucky I am to work so often with such talented, interesting, fun people.

Q - Do you prefer comedies or dramas, classical works or contemporary pieces, musicals or non-musicals? Why?

A - TOUGH question, and I know so many actors would say “Oh I love them all” and such...but if I had to choose one, I’d probably say contemporary comedies. I love Neil Simon and I love well written comedic roles and I love to hear audiences laugh, because then I KNOW they’re enjoying it. Hard to tell if they’re enjoying an intense drama until the curtain call and the applause lets you know where you stand.
Doing comedy well is really hard, because timing, delivery, expression and body language all have to come together in just the right way to tickle the vast majority of people. And some of those skills, sorry to say, are innate: you have to feel it. I don't think it can be taught.

Comedies don’t usually win lots of acting awards, but they’re tremendously challenging. They entertain and make people happy. What could be better than that?

(to be continued)

Interview with "Lend Me a Tenor"'s Frank Creasy - Part 1

2011-10-05T21:28:00.018-04:00

Frank Creasy is among Central Virginia's most reliable character actors, and he's now playing the leading role of Saunders, the opera manager, in Lend Me a Tenor. The Buzz caught up with Frank to discuss his background, his three decades in Richmond theatre, and his backstage experiences during the run of this riotous farce. This is Part 1 of that interview.

Q - Thanks for talking with us today, Frank. You're doing a terrific job in Lend Me a Tenor. (That's Frank in Tenor to the left, with Nick Ciavarella.) It's so much fun to watch you work.

A - Thanks. All of us are having a great time because the audience is having a great time. I'm going to be really sorry when this one closes on October 16.

Q - Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you go to college? What was your major? What brought you to Richmond?

A - I grew up in Winchester, VA, and went to Longwood, majoring in sociology. I first moved to Richmond in the summer of 1979, between years at Longwood. I've always had relatives in the Richmond area. My father's mother grew up on Church Hill and attended St. John's Church all her life. Several aunts and uncles also live in Richmond. When I was growing up, my family always came to Richmond every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also, a lot of the friends I made in college were from here. It just seemed like a natural place to settle down, I guess. Although I'm not sure exactly when the "settling down" part happened.

Q - What was your first job after graduation?

A - Believe it or not, my first job out of college was at Theatre IV in the 1982 production of Mister Roberts. (That's Frank in the picture to the right, just a couple years before Mister Roberts.) Theatre IV rented the Little Theatre a few years before buying the entire Empire complex in 1986. Ford Flannagan was part of that cast, along with some other terrific actors.

Q - Where do you work now? Are your co-workers aware of your theatrical activities? Do they come see you in shows?

A - Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is my employer. I work as a help desk manager supporting the Anthem website. At least three co-workers have come to see Lend Me a Tenor, and others at Anthem outside my department have seen it and very graciously stopped by my desk to tell me how much they loved the show.

Q - After Mister Roberts, what were your next theatre jobs in Richmond? How did it feel to audition in a new city where you were not that well known?

A - I was cast in Mister Roberts almost right away, in the spring of 1982. Auditioning back then was a little scary for me, right out of college. I auditioned once for Muriel McAuley, one of Barksdale's co-founders, when she was casting Elephant Man at the Tavern. She called to tell me that I read wonderfully but I was just too young for the role. It was a lovely rejection--the first of many to come. Muriel's kindness sticks with me to this day.

Q - Like many actors, you started out in smaller roles, and over time worked your way up to leads. What was that experience like?

A - You know, I played my fair share of leads in college (Paul in Barefoot in the Park, Mortimer in Arsenic and Old Lace, among others). And I've had good experiences playing leading roles at other theatre companies in town. But as a character actor, supporting roles are often where I land, and I'm glad to do them. (That's Frank to the left, as Charlie Martin in On Golden Pond at Barksdale Hanover Tavern.)

I would like to think that my talents have improved, because I've worked purposefully to get better show by show. I've tried to take direction and carefully watch what successful local actors do onstage: David Bridgewater, Scott Wichmann, Joe Inscoe, to name a few who I've watched and worked with, studying how they approached their performances.

I've always believed that if you want to be one of the best, there's no better training than watching what the best in the field do and then modeling your behavior accordingly. It works in all walks of life; acting is no different. Of course, those guys I mentioned have talents some of the rest of us may only aspire to but never fully achieve. My hope is that one day I'll be close enough, in that regard, that someone would think of actors of that caliber as my "peers." To me, that would be the highest compliment.

(to be continued)

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

2011-10-05T12:06:00.013-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
A bit of a grab bag today.

If you want to know the best diner in the city of your choice, or the best auto repair shop in Richmond, go to Gordon Bass (pictured to the right in our current production of Becky's New Car). In addition to his acting assignments, Gordon is the full-time Tour Manager at Theatre IV. If you ask him for restaurant and mechanic tips, he won't send you to the fancy schmancy places, usually, but he'll give you the names of reliable and affordable places. He toured with us for something like twelve years, eating a gazillion meals on the road, and during the ten or so years since, he's been managing our fleet of nine tour vans.

Anyway, on Saturday, 15 minutes before auditions, one of our actors called to tell me that my daughter's Buick, which he was driving during his stay in Richmond, was making a terrible noise. Chase was just about to start his pre-audition instructions, so I called Phil to ask him to take care of it.

Phil made arrangements for our actor to take the car to a Merchants on Broad. Phil then went to Merchants, gave the actor his own car, learned from the Merchant's mechanic that my daughter's car was dead. Fugetaboutit. It was all over accept for the weeping.

Phil then remembered Gordon's car guy, Abe's Auto Service on Chamberlayne Ave. Phil paid the Merchant guy, drove the car (very slowly and noisily) to Abe's, and Abe just called me this morning to tell me that he thinks he can fix it good as new for $320.

You gotta love Gordon. And Phil. And Abe.

Today's the first day of the big GiveRichmond campaign at the Community Foundation. I hope it worked for other people. I decided I'd make my $50 contributions to the three theatres that emailed me (plus Barksdale and Theatre IV), and used the link provided in the email from Firehouse to connect with the GiveRichmond website. I registered. I clicked Find, found the theatres I was looking to support, I clicked Give, and nothing happened. I spent 40 minutes trying to make contributions, and never made it past first base.

Granted, I'm a computer dunce. But I was really trying, and there are a lot of people a lot worse than me. I hope the rest of you were more successful than I was.

Today is our first student matinee of the year--Lend Me a Tenor. I LOVE seeing shows with students. Couldn't go today, but I'm excited that we offer these. Student matinee sales in early October are never any good, but throughout the rest of the year, we should have a full crop of highschoolers coming to see our shows. Hopefully I'll be able to join them for My Fair Lady ... and beyond.

Today is also the annual trade show for one of our sponsors, The Supply Room. Terrie Powers and David Powers have been creating lots of painted cardboard displays and design elements for the trade show. We get free office supplies during the year, and they get free scenery for their biggest annual business event. It's a win/win.

Tomorrow the Whiteways and the Millers make it out to the Firehouse for Hot Tin. Can't wait.

Hope to see you at a theatre!

--Bruce Miller

PS - I tried again today to log onto GiveRichmond, this time using the Triangle link, and had no problems. Perhaps there was a glitch yesterday morning during heavy traffic. Whatever happened, it appears today that Triangle and Henley Street made it into the first group to bring in 50 contributors and therefore receive bonuses of $2,500. Congratulations!

Audition Report

2011-10-04T09:09:00.005-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Our first Open Call was a good learning experience for us. All in all, we were pleased and thought that the auditions went well. Many thanks to all who participated.

Our only significant problem, on the day itself, was that from the first auditionee we began to run late. Saturday was supposed to end at 4 pm. It ended at 6:15. There were a few actors (two or three, I think) who registered, arrived, waited for 60 to 90 minutes, and then had to leave to be on time for another commitment. We are very sorry.

A record-breaking 302 actors registered for the auditions. We saw 281. Most of the 21 we didn't see were no shows, due to illness or some other unanticipated complication. We know from past experience that 5% to 7% of all registrants won't show up. Most contact us with their explanations and regrets.

Directors in attendance were Anna Senechal Johnson (Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas, Cadence Theatre), Chase Kniffen (Seussical, Spring Awakening), Billy Christopher Maupin (The Stinky Cheese Man [that's his show, not his nickname]), Joe Pabst (Always ... Patsy Cline), Steve Perigard (A Year with Frog and Toad, Scorched Earth), Bo Wilson (God of Carnage), and Keri Wormald (August: Osage County).

Sandy Dacus played piano for almost everyone, with Kim Fox filling in when Saturday afternoon ran long. Kate Belleman, Katie Monfet, Caron Sinnenberg, Brittany Taylor and others whom, please forgive me, I'm overlooking provided invaluable support. I was there also, and Phil Whiteway was in and out as his schedule allowed. Again, many thanks to all.

We learned that it takes, at a minimum, 3 1/2 minutes per actor when actors are asked to prepare a 2-minute audition. For our next Open Call in January 2012 we will schedule 15 actors per hour, which should allow us a 7 minute 30 second break at the end of each hour. If we go 9 to 5, that should allow us to see 110 actors and still take a half hour break at lunchtime. Since we suggest that Richmond-based actors attend at least one audition per year, we do not anticipate more than 110 actors registering in January.

There were several of Richmond's leading players whose work we know very well who came to the auditions: Ronnie Brown, Larry Cook, Matthew Costello, Frank Creasy, Ford Flannagan, Jan Guarino, Michael Hawke, Audra Honaker, Tamara Johnson, Jackie Jones, Jennie Meharg, Adrian Rieder, Susan Sanford, Ali Thibodeau, Aly Wepplo and many others. We greatly appreciate their attendance. As we've stated before, we're trying to level the playing field, and we're asking all Richmond-based actors who'd like to work with us to come to at least one of our three Open Calls during the year.

The most popular playwright for monologues seemed to be Neil Labute, and the most popular musicals from which songs were selected were American Idiot, The Last Five Years, Next to Normal and Spring Awakening. We were auditioning for Spring Awakening, so none of this came as a surprise.

Of the 281 actors we saw, the majority were fairly or completely unknown to us. Virtually everyone presented a respectable audition, and quite a few people impressed us greatly. There were only a couple auditions that could be described as bizarre. That's sort of a record low, percentage-wise, and we were grateful.

We invite any and all comments regarding how we can make our audition practices and policies more effective. We thank everyone who joined us for last weekend's Open Call.

--Bruce Miller

Air Hostess Flight Bags / Uniforms: Boeing Boeing Gone

2011-10-03T02:23:00.006-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
One of the great advantages of having a professional theatre staff (there are just over 40 theatre artists and administrators currently employed full-time at Barksdale / Theatre IV) is that when we need to create hard-to-find props and costumes such as the vintage stewardess uniforms and matching flight bags that added so much Pan Am pizzazz to our recent production of Boeing-Boeing, we have the in-house talent to pull it off.

But what happens to these first-class props when the production is over?

In the case of Boeing-Boeing, we're hoping to find other theatres that would like to rent or purchase these faux-classics from 1962.

Our able costume shop, headed by our world-class costume director Sue Griffin, her assistant Sarah Grady, and Boeing-Boeing costume designer Marcia Hailey, came up with the terrific air hostess uniforms. The flight bags were the creation of our new Props Master, Libby Majette. Working together, these great ladies of the theatre created the perfect look for our production.

Throw in the color coordinated, one-of-a-kind pop art 60s rugs, paintings, and period French telephone located by our set designer Terrie Powers, and any interested theatre will be able to rent or purchase most of what they need to create their own Boeing-Boeing at a fraction of what it would cost them to start from scratch.

If anyone out there is reading this blog post in an effort to locate these hard-to-obtain items, you've come to the right place. If you'd like to find out more about what Barksdale has to rent or buy, please give a call to my assistant, Brittany Taylor, at 804 783-1688 ext 1113. She and I will put our costume and/or props staff back in touch with you, and they'll take it from there.

--Bruce Miller

Why "Becky's New Car" Made It onto our Tavern Season

2011-10-02T16:22:00.010-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
With millions of plays out there, each one yearning for production, how and why do I pick the plays that wind up on one of our Barksdale and Theatre IV seasons? That is our #2 FAQ. #1 is, "Why did you guys name it Theatre IV?"

Beginning with Why "Lend Me a Tenor" Made It onto our Signature Season (9/08/2011), I'm starting a new blog series to address that #2 question. Each post in the series will be tagged with the label "Why," so if you ever want to go back and read previous posts in the same series, you'll be able to do so by clicking on the "Why" label that will follow each article.

Barksdale's mission is to produce in Central Virginia national caliber productions of the GREAT comedies, dramas and musicals--past, present and future. In other words, we seek to produce plays that have significance and import, plays that leave a lasting impact on the field.

If the assessed "greatness" is in the arena of literature or art, we tend to present the play in our Signature Season at Willow Lawn and the historic Empire. If the assessed "greatness" is in the arena of entertainment or popularity, we tend to schedule the play at Hanover Tavern.

Re-reading, them sounds like fightin' words--and I'm in no way seeking a dispute. Yes, I think Becky's seeks and achieves "greatness" as literature and art. I also know for a fact that it clearly has achieved already "greatness" as popular entertainment. It is one of the most frequently produced new American plays created between 2000 and 2009. Securing 24 regional productions in three short years is a feat of which most playwrights could only dream.

Only time will tell whether Becky's New Car will earn its place as one of the artistically great American comedies of the aught decade of the 21st Century. I think it might.

There is another rationale that led to our selection of Becky's New Car.

Our goal at Barksdale Theatre is to establish in Central Virginia a major, nonprofit, professional theatre of national standing. Three years ago, during strategic planning sessions, our Board of Trustees asked various stakeholders what new initiatives were needed to grow the national reputation of our company. Our audience, our artists, our funders and our colleague organizations suggested that there were four things Barksdale should do to participate more fully in the American professional theatre community, thereby enhancing Richmond's profile among the nation's great theatre cities.

1. We should create on a regular basis world premieres of new comedies, dramas and musicals that originate here and then earn productions at other professional theatres around the country.

2. We should further support new work by being an early producer of new plays created at other regional theatres, relying less on plays that have already been successful on and off Broadway.

3. We should recruit theatre artists of national standing to come to Richmond to work side-by-side with our outstanding local professionals.

4. We should mount national caliber productions here and then seek to transfer the best of those productions to New York or other major national markets.

Following in the footsteps of our productions of Boleros for the Disenchanted by Jose Rivera (2009-2010) and Legacy of Light by Karen Zacarias (2010-2011), Becky's New Car by Steven Dietz (2011-12) is our third effort to fulfill the second objective noted above. In the coming months, we will address the first objective with our world premieres of Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas and Scorched Earth.

This is an exciting time for Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV. We're taking seriously our goal of increasing the national impact and prominence of our theatre. We're choosing not to rest comfortably on the status quo. If we (and that "we" involves a LOT of people) are able to create a theatre of national prominence here in Central Virginia, I believe it will benefit greatly every theatre, theatre artist, and theatre lover in town.

I hope you'll buy tickets to both of our current comedies: Lend Me a Tenor at Willow Lawn and Becky's New Car at Hanover Tavern. They are fun and exciting shows. We need and are working hard to earn your support.

--Bruce Miller

Barksdale Theatre / Theatre IV - Next Week's Schedule

2011-10-01T07:27:00.008-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Fall is here! This is the week our touring operation begins to run on all cylinders, with in-school performances of The Frog Prince, Hugs and Kisses, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Tales as Tall as the Sky, and The Little Red Hen. More on each of those productions later. We'll be presenting 49 performances next week. Here's some of what's happening at your theatre.

Sunday, Oct 2
Becky's New Car - 2 pm matinee - Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 2 pm matinee - Willow Lawn
Open Call Auditions - 6 pm to 11 pm - Empire

Monday, Oct 3
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Brunswick Co VA
Snow White - 2 shows Manassas VA
Tales as Tall - 2 shows Henrico Co VA

Tuesday, Oct 4
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Spotsylvania Co VA
Snow White - 1 show Spotsylvania Co VA
Tales as Tall - 1 show Bedford Co VA, 1 show Lynchburg VA

Wednesday, Oct 5
Becky's New Car - 2 pm matinee - Hanover Tavern
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Richmond VA
Little Red Hen - 2 shows Wilkesboro NC
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Spotsylvania Co VA
Snow White - 1 show Dinwiddie Co VA

Thursday, Oct 6
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 8 pm Willow Lawn
Frog Prince - 2 shows Newport News VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Powhatan Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Chesterfield Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 1 show Baltimore MD
Snow White - 1 show Chesterfield Co VA, 1 show Richmond VA
Tales as Tall - 3 shows Vevay IN

Friday, Oct 7
Becky's New Car - 8 pm Hanover Tavern
Lend Me a Tenor - 8 pm Willow Lawn
Frog Prince - 1 show Chesterfield Co VA, 1 show Hanover Co VA
Hugs and Kisses - 2 shows Prince William Co VA
Little Red Hen - 1 show Chesterfield Co VA
Sleepy Hollow - 2 shows Pittsylvania Co VA
Snow White - 2 shows Bedford Co VA
Tales as Tall - 3 shows Vevay IN

Saturday, Oct 8
Lend Me a Tenor - 8 pm Willow Lawn
Snow White - 1 show McLean VA

Hope to see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Where Are They Now? - The Asian Adventures of GnG

2011-09-29T22:56:00.013-04:00

Posted by Garrett Weeda
Just a little background information, my name is Garrett Weeda and I toured with Theatre IV from September 2006 until May 2009. My wife, Grace Abele, also toured with Theatre IV from September 2008 until May 2009. After finishing our tours, we both ended up working at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (I was a Stage Manager while Grace was a singer in several of their shows).

Enough of the history lesson, now onto the good stuff!

Last September Grace and I accepted jobs in South Korea, working as “edutainers" at Gyeonggi English Village. An “edutainer” here means that we are responsible for the park’s educational entertainment. Along with performing, our department is in charge of creating shows and activities to help Koreans learn English following our central parkwide theme, which we decide on every three months. We have never had a job that has allowed us to be so creative. Grace and I are performing in our fourth show. Grace is currently writing our next show, which is a take on Robin Hood, and so far she has gotten to compose the music for our past two shows. Currently, I am in charge of props for our next two shows and was fortunate enough to direct our winter production, called The Nanny. We love our jobs so much we decided to extend our contracts another year, but hopefully we will be returning to the U.S. sometime next May.

*Sidenote – We were able to bring our beautiful pup, Zuri, and so many of our friends here have dogs that she always has someone to play with.

Now onto the GREAT stuff!

On March 21, 2011, Grace and I got married in Seoul! And you know what that means…it was time for a honeymoon! One huge perk of our job is that we are given twenty vacation days each year (and five extra because we got married). We took twenty of them in one big chunk and spent an entire month traveling Southeast Asia. In all we visited six major cities in four different countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Bali.

The best part by far was while we were in Chiang Mai, Thailand during Songkran. That was an unforgettable adventure; anyone who has the chance must experience it. Songkran is the annual water festival during the hottest days of summer in Thailand. AKA city-wide water fight! Everyone parties and splashes each other with water in the streets. With music blaring, there are people of all ages, genders, and races dancing, singing, and spraying water everywhere. There is so much genuine good will that it was an absolutely amazing experience.

Our travelling didn’t stop there. We went to Hong Kong to celebrate the Chinese New Year and what a city! Amazing architecture, beautiful sights, wonderful food, and probably the best public transportation in the world. One day we hope to return to try living there for a year or two. But our travels will continue. We took a week to explore different areas of Korea in July, will follow that with a week in China in October, and to cap it all off, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Songkran in Chiang Mai again in April.

All-in-all life is good, even though we miss our friends and family in the States. We wish everyone could have an experience like this. We do have one favor to ask of Theatre IV and Barksdale. Can you guys stop putting on these amazing shows until we get back? We are totally jealous that we can’t see you all in these terrific productions.

--Garrett Weeda

Sorry-Grateful, Regretful-Happy

2011-09-29T10:36:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
We are both excited and overwhelmed by the huge response we've received to this Saturday's (October 1) Open Call. Over 290 adult actors have called to register for auditions. Our previous record, or at least the largest number of adult actors any of us can remember at a previous Barksdale audition, was 110. The norm is 40 to 60.

We were prepared for about 120 interested actors. We were not prepared for this wonderful response. WE APOLOGIZE. This will be our first Open Call in our new audition process. We will learn from this experience. We will do better next time.

As of yesterday morning, Katie Monfet, our WONDERFUL intern who is handling all registration requests, had registered 136 auditionees (representing about 400 phone conversations), and was still in the process of registering the remaining 155 actors who had called and left a message, but had yet to connect person-to-person with Katie.

It remains our intention to see ALL actors who are interested in auditioning. We will schedule additional auditions to ensure that we meet that goal.

We have heard from tens of actors who are growing increasingly angry and frustrated, who have called back repeatedly to schedule a time for their audition, only to be sent to voicemail because Katie is on the phone with another actor. We understand, appreciate and regret your negative reactions. We are doing, and will continue to do, all we can to address and correct the situation.

Please know that Katie is working very hard to keep up with the calls. She is in no way at fault. It is my inadequate planning that has caused these problems. Please direct all your frustration at me. In the future, after our three-open-calls per year system is fully in place, I anticipate we will not face numbers this large.

If you are registered, you have been given a one-hour time slot during which your audition will take place. We are registering 30 actors in each hour. We know there will be some no shows. Your prepared audition should not exceed 120 seconds total.

Please arrive at the Empire no later than 15 minutes prior to your appointed hour. If you are able, please bring seven resumes and headshots. If you don't have seven copies (if you don't have one copy), don't panic. It's not a deal breaker.

Some of you will undoubtedly feel swept in and swept out. It is not our intention to disrespect anyone. It is our intention to keep things moving efficiently so as to be able to see all interested actors. Casting will happen principally in callbacks.

We will be feeding directors both breakfast and lunch, and you may notice directors eating during your audition. Again, we mean no disrespect to either actor or director.

If a director is in the restroom during your audition, Chase Kniffen and I will take special notice of all auditionees who demonstrate talent and meet the needs of the play. For example, if Bo Wilson is in the restroom during your audition, and you fit the character descriptions for God of Carnage (which Bo is directing), and you're talented, we will be sure that Bo includes you in his callbacks for God of Carnage.

In 2012 and beyond, we will have Open Calls in January, May and September. It is our intention to cast all roles approximately six months in advance. We ask all locally-based actors to participate in at least one open call each year.

Thank you for your interest. Thank you for your understanding as we embark on a new way of doing things. I apologize for planning poorly for this Open Call. I will do my utmost to make things better in the future. In January and May, we will include fewer shows in each audition, assign more staff members to man the phones to take your calls, schedule only 15 actors per hour (our original plan) instead of 30, and build in breaks for the directors.

I invite and will welcome your additional suggestions and comments as we try to strengthen our audition practices as Greater Richmond's resident, nonprofit, professional theatre.

--Bruce Miller

Coffee & Conversations - Fun, Free, Starts Friday

2011-09-28T04:37:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Today I'm excited to announce our 2011-12 Season of Rostov's Coffee & Conversations. If you've never been to one of these free, fun and informative events, you don't know what you're missing. We hope you'll mark your calendars now and plan to join us. It's a great way to start your day and connect with your theatre.

To kick off the series, we're having a Special Event this Friday, Sept. 30, 9:30 a.m. in the Barksdale Willow Lawn lobby. Melissa Johnston Price, star of Becky's New Car, will join in a panel with Charlie and Benita Staadecker, the amazing couple who originally commissioned this vibrant new play by Steven Dietz. They are visiting us this weekend from Seattle. I will moderate the discussion, and our director, Billy Christopher Maupin, will be on hand to offer additional insight. It's free. No reservations required. Please join us.

Now--back to the rest of our Coffee & Conversations season. Each program will focus on a fresh and lively panel discussion, providing a fun behind-the-scenes look into the shows and operations of Barksdale/Theatre IV--Central Virginia's nonprofit, resident professional theatre.

Following our Special Event this Friday, the Rostov's Coffee & Conversations series will take place on the second Tuesday of each month, October through July (excluding June). There will be no programs in August and September.

Rostov's coffee, tea and pastries will be provided free-of-charge at each event, with the continental buffet opening at 9:15 a.m. Moderated panel discussions will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. and last one hour, with lots of opportunity for audience Q & A.

Events are normally held in the lobby of Barksdale Willow Lawn. If attendance approaches 70 or more, the program may be moved into our comfortable 204-seat theatre. Average attendance has been around 35, but we're hoping to grow the program this year. Please note that the July event will be held on the set of Spring Awakening at the historic Empire Theatre, located at 114 W Broad Street, downtown.

All Rostov's Coffee & Conversations programs are free and open to everyone. A $3 free-will donation is gratefully accepted from those who have the means. Donations are welcomed in the glass urn that sits on the pastry buffet table.

No reservations are required.

The 2011-12 Season is as follows. Panelists and moderators will be announced on this blog and elsewhere on our website about two weeks prior to each program.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Behind the Scenes of Lend Me a Tenor
Moderator - Jill Bari Steinberg
Panelists - Cast members Nick Ciavarella, Frank Creasy, Susan Sanford

Tuesday, November 14, 2011
Working Out - Our Theatre Gym Partnership with Cadence Theatre Company

Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Behind the Scenes of My Fair Lady

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Build It and They Will Come - Barksdale's Set Construction Team

Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Behind the Scenes of God of Carnage

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Public Funding for the Arts - Where Do Greater Richmond and Virginia Stand?

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
All in the Planning - The Future of Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV

Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Behind the Scenes of our World Premiere Production of Scorched Earth

Tuesday, July 10, 2012 ***This program will be held in the historic Empire Theatre
Behind the Scenes of Spring Awakening

For more information, or more timely information, please visit www.BarksdaleRichmond.org. We hope you'll join us for each of these fun and informative programs.

--Bruce Miller

The Empire Gussies Up to Make History Yet Again

2011-09-26T14:58:00.019-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
By now, many of you have seen or heard about the scaffolding that is covering the entire front of our historic Empire Theatre. That old rusting marquee that's been an embarrassment for the last 25 years has been dismantled and thrown into the dumpster. We all cheered watching it happen.

If all goes according to Hoyle, the new marquee (an historically accurate reconstruction of the original 1930s marquee for the Maggie Walker Theatre) will be up, and the scaffolding will be down prior to the first preview of Kimberly Akimbo on Oct 13 and the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards on Oct 16.

Owning an historic property is a dramatic exercise in any case. Owning an historic theatre ... well ...

The Empire first opened its doors in downtown Richmond on Christmas Day, 1911. I'll be writing more about that in the coming weeks. The Richmond Empire was modeled after the close-to-iconic Empire Theatre in NYC, built in 1893, the first theatre in New York to feature electrical lighting. The legendary Empire (NY) was only the second theatre to be built in the Times Square theatre district. Located at 1430 Broadway, between 40th and 41st, the Empire (NY) is credited with establishing the artistic and cultural phenomenon that the world now knows as Broadway. The Empire (NY) was demolished in 1953 to an outcry of public protest.

History-making Broadway productions that played the Empire (NY) include the American premiere of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1895), the American premiere of Peter Pan by James Barrie (1906), the American premiere of Three Penny Opera by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht (1933), Life with Father by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (1939–45, still the longest running non-musical in Broadway history), and Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (1950).

Our historic Empire (Richmond) is the more intimate of Central Virginia’s two Broadway-style theatres. With 604 seats, it approximates Broadway’s smaller theatres, like the Helen Hayes (seating capacity 593). With roughly 1,800 seats, the Carpenter Theatre approximates Broadway’s larger theatres, like the Gershwin (seating capacity 1933). Both theatres are invaluable, irreplacable cornerstones in the cultural foundation of our community.

The photo above and to the left was taken in 1893 when the Empire (NY) was brand new. I'm very proud to say that we just purchased a small, 1893 print of this historic photo, museum quality, and we will soon be displaying it prominently as we continue our ongoing, public interpretation of the historic facility we call home.

In the photo, the streetcar is heading down Broadway. The Oriental Hotel is on the corner, and the Empire Theatre (NY) is one building to the right of the intersection. Make special note of the first floor archway entrance to the theatre.

The photo to the left was taken in 1915, and shows a closer view of the grand arch entrance, framed on both sides by two classical columns. The name Empire has been added, as well as signage advertising the legendary actor, John Drew (uncle of Ethel, John and Lionel Barrymore). Handsome show card boxes have been placed at the base of each pair of columns to further promote the current offerings.

The reason I call your attention to this section of the facade is because it is this section that was duplicated almost exactly when the Richmond Empire was designed and built in 1911. If you remove the added signage from the image to the left, it will more closely represent the original design of the Empire (NY).

Posted to the right is an image of the Booker T. Theatre (one of the Richmond Empire's several incarnations), taken sometime in the 1940s, before the millwork on the original facade was removed for "modernization" in the 1950s. If you can imagine the Empire (NY) without the added signage, and compare it to the Empire (Richmond) without the Booker T marquee, you should be able to notice that the Richmond Empire focuses on a distinguished copy of the hallmark entrance to the history-making theatre that launched Broadway.

With all the recent brouhaha over how challenging it is to renovate and operate a major performing arts center in downtown Richmond (and it certainly is), it is easy to overlook the fact that Theatre IV has sucessfully operated and maintained the landmark Empire with nothing but public acceptance and acclaim for the last quarter century.

As you may have read a couple weeks ago, the recent hurri-quake added additional stress to our aging (and crumbling) stucco façade, requiring the scaffolding to go up and renovations to begin even though we don’t have quite all the money we need in the bank … yet. As we raise these funds, we’re very excited to know that the façade will be secure again in a couple weeks, and fully restored to it’s original grandeur (or very close to it) sometime early next year.

The historic Empire is a Central Virginia treasure, which will celebrate its 100th Birthday on Christmas Day of this year. It is the oldest major theatre in the Commonwealth. I hope everyone in Richmond will join us as we reintroduce this incredible asset to the community that has loved it throughout all its various incarnations.

--Bruce Miller

Steven's New Play Lights Up Hanover Tavern

2011-09-25T19:56:00.012-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Becky's New Car is the 39th play from 53-year-old American playwright Steven Dietz. When I posted this in the middle of last night, I said that I "thought" this was the first of his works to be produced professionally in Central Virginia. Never trust the memory of a 61-year old, particularly in the wee hours. I've now learned from two commenters (thank you both) that Triangle Players produced Lonely Planet by Dietz, Firehouse produced Private Eyes, and Henrico Theatre Company produced More Fun Than Bowling--all several years ago. Also, as I originally wrote, when VCU produced Dracula a few seasons back, they may well have performed Dietz's popular adaptation.

What I should have said is ... this is Barksdale's first Dietz, and all we can add is "it's about time." In 2010, Dietz was once again named one of the most produced playwrights in the nation. Excluding Shakespeare, Dietz tied with Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee as the eighth most produced playwright in America.

Dietz is married to TYA (theatre for young audiences) playwright Allison Gregory, and the couple split their time between Texas, where Dietz teaches playwriting and directing at the University of Texas at Austin, and Seattle (the setting for Becky's New Car).

Dietz has never had significant success in New York; he has never been produced on Broadway. But his most popular plays (More Fun Than Bowling [1986], God's Country [1988], Lonely Planet [1993], Private Eyes [1996], Dracula [1996], Rocket Man [1998], Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure [2006], and now Becky's New Car [2008]) have become staples in regional, university, and community theatres.

If I were a bettin' man (I've never even bought a lottery ticket), I'd wager that Becky's New Car will shortly become Dietz's most popular play ever, if it hasn't already.

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Dietz began his career as a director of new plays at The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. While simultaneously serving as artistic director of his own small company, Quicksilver Stage, he began writing his own work. In the late '80s, A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle (now known as ACT Theatre) commissioned Dietz to write God's Country. Dietz moved to Seattle while working on that production, and lived there permanently from 1991 to 2006.

His work has been recognized with the PEN U.S.A. Award in Drama for Lonely Planet, the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award (Fiction and Still Life with Iris), and the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery for Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. Two of his plays (Last of the Boys and Becky's New Car) received Best of the Year recognition from the American Theatre Critics Association.

Dietz is a frequent contributor to American Theatre Magazine. Currently he is working on 360 (round dance) - an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's 1900 play, La Ronde.

Being tied with Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee for the eighth most produced playwright in America in 2010 is an amazing feat. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, I hope you'll join us for Becky's New Car, starring Melissa Johnston Price, David Bridgewater and Gordon Bass, directed by Billy Christopher Maupin, now playing at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern.

--Bruce Miller

"Gifted Man"'s Patrick Wilson has Ties to Barksdale

2011-09-25T04:15:00.001-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
When A Gifted Man debuted on CBS night before last, I was at the wonderful opening of Becky's New Car. No problem. TiVO, my favorite bit of technology ever, was here to help me. Yesterday morning, after the necessary clicking on the remote, voila, there was Friday night's pilot, waiting patiently until I had the time to watch.

I was not about to miss this new medical / metaphysical series, mainly because it stars Patrick Wilson (pictured to the right) and an ensemble cast of acclaimed Broadway stars. Wilson is a major actor now (Tony Award nom's for The Full Monty and Oklahoma! on Broadway, Emmy nom for his great work in the HBO mini-series of Angels in America). You probably knew that already.

What you may not know is that Wilson is a Virginia native, and there's a little bit of Richmond theatre in his bloodline--a little Barksdale nestled in with all that Broadway.

When I was in 7th grade, my teacher (we had only one in those days) was Bernard Schutte. Outside of my parents, Mr. Schutte was the one person most responsible for my love of theatre. He not only acted at Barksdale, he lived at Hanover Tavern. He introduced me to an art form I knew very little about. I've always believed he was the teacher I was meant to have.

His widow Caroline Schutte continues to be a steadfast Barksdale supporter today.

During that 7th grade year, Mr. Schutte appeared as The Mute in Barksdale's Hanover Tavern production of The Fantasticks (pictured above and to the left). Starring in that production, in the role of Matt, was a young Richmond newscaster named John Wilson (pictured below and to the right). When our class went to see Mr. Schutte in his new show, he invited all the actors to meet with us in the theatre after the performance. I really enjoyed the role of Matt, so I asked John Wilson lots of questions. Seven years later, when the Barn Dinner Theatre mounted Richmond's next production of The Fantasticks, I played Matt for a 14-week run under Jack Welsh's direction.

John Wilson went on to star as Lancelot in Camelot at the Virginia Museum Theatre (1967) and Winston Garand in Generation at Barksdale (1968). I went to see him in both shows. Shortly thereafter, John Wilson moved to Norfolk to anchor WAVY TV, where he and his wife Mary gave birth to their son, Patrick, in 1973. The family subsequently moved to Tampa FL, where Patrick grew up.

In A Gifted Man, Patrick Wilson plays a world-renowned neurosurgeon whose highly ordered life and substantial wealth are turned upside down when he starts seeing and talking with his ex-wife, who, he learns midway through the pilot, died three weeks before their recent reunion. Yes, it's one of those shows. Wilson's character is brilliant, uptight and rich. The character of his ex-wife is completely (and literally) a free spirit, trying to teach him that there's more to life than being the world's best and wealthiest brain surgeon.

The ex-wife (and blithe spirit) is played by another favorite Broadway actor, Jennifer Ehle (pictured with Wilson to the left), who won two Tony's for her brilliant work in a pair of Tom Stoppard plays: The Real Thing (2000 revival) and The Coast of Utopia (2007). Ehle is the daughter of Broadway acting icon, Rosemary Harris.

Two more stage luminaries star in the ensemble cast of A Gifted Man. Margo Martindale plays the doctor's efficient assistant. She received a Tony nomination for her work as Big Mama in the 2000 Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Pablo Schreiber appears as a psychic healer who attempts to address the doctor's metaphysical situation. His exceptional work in the 2006 Broadway revival of Odets' Awake and Sing! earned him a much-deserved Tony nom.

Perhaps a reason that CBS was able to recruit a cast filled with stage veterans is because the show is filmed in New York. Hopefully it will succeed, and give years of great acting opportunities to East Coast professionals.

I enjoyed the pilot of A Gifted Man, very much. If you'd like to watch it, you can by visiting the new show's website. I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes.

I'm a big believer in supporting actors with Richmond theatre connections when they have their own TV shows. My TiVO and I can't wait for the September 28 Season Two return of Happy Endings, a GREAT half hour comedy starring our own Zach Knighton (pictured to the right).

As a final footnote, Patrick Wilson graduated from Carnegie Mellon's prestigious theatre training program, along with two other Richmond theatre All-Stars: Blair Underwood and Emily Skinner. Emily and Wilson later co-starred on Broadway in The Full Monty.

When it comes to our nation's professional theatre community, it really is a small world afterall.

--Bruce Miller

"Becky" and Billy C Cruise Into Spectacular Opening

2011-09-24T09:03:00.012-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
One of the responsibilities of a regional theatre is to provide work opportunities to the best and brightest talents within its community. In today's highly competitive arena, up-and-coming theatre artists must choose whether to earn their stripes after moving to major theatre markets like NYC, Chicago or Philly, or build the resumes they need to launch their hoped-for theatrical careers in a city like Richmond.

It's a tough decision. I would argue in favor of the latter, but only if Richmond's regional theatres continue to provide significant opportunities that allow young artists to work at the top of their game with other equally talented pros.

Case in point - Billy Christopher Maupin. He's been passionate about theatre since Hector was a pup. He left his small hometown in Kentucky to venture to Cincinnati to audition for a touring actor position with Theatre IV. (TIV had an office and tour operation in the Queen City from 1996 to 2006.) After touring for a year with our Ohio-based team, BC asked to transfer to our larger operation in Richmond. Ford Flannagan, who handles all our tour casting, said "yes" and brought him right here to River City.

After working in our national tour for a couple years, Billy Christopher transitioned into the Theatre IV / Barksdale marketing position he continues to hold today. His salary sucks--not quite as much as it did initially--but it allowed him to keep body and soul together as he set out to build a resume and career. Like a lot of talented theatre artists, BC chose to complete his training in the school of work experience rather than a university theatre program.

There was that year early on when BC left Theatre IV and moved to New York. Because he's a talented guy, and, I suspect, in part because of the touring experience he had with us, he was cast in a national tour with TheatreWorks USA (Theatre IV's biggest national competitor). Like hundreds of other young hopefuls, he earned his union card through this gig, but soon thereafter encountered the stigma that comes with earning your card, perhaps, too soon. (go to Google, type "stigma theatreworks")

Billy Christopher, like many other talented theatre artists before and after, left New York and moved back home to Richmond. He took a leave of absence from Equity (it's really hard to get union gigs in Richmond if you're young), and set about auditioning and campaigning for directing assignments as if his life depended on 'em.

Carol Piersol, artistic director at the Firehouse, and I are of a similar mind when it comes to the responsibilities our two nonprofit theatres have to eager, talented young artists. Directing jobs are THE HARDEST positions to get in Richmond, probably in any theatre city. The stakes are so high. Nonetheless, through perseverance, patience, passion and talent, Billy Christopher earned the chance to direct a reading at Firehouse, then a cabaret at Barksdale, then more readings, and finally several mainstage directing assignments.

Along the way, Kaye Weinstein Gary at K Dance became a BC "believer." Grant Mudge at Richmond Shakes also gave him a shot. And later this season, Chamberlayne Actors Theatre is giving BC the chance to direct his first Lillian Hellman. It took several years. You can ask him whether or not it was worth it.

Which brings us to last night. Carol Piersol and I were both in the house for the Opening Night of Becky's New Car, the sparkling new comedy by Steven Dietz that Billy Christopher directed at Barksdale / Hanover Tavern. I can't speak for Carol, but I'll bet that, like me, she watched the proceedings with a significant sense of pride.

It's taken several long years, and what seems like a gazillion projects, for Billy Christopher to earn the shot he had last night. And the great news is ... he came through with flying colors.

Becky's New Car is top notch--a perfect marriage of script, actors and director. Billy Christopher had the chance to work with a major new play, a cast as professional and accomplished as any you'll find anywhere (see the show pics of Melissa Johnston Price, David Bridgewater, and Gordon Bass), first-rate designers, a reasonable budget, and a fairly large and discerning audience.

What he has delivered is worthy of the confidence others have placed in him. Becky's is an exceptionally enjoyable show that is sure to be one of the highlights of Richmond's 2011-12 season.

It would be foolish for me to oversell it. It ain't King Lear or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. But, in my humble opinion, it's a significant step forward for a major young talent who, hopefully, will be revving up the engine of Richmond theatre for years to come.

With 20/early 30-something directors like Chase Kniffen and Billy Christopher Maupin--and Justin Amellio (assistant to Patti D'Beck for White Christmas, RTCCA-nominated director for [title of show]) starting to come on strong--it seems like Richmond theatre is in capable hands.

--Bruce Miller

Barksdale's Bifocals Theatre Project Opens Today

2011-09-23T11:59:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Barksdale produces nine mainstage productions each year in our Signature Season, presented at our intimate Willow Lawn theatre and at the historic Empire, and our Country Playhouse Season, presented at Hanover Tavern. For most theatres, producing nine mainstage shows would be plenty.

Not so for the “little theatre that could.” When Pete Kilgore, Muriel McAuley and their four co-founders created Barksdale in 1953, and for the forty years that followed under Pete’s, Muriel’s, and Nancy Kilgore’s exemplary leadership, service to the community was always just as important as service to the art form.

Some professional theatres are arts for arts sake; some are arts for the community’s sake. Barksdale is the latter.

Barksdale may not be "little" anymore, but this component of the Kilgore/McAuley legacy lives on, enriching Greater Richmond today in many ways that are “outside the box,” and go well above and beyond the call of duty.

Barksdale’s Bifocals Theatre Project is one of the service initiatives of which we are particularly proud. (Pictured to the left: a previous Bifocals production.) Bifocals is a program in which senior producers, directors, actors, designers etc. are paid to create and present short theatrical programs for senior audiences. The name comes from the notion that these performances are presented both near, on the lobby stage at Willow Lawn, and far, on tour to senior centers and retirement facilities throughout Central Virginia.

The Bifocals name and mission was created about 15 years ago by Jewell Sanford and several other veteran theatre professionals, under the auspices of the Henrico Dept. of Rec and Parks. The original incarnation was 100% volunteer. Do in part to that fact, the program lost considerable steam after a season or two, and ceased to exist.

When Theatre IV and Barksdale joined forces in 2001, one of the first things Phil and I did was revive the defunct Bifocals Theatre Project, with permission and encouragement from its founders, under Barksdale’s banner—only this time, everything was and is structured so that these talented senior professionals are paid for their work, just as they are when they're involved in a mainstage Barksdale production.

The Community Foundation and Isabella Witt provided the seed money needed to launch the program. Today, the program exists without any additional funding from outside forces. All of the revenue needed to pay the senior artists comes from ticket sales and fees paid by sponsoring senior centers.

My favorite component of our Bifocals program is this commitment: no senior center that wants to receive programming is turned down due to inability to pay. All centers pay on a sliding scale, based on means. Everyone is served.

The three volunteer co-captains of Bifocals have made all the difference in the success of this program. They are Dr. Pat Walker, Ellen Bode, and Cindy Yuoconis. Greater Richmond should be and is extremely appreciative of their generous example of servant leadership.

If you would like to attend today’s opening of the Bifocals’ season, join us for a reading of The Cedar Chest Letters, produced by Ellen Bode and directed by Barbara Plymale. The performance will begin at 1 p.m. in the lobby of Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn. Tickets are $5.

Prior to and following today’s home theatre opening, this reading has toured or will tour to St. Mary’s Woods, Cross Ridge, Lifelong Learning, Dominion Place, Imperial Plaza, Cedarfield, Crossings at Bon Air, and St. Francis.

For more information about Bifocals, to book a performance, or to become involved, contact our staff liaison, Brittany Taylor at 783-1688 ext 1113.

I suspect it is difficult to appreciate the full value of the Bifocals Theatre Project until you’ve seen, as I have, your 92-year-old mother, who spent her entire life loving theatre, reaching the point where she can no longer sit through a two-hour production or leave her retirement home to venture out to a performing arts facility. Then a Bifocals performance comes to her new residence, and her face lights up like the Fourth of July just to have something different to do, and something theatrical to see.

The Bifocals Theatre Project is as important as anything Barksdale Theatre does. It is a star in our crown, and another reason why the “little theatre that could” is still such a unique, vital, irreplaceable thread in the fabric of our community.

--Bruce Miller

The Provenance of "Becky's New Car"

2011-09-21T22:05:00.011-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Becky's New Car, which opens at Hanover Tavern on Friday, is a new comedy by Steven Dietz. It began its current road trip in Seattle, WA, in October of 2006. Charlie Staadecker, a successful commercial realtor in the Emerald City (Seattle's nickname), asked his wife Benita for some suggestions for a "major" gift that he might purchase for her upcoming 60th birthday. Reflecting on her happy and comfortable life, she replied that she didn't need anything, and suggested that he surprise her.

Benita Staadecker continues the story: "Little did I know that he would surprise me with the best gift I have ever received. Earlier in October we had attended a pumpkin carving." Charlie jumps in: "I've had two challenges in my life. One was Benita's request to go see Wayne Newton in Vegas. I didn't want to go, but Benita is hard to refuse so I went. It was the same with the pumpkin carving."

Back to Benita: "A woman at my table was telling of how she had commissioned a tuba concerto with the Seattle Symphony in memory of her husband and it was scheduled to premiere in January and she was afraid that no one would attend. I promised that my husband and I would come. I asked her questions about commissioning work and what it cost. All the while Charlie must have been listening, as he took this idea to ACT Theatre (where Benita serves as a trustee) and asked if he could commission a play in honor of his wife, as a birthday gift. The powers-that-be at ACT loved the idea."

Kurt Beattie, artistic director of ACT, contacted noted Seattle playwright Steven Dietz, and challenged him "to write a comedy." At first Dietz was skeptical, relates Charlie. "He said, 'Give me a bottle of scotch and a cabin for a weekend, and I'll write a drama.' But comedy is the gold standard."

Eventually Dietz accepted the challenge and the commission. Two months later, the first ten pages were presented to Benita during a Board meeting. "I was shocked," she said. "I had never gotten anything like that before. That was amazing. Not something you can wrap in a box."

Two years later, on Oct 17, 2008, Becky's New Car premiered at ACT. In Benita's own words, "The rest is history ... and the best ride of a lifetime."

Since the auspicious opening, Becky's New Car has been produced by 24 additional theatres in a continuous journey eastward. Barksdale and Hanover will be the easternmost location thus far.

As this peppy new play gains national momentum, Charlie and Benita Staadecker have come along for the ride. They've attended almost every production thus far, and will be joining us here in Central Virginia at 9:30 a.m. on September 30 for a fun and informative panel discussion about their Becky experience. Becky's star Melissa Johnston Price will join the panel, and I'll moderate. Billy Christopher Maupin will also be in attendance.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, the Staadecker's will be joining us at Hanover Tavern to watch the performances.

I hope you'll join us in the lobby at Willow Lawn on Friday, September 30, 9:30 a.m. for coffee, tea, pastries and a chance to hear all about surprise birthday gifts, and how to commission a play. It should be a rousing and informative discussion.

--Bruce Miller

McAuley-Kilgore Theatre Library Begins to Take Shape

2011-09-21T00:16:00.005-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
When Theatre IV was asked by the Barksdale Board of Trustees in the summer of 2001 to assume artistic and business management of Central Virginia's longest standing professional theatre, we immediately responded with an enthusiastic "yes!" One of the programs that came with this new package of responsibilities was the McAuley-Kilgore Theatre Library, named in honor of Barksdale's legendary leaders: Muriel McAuley, David (Pete) Kilgore, and Nancy Kilgore.

In 2001, and throughout the decade that followed, the McAuley-Kilgore Library was distinguished only by a name posted in gold letters over the double doors that are positioned between the library and the lobby at Barksdale Willow Lawn. There were no book shelves in the library. There were no books--actually, there were quite a few old scripts and reference volumes, but they were all packed away in boxes.

As we marked the tenth anniversary of the Barksdale / Theatre IV alliance this past summer, we were able to shed a wee bit of embarrassment as we proudly noted that the Shameful Case of the Library that Wasn't was finally being addressed. Custom bookshelves had been installed last spring by David Powers, our über-hardworking tech director for Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern. And the treasured tomes that had once known the touch of Muriel, Pete and Nancy themselves had been released again into the fresh air and light of day.This fall we plan to organize more effectively the Library and its invaluable theatre collection. All of our books are being recorded into an on-line card catalogue, lending policies are being established, bookplates are being designed and printed to acknowledge all individual donors, and, most importantly, additional volumes are being sought to add to our growing collection.

The photo posted at the top of this article shows mostly empty shelves. It's an old photo. The shelves are now actually filling up quite nicely (see photo below)--but there's always room for more.

Anyone who has ever tried to locate a script or theatre reference work in the Richmond, Chesterfield or Henrico public libraries knows that there is a definite need in Central Virginia for an expanded theatre collection. It is our goal for the McAuley-Kilgore Theatre Library to help to address that need. We are confident that Muriel, Pete and Nancy would be pleased, proud and honored to know that their books and their legacies were being put to good use.

If you have any scripts, theatre recordings (audio or video), theatre reference works or texts, stage novels or biographies etc. (and who among us doesn't?), and you would like to donate these pieces and parts of your own legacy to the McAuley-Kilgore Theatre Library, either now or in your will, please contact my assistant, Brittany Taylor, at 783-1688 ext 1113, or at b.taylor@ (insert the name Barksdale here) Richmond.org. We will be grateful to receive your tax deductible donation to Central Virginia's newest public access, lending and perusal library for the theatre arts.

Also, we are seeking to expand our significant collection of Richmond theatre playbills, posters, etc. into a comprehensive, readily available, theatre archive representing ALL of Richmond's theatrical endeavors. Unique originals will be copied and donated to the official archives at the Library of Virginia. Copies and duplicate originals will be kept in regular (not archive quality) files in the McAuley-Kilgore Library, for perusal only.

No matter which theatre your old playbill collection may represent, if it's a theatre with a Richmond connection, we'd love for you to consider donating your programs to the Library.

All donations to Barksdale Theatre are fully deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Finally, we are also seeking Library volunteers. If you'd like to put in a few hours every now and then, cataloging the collection, please let Brittany know. We'd feel honored to work with you.

Thanks for helping support Richmond's nonprofit, resident professional theatre as we seek to improve the McAuley-Kilgore Library and its collections.

--Bruce Miller

ATCA Membership Could Help Grow Richmond Theatre

2011-09-20T23:50:00.001-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
The American Theatre Critics Association is the national association of professional theatre critics. Its members work for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and on-line services across the United States. Membership is open to all who "review theatre professionally, regularly and with substance for print, electronic or digital media."

ATCA was founded in 1974 by a group of leading theater critics from around the country. The prevailing wisdom at the time was that the New York Drama Critics Circle was too geographically limiting to meet the growing national need. Daumier’s 1865 cricature, “La Promenade du Critique Influent,” (pictured to the left) has been ATCA’s self-deprecatory logo since its founding.

Prior to 1974, the founding critics had been gathering informally for several years at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT, where Phil Whiteway's nephew, Preston Whiteway (pictured below and to the right), has served as Executive Director since 2007. ATCA’s connection to the O’Neill continues today in the annual National Critics Institute, which many US theatre critics attend as fellows and mentors.

Since its founding, ATCA has provided opportunities for members to explore the remarkable artistic resources of our national theatre. ATCA works to foster greater communication among theatre critics in the United States, to improve the training and development of critics at different stages of their careers, to advocate absolute freedom of expression in theatre and theatre criticism, and to increase public awareness of the theatre as an important national resource.

In addition to the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill, ATCA offers valuable professional and networking opportunities through twice yearly conferences. In a typical year, members gather for a five-day annual conference in a major theatre center outside New York, as well as for a shorter meeting in New York or at some theater festival. In addition to seminars, guest speakers, discussions with regional and national theatre practitioners, and a sampling of the host region’s theatres, there’s ample opportunity to talk shop with others in the profession.

In addition to conferences and meetings, ATCA provides information through email and on its website about current trends in theatre, the ethical dilemmas critics face, and upcoming international seminars and workshops through the International Association of Theatre Critics, of which ATCA is the American affiliate.

ATCA members also join in supporting new plays. Each year ATCA presents several awards for new plays and emerging playwrights. Members make a recommendation to the American Theatre Wing for the Regional Theatre Tony Award (the theatre recommended by ATCA always wins) and vote on inductees to the Theater Hall of Fame.

Currently, the only Virginia critics listed as members on the ATCA website are Maggie Lawrence in Culpeper, Wendy Parker in Midlothian, and David Siegel in Annandale. In days gone by, Roy Proctor was not only a member of ATCA, he served as the association's national president.

As Richmond theatre continues to grow and improve, it would be great to have several Richmond critics join ATCA. Two years ago, Legacy of Light (two RTCCA nominees from Barksdale's production of Legacy are pictured to the left) was one of only three new plays in the US to receive Best of the Year recognition from ATCA after its world premiere at Arena Stage. Legacy received this recognition due in large part to the advocacy of several DC ATCA members. The previous year, Signature Theatre in Northern Virginia won the regional theatre Tony Award, also due to the efforts of the DC critics.

As early as this season, it is possible that a play receiving its world premiere in Richmond might have a shot at the invaluable national recognition awarded by the ATCA, but only if Richmond's critics join the association and participate in its voting. Ten or so years from now, it would be possible for a Richmond theatre to win the regional theatre Tony, (why not dream big, folks) but again, only if Central Virginia's critics join ATCA and serve as advocates for Richmond theatre. Also, it would be possible in the near future to bring the national conference of ATCA to Richmond, significantly advancing our national profile as a theatre city, but only if we have active local ATCA members.

Advancing Richmond as a national caliber theatre city could and I believe should be an important goal for all of us. Encouraging our wonderful critics to join ATCA may be one way to make progress toward this goal. Annual dues are $45, and if critics need help with that, I suspect it could be found.

--Bruce Miller

Should Actor Stipends Be Paid Over a Longer Period?

2011-09-18T18:11:00.006-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Chase Kniffen, our associate artistic director, has suggested a pretty interesting idea. If you're an actor who works or would like to work with Barksdale Theatre and/or Theatre IV, I'd be pleased to hear your opinion.

The idea is this. Currently we pay a stipend to non-union actors on a per performance basis. What if those actors were to receive the exact same amount of money for their work on a production, but that money would be divided up into bi-weekly payments over the entire work period (rehearsal and performance) rather than per performance payments over the performance period only? The total received by the actor would be the same, but it would be paid out on a bi-weekly basis beginning with the first day of rehearsal.

Let me be clear. The actors would not be receiving any additional money, or any less money, but they would be receiving it over a longer period of time which would include the rehearsal period. The checks would be smaller, but they would be spread out over a longer period of time to include rehearsals, so the total amount received would be the same.

Please let me also acknowledge that the money we pay to our non-union actors is too little. We all wish it could be more. We all know it should be more. We're working our hardest to increase contributions and ticket sales so that one day it can and will be more.

One reason this plan of beginning payments following the first rehearsal is being suggested is because actors begin incurring expenses on that date, but as things now stand, they don't start receiving their stipends until after Opening Night. Also, expectations for professional job performance are the same during the rehearsal period as the performance period, so why shouldn't the timeline of payments reflect this?

If you'd like to voice an opinion, we'd love to hear it. Don't let the bi-weekly (every other week) timeline be a stumbling block. If you love the idea of the spread out payments, let us know. If you really prefer the checks to be weekly rather than bi-weekly, let us know that too.

We're very interested in your opinions. Thanks in advance for sending them in. If enough actors want us to make this change, we're going to make it. If enough actors prefer to maintain the status quo, we're going to do that.

You can respond anonymously, if you must, but we'd love to know who feels what, if you're comfortable providing your name. You can comment to this post, or you can send me an email. My coded email address can be found at the end of the previous blog. If you need assistance figuring out the code, call my assistant, Brittany Taylor, at 783-1688, ext 1113.

Thanks for your consideration.

--Bruce Miller

Of Fall, Hot Tin, and Names Above the Title

2011-09-18T15:32:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Fall is really here. The calendar says we have to wait till Sept 23, but I'm not buyin'. The 2011-12 theatre season is well underway, marked by the openings of Central VA's first comedy of the year (Lend Me a Tenor), drama (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), and musical (Keep on the Sunny Side).

As Lucian Restivo from Stage B posted Friday on Facebook, "it's cardigan and scarf weather," and he couldn't be happier. After the dog days of summer, I'm right there with him.

I made my reservations for Hot Tin and I'm really looking forward to it. It's definitely one of the new season's highlights for me. I loved Who's Afraid last season from the same Rusty Wilson / Firehouse directing / producing team. Hot Tin is a great play--a masterwork--and Rusty's assembled an unbeatable cast: Alan Sader, Laine Satterfield, Adrian Rieder, Jackie Jones, Larry Cook, Dean Knight, Andy Boothby, Laura Rikard, Stephanie M. Hill, and three talented no-neck-monsters.

Susie Haubenstock wrote a great review, and I've heard nothing but glowing word-of-mouth. If you don't have your tickets yet, I encourage you to get them. I suspect they'll start selling out most performances pretty soon.

I'm excited that Rusty will be directing In the Next Room or the vibrator play with Cadence in Barksdale's Theatre Gym next summer.

This coming Friday, we'll open Becky's New Car, a very clever and contemporary new comedy from Steven Dietz, at Hanover Tavern. We're trying something new, and if you have a reaction, I'd love to hear it.

Bouncing off my desire to celebrate and promote Richmond's "stars" with a little more fanfare, Billy Christopher Maupin, who is not only directing Becky's but marketing it as well, decided to place Melissa Johnston Price's name above the title in our promotional materials--not our standard practice.

At first, I buzzed B C and asked him not to do that again without checking with me first. I was worried about setting precedents and all that. But then I decided that this will be a good experiment.

Melissa Johnston Price is certainly a local star, holding a prominent place in the pantheon of Virginia's most revered actors. And the character of "Becky" certainly is the leading role in the play. Why the heck not let the ticket-buying public know that this is a special opportunity to see an exceptional artist in a terrific part?

Sometimes I think we Richmond producers need to set aside all timidity and begin to blow the horn a little louder about Central Virginia's brightest and best. If we don't, aren't we failing to create the public excitement we need to create in order to grow the overall Richmond audience?

What do you think? When we're lucky enough to have a star in a major role, should we put his or her name above the title? You can communicate with me publicly as a comment to this post, or privately as an email.

I can't type my email directly cause little robots that do nothing but surf blog posts 24/7 pick it up and start sending me even more spam. Or so I'm told by our IT gurus. So here's today's puzzler. My address is: b.miller@ the name of either of our theatres followed by the word Richmond.org.

Thanks.

--Bruce Miller

Ruminations from the Old School

2011-09-17T08:08:00.007-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
To one and all-- I'm sorry I ever wrote my spoof of Susie's review of Lend Me a Tenor. Over on Dave's Theatre Blog, which I enjoy, it seems to have created a mini-firestorm, which was not my intention.

Here's what people seem to think. I read Susie's mixed but mostly favorable review of Tenor, didn't think it was favorable enough, wrote a scathing attack on her and Richmond critics in general, posted it on the Barksdale blog, at which point someone calmer and wiser "dropped the hammer" on me, and commanded me in fear and trembling to take the post down.

Here's what I think happened. I read Susie's mixed to mostly favorable review and thought it was pretty much on the mark. I also thought it was a crystal clear example of subjective, rather than objective criticism. Since it was a mixed but mostly favorable review, and pretty much on the mark, and since Susie is my professional friend, I thought it was safe for me to spoof the review, with everyone knowing that my spoof was written in good clean fun.

Call me crazy.

I think it's a very good thing that all of us, theatre artists and critics, are passionate about what we do. I also think it's very easy for blog posts, and particularly anonymous comments, to come off as nastier than they're intended to be. That's a lesson I should have learned long, long ago.

For the record, I never thought that Susie wrote a negative review of Tenor. I read her review just like you did. I'm not stupid. I know it was mixed but mostly positive. If I had written a review of Tenor, which I think is a real crowd-pleaser and lots of fun, my review would have been mixed but mostly positive. I don't think everything we produce is perfect. Quite the opposite. I think all of us at Barksdale are our own toughest critics. I'm glad about that. I think that's what has encouraged and allowed our artistic quality to improve over the years.

My point in writing the spoof was to shine a light on what I guess is an "old school" / "new school" debate in journalistic circles. Dave reports that during the recent criticism seminars he attended in California, a prominent film critic and speaker stressed the importance of avoiding the "dreaded O," or something like that, with "O" standing for objectivism.

When I took criticism in college a very long time ago, around 1972, we were taught the exact opposite. "When you write subjectively, " our professor would say, "you make the critique about you. Your readers are not picking up the paper to know more about you. They want to know about the play you are critiquing."

If you write subjectively, we were taught, your criticism risks being influenced by what you had for dinner, whether or not you have a head cold, whether or not your bills are paid, whether or not you just had a fight with your significant other, whether or not you could find a date for the performance. None of this is relevant to the quality or success of the performance you are reviewing. None of it should be included in your review, consciously or sub-consciously. All that personal stuff is relevant only to you.

If we ever wrote "I believe" or "I feel" or "it seems to me" or anything like that, it was crossed out with a big red pen and our grade was lowered for each offense. "It's not about you," was the mantra. It's about the play.

What I was taught, and what I believe, is that artists are entitled to informed, objective criticism, not a personal reaction based even in part on previously established bias or state of mind. I think Mark Persinger's comments on Dave's blog are on the mark, sorry, in this regard.

Dave seems to think, and I can somewhat understand, that objective criticism is impossible, because all journalists write subjectively, like it or not.

Those are our opinions. So be it. "New school" is no more right or wrong than "old school," and vice versa. But, perhaps, it's worth consideration.

In all my journalism classes, we were taught to write in "inverted pyramid" style, even in reviews. My journalism mentor, legendary U or R professor Joe Nettles, long revered as the "dean of Richmond journalism," stressed that the "inverted pyramid" style (I encourage you to Google it and find more info than you need) not only led to good, effective writing, it also allowed readers to opt out of any given article after a paragraph or two having learned the most important information the writer needed to convey.

Readers of my age (61) or older have been trained, subconsciously, to expect the most important information to be in the first few paragraphs. Most of Richmond's ticket buyers (not all, thank God) are my age or older. If they skimmed the first five paragraphs of Susie's review of Lend Me a Tenor, and read no further, they would have closed the paper believing that the most important information was that the T-D theatre critic hates farce and invites others to join her. They would have read nothing in the first five paragraphs about Susie's opinion of this production of Lend Me a Tenor.

It's not the end of the world, my friends. I'm not steaming with anger. I just thought it was a perfect time to discuss "subjective" vs "objective" journalism.

I wrote the spoof because I thought it would be funny, in a Jon Stewart kind of way. I copied the first several paragraphs of Susie's review almost word for word. I simply exchanged the words "subjective criticism" for "farce."

It came off nasty. I'd forgotten that that's what emails and blog posts do sometimes. You can't type in tone of voice, raised eyebrow, glint in eye, or twisted smile.

That's when I take blog posts down--when I become aware that they're being interpreted in a way not intended. When my trusted colleagues, Chase Kniffen and Billy Christopher Maupin, told me that the social media world was abuzz regarding my "attack" on Richmond's critics, I followed their suggestion and removed it from public view. I apologized publicly, on the blog, and privately to Susie. She was great about it all, as I suspected she would be. My apology was and is sincere. Not cause I'm kissing up to her or any critic. I just think everyone who means no harm is due respect. I never intended otherwise.

Susie is a valued professional friend, as is Dave. As a side note to one of Dave's commenters, it's a small community, and a lot of us are going to be friends. I think that's just the way we're wired, not any attempt on anyone's part to win influence with anyone else. The good news is, none of the current critics hang out in the lobby after a show and play kissy face / drinking buddy with the artists they are about to review. Only one critic in my memory did that, which I too found unprofessional. That critic is no longer here.

As for the objective/subjective issue, debated at length on Dave's blog, well, I think Dave and I will just have to disagree. Nothing wrong with that. I find some validity to his point of view. I expect he finds some in mine. I know we both respect each other.

Perhaps what is most interesting is that when Susie began her review by proposing a test, suggesting that all readers who enjoyed farce stand over there, and inviting all readers who hated farce to stand over here, with her, critics seemingly could not understand how that could be offensive to theatre artists. When I spoofed the review, and suggested that all readers who enjoyed "subjective" criticism stand over there, and invited all readers who hated "subjective" criticism to stand over here, with me, the general reaction was that I was issuing a "pointed" attack.

Bottom line: I have affection and respect for the critics and the artists. I mean no ill will toward anyone. I prefer my drama to be on the stage. I do think it's interesting to consider and discuss these things, however, even while remaining truly sorry that my initial spoof caused the reaction it did.

--Bruce Miller

Two Treasures

2011-09-16T07:51:00.008-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
Congratulations to Carol Piersol, co-founder and Artistic Director of Firehouse Theatre Project, who is recognized in and on the cover of the September issue of Belle Magazine as one of Richmond's seven outstanding women in the arts.

Her fellow honorees include Sarah Shields Driggs, Architectural Historian, Save Outdoor Sculpture; Ashley Kistler, Director, Anderson Gallery, VCU; Pamela Kiecker Royall, Benefactor and Collector; Andrea Orlosky, Executive Director, Art on Wheels; Greta Brinkman, Musician and Music Director, WRIR; and Maya Payne Smart, Author and Vice Chairwoman, James River Writers.

Carol co-founded the Firehouse in 1993 with Jeff Clevenger, Bill Gordon, Anna Senechal Johnson, and Harry Kollatz Jr., and has served as artistic director for the last 18 years. The best way to understand the incredible value of her leadership is to watch Parts 1 and 2 of the terrific Firehouse documentary created by Richmond filmmaker Alan Futterman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5wju_o0jl4 and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWSuD1qN0ag&feature=related.

In the documentary, eight of Virginia's finest actors (Jeff Clevenger, Justin Dray, Sara Heifetz, D. L. Hopkins, Bill Patton, Melissa Johnston Price, Amy Sproul and Scott Wichmann) speak eloquently and movingly about Firehouse's steadfast commitment to its artistic values.

Carol has embodied these values, steered and protected this commitment for nearly two decades. All the while, she and her colleagues have continued to improve the Firehouse's production quality, year after year, while also maintaining its historic facility, and growing its audience and operations. Her contributions to Richmond's theatre community inspire me more than I can say.

She's also been a good friend to Theatre IV and Barksdale for a long time. Congratulations, Carol, on this well deserved recognition.

On a second and equally jubilant note, our beloved facilities manager and indispensible jack-of-all-trades, Tom McGranahan, is back in the saddle with us after his recent surgery. I think he's supposed to still be in bed, but you can't keep a good man down.

I've known a few saints in my life: my father, Phil Whiteway's mother and father, my late Sunday School teacher Barbara Maynard, and Tom McGranahan. He's a bawdy saint, to be sure. But a saint nonetheless. I look at Tom McGranahan and I see the hand of God.

Welcome back, Tom. The old place wasn't the same without you.

--Posted by Bruce Miller

Maupin Masterminds Mischief in Modern Merrymaker

2011-09-14T21:24:00.001-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller (liberally quoting B C Maupin)
With Becky's New Car, we're glad to welcome Billy Christopher Maupin back into the driver's seat at Hanover Tavern. B C has to be among the most turbocharged theatre artists working in Virginia today. As his German friends opine, he is mit turboaufladung. (Sorry. Sometimes these amazing things pop up in a word search and I can't help myself.)

Billy Christopher starred at the Tavern as the Reverend Mervin Oglethorpe in all three musicals in the Smoke on the Mountain trilogy. Back in 2010, he directed our heartwarming Hanover hit, Butterflies are Free.

More recently, B C earned great acclaim for his staging of Dog Sees God and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Firehouse.

Billy Christopher was honored last spring by STYLE Weekly as one of Richmond's "Top 40 Under 40." In the recent build-up to the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards, he is a Best Actor nom for his work in Something Intangible, also at the Firehouse. When not involved in evening rehearsals, he spends his daytime hours as Marketing Manager here at Barksdale/Theatre IV.

Billy Christopher was the one who introduced me to Becky's New Car. His director's notes indicate that when he encountered this new comedy, the attraction was immediate.

"My first professional job in the theatre was in 2000 in a production of Bram Stoker's Dracula adapted by Steve Dietz. Thus began my love affair with Dietz' work. A master of dramatic tension, zany plots, tender moments, and incredibly natural dialogue, Dietz is a rare treasure of the American theatre.

When his newest play, Becky's New Car, was published last year, it jumped to the top of my list of plays to read. And when I did, I fell in love before it was even over. I remember finishing the first act and immediately calling Melissa (Johnston Price) and saying, 'I think you might need to look at this play that I just started reading.' As soon as I finished it, I called her back: 'Melissa, you need to read this play.'

I feel so fortunate to be able to be a part of creating theatre in a community that is so rich in artists. It is such a thrill to be able to explore this wonderfully funny and beautiful play with such an incredibly talented cast, crew and design team.

I hope you enjoy the ride.

Billy Christopher Maupin"

If you're a fan of Billy Christopher's work, I hope you'll join him and his stellar cast as they put the pedal to the metal beginning September 23. You'll be glad you did.

--Bruce Miller

CenterStage Brochure Announces New Initiatives

2011-09-13T18:29:00.024-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
According to blogger.com, this is our 600th blog post. Considering all the articles that have been posted and then removed, it's probably the 700th post we've written, but ... for better or worse, it's the first time we've had 600 items actually posted at the same time.

When Barksdale was 31 years old, co-founder Muriel McAuley wrote her wonderful book, Moving On. Theatre IV turned 36 last May. Theatre IV doesn't have a book. But I've written a lot of posts on this blog.

One day I'll go back through the blog archives to proof and edit.

I was pleased to receive the beautiful new CenterStage brochure in my home mailbox last evening. I was particularly interested to learn about four news items. At least they were news to me.

1. Three of the four restaurants listed as CenterStage's Premiere Restaurant Partners are located in easy walking distance of the historic Empire Theatre. Bistro 27 (across the street), TJs and Lemaire (two blocks away) all offer a 10% discount to CenterStage ticket holders on the night of the show. CenterStage is clearly a step ahead of Barksdale in pulling this together. Good for them. We all learn from the competition. It's a great perq for ticket buyers. It's time for us to pay a visit on our friends at Bistro 27 and the Jefferson to try to catch up with CenterStage.

2. Young James Wasilewski, who I guess isn't all that young anymore (he will always be "Young James" to us), will be bringing his acclaimed improv troupe, West End Comedy, into Rhythm Hall, the multipurpose performance space at CenterStage. James (pictured to the right) interned with Barksdale his senior year at Randolph Macon, a little less than a decade ago. Now he'll be appearing downtown on four Fridays--Nov 4, Jan 13, Feb 3, and Mar 16.

James has been trying to lure me out to the West End for months, to see his show. Looks like I now will have no excuse not to go laugh at my buddy in his new downtown digs. Tickets are only $10, and the show is for "mature audiences." I don't know if I'm mature yet, but I'm marking my calendar nonetheless. I hope you will too. I think bringing comedy to Rhythm Hall on a regular basis is a great idea.

3. Kathy Halenda, who starred at Barksdale in Mame and Irving Berlin's White Christmas is one of the headliners in CenterStage's new Life Is A Cabaret series, sponsored by U. S. Trust. On Jan 26-29, Kathy will be bringing her Class & Brass: The Music of Judy Garland and Bette Midler show to Rhythm Hall. What a perfect way to heat up a cold winter's night. If Kathy's in town, you know the joint will be jumpin'.

Richmond needs more cabaret. We've made halting efforts at Barksdale, and Glen Allen and Triangle have lately picked up the ball with excellent cabaret acts and series of their own. Maybe one day soon, Richmond will have a flourishing cabaret scene at multiple venues.

4. The biggest newsflash for me (I know, everyone else has probably known for weeks) is that CenterStage is getting into the theatre producing business with a new program called CenterStage in The Community. This causes me to feel both nervous and relieved at the same time.

"Nervous" because this means there is now another producing theatre in town, a BIG one, one with resources several times greater than the resources available over here. New competition is good, but when you're trying to meet payroll and handle the financial obligations of a major downtown facility like the historic Empire, new competition is also scary. Time will tell how many producing theatres a community the size of Greater Richmond can support.

"Relieved" because Barksdale will no longer be the biggest producing theatre in town. I've spent 27 years of my career as artistic director of a tiny, then mid-sized theatre, leaving the "big house" responsibilities to other entities. We've been at the top of the heap (until now) for only nine years. There was a lot less pressure when we were small.

The first production to receive the benefits of this amazing opportunity will be Dessa Rose, co-produced by CenterStage and Firehouse, and directed by CenterStage's multi-talented Executive Director, Richard M. Parison, Jr. (pictured below and to the left).

Before moving to Richmond less than a year ago, Parison spent the previous two years as the producing director at Barrington Stage Company, which the Boston Globe has called "the pre-eminent place in Massachusetts for the production of musicals." Before that, he held producing positions at the Prince Music Theater and the Walnut Street Theatre (with a legendary subscriber base of over 20,000) in Philadelphia.

Here's what the CenterStage brochure has to say about Dessa Rose. "CenterStage and the Firehouse Theatre Project come together to present Dessa Rose, a musical full of love, laughter, hope and a pair of unlikely heroines. One is a fallen lady of society abandoned by her husband, the other a pregnant slave sentenced to death on the gallows. When circumstances thrust them together, they form an uneasy alliance in an attempt to secure them both their freedom and that of their infant children. Based on imagined details of real events, this dangerous adventure of a musical celebrates life in all its joys, triumphs and challenges."

Dessa Rose is written and composed by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, the same talented team that created Seussical, which will be produced by Theatre IV at the same time that CenterStage and Firehouse will be co-producing Dessa Rose. Seussical runs April 27 through May 20. Dessa Rose runs May 2 through June 2. Perhaps Carol Piersol will forgive me for bowing out of the Tennessee Williams Festival, and she and Richard Parison will consider joining with us to mount a mini Flaherty/Ahrens Festival. It's at least worth talking about.

It remains to be seen whether CenterStage will continue its CenterStage in The Community program with Firehouse (a GREAT partner), or another theatre, or maybe another performing art form altogether. Perhaps next year they will choose to co-produce with Concert Ballet, the Richmond Philharmonic, or Peter Mark's new Lyric Opera Virginia.

After it's triumphant 2nd Anniversary celebration with Patti Labelle, it's good to see CenterStage coming on so strong. Long may she thrive!

--Bruce Miller

Passion, People and Impact - Day 1

2011-09-12T10:12:00.007-04:00

Posted by Annie Hulcher
“Passion, People, and Impact – that is why I love my job,” Bruce Miller, Artistic Director of Barksdale and Theatre IV, told me last Thursday over the large wooden conference table. “I get the opportunity every day to do what I enjoy, work with people I love, and positively impact peoples’ lives."

Although this was the beginning of the conversation, I was already enthralled and excited to listen to someone I admire tell me how awesome theatre is.

Passion: “No one in theatre makes much money. Those who do are few and far between, but if you are doing what you're passionate about, the trade off is worth it.”

He continued, “It’s absolutely a 24/7 job. Some people have their work, but are passionate only about their personal lives." Bruce is able to intertwine his work and his family life and have passion for both. With a wife (Terrie Powers) who designs all the shows at Hanover Tavern and most of the shows for Theatre IV on Tour, his work and his personal life are connected at nearly every turn, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

I was already hooked.

People: “To put it simply, I love the people I work with. We all have a bit of crazy in us, but that’s what makes us interesting." As he was telling me this, I sat there thinking about my own friends. Crazy? Yes. Interesting? Absolutely. Passionate? You bet. It’s not often you get to work with people who care and commit as much as people in theatre do.

Impact: For me, this was the point that really made me feel that I knew this is what I wanted to be involved in the rest of my life. “I have seen the impact theatre has on people," Bruce said. "I have seen Hugs and Kisses (Theatre IV's long-running child sexual abuse prevention program) literally save kids’ lives. I've seen other shows inspire both children and adults to think differently, to follow their hearts, to open their minds.” He didn’t have to say much more. I could hear in his voice and see in his eyes how much that meant to him. In all honesty, what more could you possibly want out of a job?

So, at this point, you may be asking yourself who I am and why I am writing this. My name is Annie Hulcher and I am a senior at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School. I have the opportunity to mentor under Bruce Miller this school year.

I will be documenting my experience here on the Barksdale Buzz. I, myself, am a performer. I got to know Bruce when I worked with him on Annie Get Your Gun (summer 2003) and I have been involved with SPARC and school theatre ever since.

I remember going to shows at Theatre IV when I was 4 and 5 years old, kick-starting my love for theatre. It is all too thrilling to be able to work with the man who was a large player in establishing my own passion.

Throughout the year, I will be working with different departments doing a myriad of activities and projects. (Last Thursday included hanging up pictures, posters and paintings around the office – a few from the set of Boeing-Boeing, which just closed.)

Although I am a performer now, 85% of people in the theatre world start as a performer but then move on to another theatre-related field (Bruce’s made-up statistic). As I obtain a little first hand experience in marketing, development, set construction, production management, facilities, box office, costuming and wardrobe, house management, event planning, props, electrics, accounting, tour management, etc. etc. etc., who knows what will spark my interest and possibly lead me down a career path?

As an avid reader of the Barksdale Buzz, I am very excited to be able to publish an entry here. I am eager to work hard and get to know everyone on the staff of Barksdale/Theatre IV, and hopefully getting to know theatre like I never have before.

--Annie Hulcher

New Faces and Old Favorites Rev up for Becky's New Car

2011-09-11T19:38:00.016-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
When Steven Dietz's brand new comedy, Becky's New Car, starts its engines in 11 days at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern, the audience will be charmed by a high octane cast of seven, three of whom will be performing at Barksdale for the first time.

Becky is played by none other than Richmond acting queenpin, Melissa Johnston Price (pictured to the right). Believe it or not (I scarcely believe it myself), this will be Melissa's first, full-fledged Barksdale production.

It's true. At least I think it is. Melissa's credits have been the stuff of legend in Richmond for the last three decades, but her reputation for excellence has all been earned elsewhere.

To be precise, Melissa did appear last fall in the Bootleg Shakespeare production of Titus Andronicus, co-pro'ed by Henley Street Theatre and Barksdale. But the wonderfully wacky Bootleg performances, by design, are barely fledged at all. The entire cast rehearses all morning and afternoon on the day of performance, and that's it.

Also, Melissa starred in The Full Plate Collection, co-pro'ed by Erin Thomas Foley, Jenny Jones Hundley, Irene Ziegler Aston and Barksdale during 2010's Minds Wide Open--Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts. Our role in that partnership was to provide a performance space and a little advice every now and then, and otherwise stay out of the way. So I don't think we can count Full Plate as Melissa's Barksdale debut.

Melissa also has appeared with Theatre IV, but it was quite a while ago, in our co-productions of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (with The Production Company) and Boom Town (with Essential Theatre). Even then, Theatre IV's involvement in the actual artistic product was next to nothing.

So, here she is, identified only a few months ago as one of Central Virginia's two favorite actresses by the readers of STYLE Weekly, FINALLY joining the pit crew at Richmond's nonprofit, resident professional theatre. We're counting our lucky stars.

The other two newcomers in Becky's cast are Christine Fonsale (pictured above and to the left), a Virginia actress who is well known to audiences in Williamsburg and the DC area, and Evan Nasteff (pictured below and to the right), best known by those Richmonders who savor him as the suave and sultry bartender at Off The Hookah in Shockoe Slip.

Christine is an audio book narrator for the Library of Congress. She received theatrical training at the Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts' Honors Conservatory Program in Washington, DC, and participated in Master Classes at DC's nationally renowned Shakespeare Theatre Company. Her credits include Tales of Love and Sausages for Faction of Fools, DC Microfictions for the Alliance Française of Washington, and I Ought to Be in Pictures for the Little Theatre of Norfolk.

In her hometown of Williamsburg, Christine appeared in Polly Honeycombe, Cry Witch!, A Salute to Our Nation, His Excellency's Pleasure Garden, and Lady Dunmore's Ball, all for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Evening Programs.

Evan holds a BA in Theatre from Hampden-Sydney College. Previous stage credits include MacBeth, Richard III, Rashomon, Art (by Yasmina Reza, author of God of Carnage), Waiting for Godot, and Noises Off!

Rounding out the terrific cast under Billy Christopher Maupin's direction are Barksdale favorites:
* Gordon Bass (green shirt - To Kill a Mockingbird, Melissa Arctic, Das Barbecu),
* David Bridgewater (yellow shirt - Is He Dead?, Moonlight and Magnolias, The Drawer Boy, The Lark, The Crucible, Cyrano de Bergerac, Annie Get Your Gun, Over the River and Through the Woods, The Odd Couple),
*Daniel Moore (red tie - Circle Mirror Transformation, The Little Foxes), and
*Maggie Roop (green bracelet - First Baptist of Ivy Gap, Doubt, Guys and Dolls).

I look forward to seeing you at the theatre, in whatever colored clothing and/or accessories you choose to wear. In 11 short days the garage door opens and Becky's New Car finally hits the road.

--Bruce Miller

Of Marquees and Misperceptions

2011-09-10T12:24:00.011-04:00

Posted by Bruce Miller
I love coming home at the top of every month to find my hot-off-the-press edition of Richmond Marquee waiting for me in my mailbox. It reminds me what a great theatre town Richmond is. Is there a comparable monthly newsletter about what's going on among Richmond's diverse dance companies? How about Central Virginia's symphony and orchestra scene, or our opera troupes? I don't think so.

Richmond is a THEATRE town, with a remarkable wealth of talent and audience interest for a city our size. Thank God for that. We should all be glad that Lisa Kotula (actress, theatre administrator, and Publisher / Managing Editor of the Richmond Marquee) continues to commit her energies and resources to the creation of a monthly newsletter that celebrates and promotes the great things happening on ALL of Greater Richmond's many stages.

The September edition includes coverage of 18 different local theatres: AART, Barksdale, Cadence, CAT, Firehouse, HATTheatre, Henley, Henrico, Huguenot Community Players, I Am She Productions, K Dance, Mystery Dinner Playhouse, Richmond Shakespeare, Richmond Triangle, Saint John's Players, Swift Creek Mill, Sycamore Rouge, and Theatre IV. And there was Road Trip info from other Virginia theatres as far afield as Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Riverside Dinner Theatre in Fredericksburg, and Signature Theatre in Alexandria.

The newsletter costs only $2 per month, and you can purchase subscriptions in three, six or twelve month packages. Lisa needs all our support. You can contact her and/or subscribe online at www.richmondmarquee.com. I hope you'll consider doing so.

One of the things I learned in this month's issue of the Richmond Marquee is that Tom Width at Swift Creek Mill Theatre makes life easier for veteran actors than I do at Barksdale. In the article announcing auditions for It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, playing throughout the holidays at the Mill beginning Nov 17, the following paragraph appears.

"Any questions may be directed to Tom Width at Twidth@aol.com. If your work is well-known to Mr. Width, please email for alternate audition information (callback-only auditions are possible.)"

We at Barksdale, Cadence and Theatre IV are not being as generous with our longstanding friends. Instead of having individual auditions for each of the 16 mainstage productions we produce each season, we are beginning this fall to have open calls three times a year: September (Oct 1 in 2011), January and May. We ask every Richmond-based actor, age 18 and up, who is interested in working with us to attend at least one of these auditions each year.

We have already heard, of course, from actors who have conflicting plans on Oct 1, and we will make every effort to include them in callbacks when we believe their talents are well suited to the needs of a show. However, we are also asking these same actors to plan now to attend the open calls in either January or May (exact dates to be determined and announced soon).

It's not that we fail to see that our veteran performers have earned special treatment. In fact, we believe they have. However, we are also aware that there is a misperception out there that Barksdale is a closed shop, privately casting only the same favorite actors over and over again. We know this misperception is not true. In any given year, more than 1/3 of the actors we cast are new to us. But we fear that the perception may keep talented actors whom we do not know, or don't yet know well enough, from attending an open call. Therefore we have a commitment to make every effort to treat all actors exactly the same. If our veteran actors can work with us to address this commitment, we will greatly appreciate it.

As Greater Richmond's resident professional theatre, we hope that all of the talented actors in our metro area will audition for us at least once a year. As we all know, casting happens in callbacks, not open calls. But having open calls, and creating a culture that demonstrates equal respect for all actors--those with whom we are familiar and those with whom we are not--is, we believe, the best way to identify the very best actor for every role.

Ultimately, that is our job. We greatly appreciate everyone's understanding and cooperation.

--Bruce Miller