Video - The Grapes of Wrath - Interview with the Director

The Grapes of Wrath - Now through March 21, 2010 at Willow Lawn - Interview with the director - Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates

The Grapes of Wrath performance schedule More information about the play

What's "News" at Hanover Tavern?

Posted by Bruce Miller
All of us at Barksdale Theatre are proud to be lighting the fuse of our 5th Anniversary Season back at Hanover Tavern--our 57th Anniversary Season if you overlook the ten years we were away!

I know this sounds cliché, but how can it be possible that we've completed four full seasons since returning to our ancestral stomping grounds? It seems like only yesterday that Phil and I were sitting with Pete Kilgore, sharing the tremendous pride and joy he felt from knowing that his theatre was returning, finally, to his HOME.

It was with Pete's blessing, and the strong support of the leaders of the Hanover Tavern Foundation, that we decided during our negotiations of 2005 to position Barksdale's work at Hanover Tavern as a Country Playhouse Season--the equivalent of the purposefully commercial Pops Series offered by symphony orchestras nationwide.

There were (and there still are) three good reasons why we chose to pursue this business plan.

1 We believe it would be foolhardy to compete with ourselves. We think each of our two seasons needs to have its own artistic identity and attract its own audience. In our Signature Season at Willow Lawn, we focus on theatre as an art form. In our Country Playhouse Season at Hanover Tavern, we focus on theatre as entertainment.

Of course there is overlap. We work hard to make everything at Willow Lawn entertaining and everything at the Tavern artistic. Our experience tells us there are large numbers of Greater Richmond theatre patrons who actively avoid the likes of Boleros for the Disenchanted, The Clean House, James Joyce's The Dead and Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, while enthusiastically embracing Barefoot in the Park, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, Butterflies are Free, and their seventh visit to Nunsense.

And vice versa.

Barksdale is a big tent theatre. We want everyone to feel welcome and at home. We offer two different experiences on our two different stages because we want to appeal to the broadest possible base of theatregoers. One day, if we can find the time and money, and if we believe it will do no harm to our colleague organizations, we may re-institute Theatre Gym as a third season for a third type of audience member.

2 The second major reason to have a Pops Series is to create an entryway for new audiences. With Nunsense, a musical comedy with very broad appeal, we hope to attract and earn the trust of new ticket buyers who may have such a good time that they choose to return to see another Barksdale production with a lesser known title, or perhaps one that challenges their existing sensibilities. Part of our nonprofit mission--part of every nonprofit theatre's mission--is to educate the community about the art form. You can't educate anyone until you first get them in the door.

3 A third reason to want to attract a broad-based rather than a niche audience is to increase the attractiveness of sponsorship opportunities. Sponsorships are part of the life blood of every large professional nonprofit theatre in the nation. When seeking sponsorships, it's all about market share.

No performing arts organization in town--no other theatre including the "Broadway" series at CenterStage--comes close to Barksdale and Theatre IV in terms of market share and audience diversity. If a corporation wants to support the arts and get its good name out there to a large and discerning audience, they won't find better sponsorship opportunities than the ones offered by the boisterous bunch at Barksdale.

We know there are good people out there who question the business assumptions that inform our programming at Hanover Tavern. There are arts aficionados who prefer niche theatres that focus on one type of programming and/or one segment of the audience. There are arts advocates who would prefer that seriously-intentioned theatres not produce commercial work from Nunsense to Neil Simon, that symphony orchestras with aspirations of greatness not dedicate programs to The Hollywood Hits of John Williams, that ballet companies that seek artistic excellence not feel compelled to remount annual productions of The Nutcracker.

I certainly understand and respect their opinions. However, I believe that in markets the size of Richmond, artistic integrity is job number one, and keeping sufficient cash in the coin purse is job number one too.

After the closing of TheatreVirginia, Barksdale assumed the responsibility to develop and sustain the professional infrastructure (staff, freelance artists, facilities, equipment, production stock) that is required to support not only our theatre but also Greater Richmond's professionally-oriented theatre community at large. With such a heavy commitment on the expense side, financial health cannot be taken for granted.

Maintaining market share is vital for a major professional theatre, particularly when national competition enters the community determined to take it by storm. All of us can name five or six or more beloved businesses that once seemed to be invincible Richmond landmarks. Ultimately, these great businesses faced increasing national competition, lost significant market share, and suffered the dire consequences that inevitably followed.

At Barksdale and Theatre IV, we're working our hardest (and smartest) to continue to make our companies invaluable assets to the Greater Richmond community. We appreciate your support. We believe having a major theatre in Central Virginia that can sustain a professional infrastructure is essential, not just for us, but also for every theatre in town and the community in general.

So what exactly are we offering on the 2010 Country Playhouse Season? Five shows that I LOVE! I'm very excited about this year's lineup. You can find it on our website: http://www.barksdalerichmond.org/. Or you can wait a day or two and I'll outline our upcoming Tavern shows here on the Barksdale blog.

Hope you'll consider subscribing to our wonderful Country Playhouse Season at Hanover Tavern and our inviting Signature Season at Willow Lawn. We need and cherish every subscriber we can get.

After all, subscribing is the best way to guarantee that ... I'll see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Rostov's Coffee & Conversations this Tuesday at Willow Lawn

Rostov's Coffee & Conversations programs are free and open to the public and take place on the second Tuesday of each Month from 9:30 am until 10:30 am in the lobby at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn, except as noted. No RSVP is required.

Tuesday Apr 14, 9:30 AM
Casting the Net - Audition Policies and Practices

Moderator -
John Moon: actor (The Clean House), director (This Wonderful Life), member - Barksdale Board of Trustees

Panel -
Chase Kniffen: artistic director (Stage 1), director (nor.mal)
Bruce Miller: artistic director (Barksdale Theatre), director (Children of a Lesser God)
Ginnie Willard: production manager (Barksdale Theatre), stage manager (Thoroughly Modern Millie)

Rostov's Coffee and pastry bar opens at 9:15 a.m., program begins at 9:30 a.m., program ends at 10:30 a.m. Free - a cash jar is placed on the coffee and pastry bar to accept donations, average donation $1 to $3

The Two Lydias

Michelle Schaefer (left) who portrays Lydia in Barksdale Theatre’s production of Children of a Lesser God is pictured here with Allison Gompf Clark (right) who played Lydia in the film version of the acclaimed play.

Over the years, the two ladies have become good friends – never dreaming they would have this particular role in common!

We're thrilled that Allison will be attending our ASL Sign Interpreted performance of Children of a Lesser God at Willow Lawn on Sunday, March 8 at 2 PM along with another cast member from the film, Georgia Ann Cline. She will be staying after the performance to meet informally with audience members who would like to say hello.

Tickets for March 8 are available online at these links:
South & West SectionTickets | East Section Tickets for the Hearing Impaired


Allison Gompf Clark

Allison Gompf Clark portrayed ‘Lydia’ in the film version of Children of a Lesser God opposite Marlee Matlin and William Hurt. Allison was born deaf, attending the Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) and graduating from Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) in 1985. The acting bug bit Allison when she was just four years old -- while acting in school and at the Temple, the blue eyed actress was hooked the minute she heard those audiences applaud.

In 1985, while a senior at MSSD, Allison was “discovered” by two casting directors searching for a young actress to play Lydia in a groundbreaking film featuring the deaf and hard of hearing community. A few months later, Allison felt like she was in a dream and couldn’t believe that she went to New Brunswick, Canada to join the movie cast of Children of a Lesser God. To coax the desired performance out of her new young actress, Director Randa Haines told Allison that ”Lydia has to be energetic, wears no makeup, and is the star!”

Allison portrayed Lydia again, in 1988 on stage at Haunted Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania . Nowadays Allison still gets recognized, especially around hearing people who recollect Lydia’s voice.

Allison attended Gallaudet University for two years. She is married to Jamie Clark and has two beautiful teenage daughters, Clarissa and Samara. Currently living in Maryland, Allison continues to show her love of theatre by supporting fellow deaf performers. Her best advice is to “Sign Big and Sign Slow!”

Michelle Schaefer with Landon Nagel in Barksdale's Children of a Lesser God
Photo by Jay Paul

Video Interview - Landon Nagel from Children of a Lesser God

Judi Crenshaw interviews actor Landon Nagel about using ASL (American Sign Language) and Signed English as the lead role of James in Barksdale's Children of a Lesser God, on stage at Willow Lawn through March 22, 2009.
More information | Tickets

Our ASL sign interpreted performance for the hearing impaired will be Sunday, March 8 at 2PM. Tickets

The Galeski Foyer - Part II

Posted by Bruce Miller
Our foyer at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn may not be as elegant as the foyer of the National Theatre of Prague (see Progress Continues on Galeski Foyer, posted below), but it’s becoming more impressive bit by bit. Our thanks go out for:
* the hard work, leadership, and financial contributions of Barksdale Board leader John Moon;
* the volunteer design support of Emmy-winning art director David Crank; and
* the major sustaining operational support of Carrie Galeski.

In no small part, these three are leading the charge forward as we continue to build an inviting and exciting entryway to our theatre at Willow Lawn.

That's our friend Carrie Galeski in the photo above and to the right. She's the one holding the award she earned for her work with the Executive Women's Golf Association.

In my last blog report on efforts to spruce up our Willow Lawn facilities (see The Clean Lobby, Sept. 23, 2008), I commented on the fresh crimson paint job, the new hanging lights outside the box office, the sparkling track lighting, the “etched logo” on the glass of our front door, and plans for several more improvements. Now that several of the “several more” have been completed, it’s time to take another look.

Foremost among the recent improvements is a flat screen TV (pictured above and to the left) that constantly runs a video loop of our Emmy Award-winning Barksdale commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Pmj8iFxp0) preceded and followed by stills from currently running shows at Hanover Tavern (Sanders Family Christmas) and the historic Empire (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever). John Moon not only created the video montage, he also bought and contributed the flat screen TV and the professional grade digital player.

Now anyone waiting in line at the box office will have something interesting to watch.

Equally impressive, our tech director at Hanover Tavern, David Powers, has custom designed and built two bench/storage units to provide seating opposite the door of our elevator. Each bench is designed to store the various pieces of hardware employed by our new photo display system. There’s even a hand-crafted logo built into the benches, making them unique works of craftsmanship.

Our photo display area is still somewhat under construction, but it's coming along nicely. We’re continuing to try out various component parts during the runs of The Clean House and This Wonderful Life, determined to find out which components work best. Cast headshots now are hung individually from vertical rods in handsome new frames. We’re also in the process of replacing the large photo display units that ultimately will house the show shots of each production.

We’ll soon be adding headshots of all the volunteer members of our Board of Trustees, and activity shots portraying Barksdale’s various service initiatives that add so much to the cultural life of Central Virginia.

The vintage Barksdale sign is hanging proudly once again just inside and to the right of the front door. Soon there will be an informative plaque explaining the sign’s history. There’s a new rug inside the front door that bears the Barksdale logo in shades of gray. And there’s a new wooden rack card display unit mounted next to the box office window, better enabling us to promote upcoming productions in all our venues.

In an effort to improve accessibility, two bright overhead lights have been added directly over the box office windows, shining straight down, enabling customers to see clearly the paperwork that is presented to them at the box office. Two mini-blinds have been added to the interior of the box office windows, making it possible to secure our ticket center more effectively during non-business hours.

A museum-quality dedication display has been installed to the left just inside the entry door, recognizing the many contributions of Carrie Galeski and her late husband Ed. Carrie Galeski provided the generous gift that made it possible for us to construct the foyer in 1996. Her steadfast support continues to sustain our operations.

The dedication reads as follows:

“Barksdale Theatre’s Entry Foyer is Dedicated to Edward Whitlock Galeski and Carrie Taylor Galeski.

Ed Galeski was born in Richmond and graduated from M.I.T. with an aeronautical engineering degree. During World War II, he was an Army Air Force flight instructor and was instrumental in testing the B-28 Super-Fortresses which did so much in winning the war in the Pacific.

After the war he went into the photo processing business where he established Galeski Photo Center. Ed showed his intellectual and mechanical aptitude becoming one of the first companies good enough to receive the first color processing machines from Kodak. He continued to expand his business to such a high degree of efficiency that it was sought after and finally purchased by a national chain.

In 1971 he married Carrie Taylor. They enjoyed a deep and binding relationship as they worked together for mutual goals. 'Eddie and I moved to the Hanover Courthouse area in 1980, and there we forged a lasting friendship with Pete and Nancy Kilgore along with Muriel McAuley. This was the beginning of our relationship with Barksdale.'

Ed died in 1986, but Carrie continues to be one of Barksdale Theatre’s strongest supporters. We are eternally grateful.”

Indeed we are.

--Bruce Miller

Progress Continues on Galeski Foyer

Posted by Bruce Miller
Until a few minutes ago, this post was going to be about the great work that John Moon is doing to upgrade the entrance to our theatre. Most of you know John as an actor in The Clean House (see photo above and to the right) or as the director of our current, brilliant production of This Wonderful Life.

What some of you may not know is that John is also on our Board. In fact, he’s a former President of the Barksdale Board of Trustees. To our great benefit, John has assumed Board leadership of our commitment to improve and upgrade our Willow Lawn performance facilities.

Sometimes, when I'm writing for this blog, my meanderings don't go the way I think they will. In this instance, I wrote the title, and as I typed the word “foyer,” my mind began to race. I knew that “foyer” was the word selected by the Barksdale powers-that-be in 1996 to indicate the lower lobby I intended to write about. Nonetheless, before I could stop myself, I began Googling to make sure that "foyer" was the right word. Thankfully it was, and is.

But Google can be a harsh mistress. The deeper I followed her into lingua-land, the more questions I had, and the more discoveries I made about this slightly out-of-the-ordinary word, "foyer."

How would readers pronounce it?--I asked myself. How would I pronounce it if I weren’t thinking about it? Why is the correct pronunciation open to debate? Where did the word originate? What does it actually mean?

I know. I’m a freak. I’m sorry. But first things first.

This post is now going to be all about the word “foyer” and how it relates to theatre history. I’ll get to John’s wonderful upgrades soon. I promise.

“Foyer” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “an anteroom or lobby especially of a theater; also, an entrance hallway.” Adding more fuel to the fire—a little foreshadowing here—Answers.com posts this definition: “a lobby or anteroom, as of a theater or hotel; an entrance hall; a vestibule.”
Dictionary.com weighs in with a similar theme: “the lobby of a theater, hotel or apartment house; a vestibule or entrance hall.” That's a photo of the "foyer" of the National Theatre of Prague to the right.

"Foyer,” therefore, seems like the perfect word to indicate the lower lobby of Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn. After all, our upstairs lobby is our official “lobby,” and the lower lobby is the “anteroom” or “entrance hallway” through which one must pass if one is intent on reaching the “lobby" proper. From all accounts the word “foyer” seems to conjure up images of theatre. So, “foyer” it is.

But … actually, the phrase selected in 1996 to serve as the moniker for this illustrious space was “entry foyer.” The official name of this room is the “Galeski Entry Foyer” (more on “Galeski” soon, I promise, when I actually begin writing about John’s upgrades).

Now that I know what “foyer” really means, saying “entry foyer” seems akin to saying “entry entrance hallway,” which I think we all can agree is redundant. So, at least for me, this room will henceforward be the “Galeski Foyer”—the word “entry” being ... silent.

Now's when the fun really begins. How do we pronounce it? Here’s what I thought I knew.

There’s the American pronunciation: foi'ər ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?foyer001.wav=foyer ). Go ahead. Click it. It’s cool. It rhymes with “lawyer.” Well, almost.

And there’s the French pronunciation: foi'ā' ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?foyer002.wav=foyer ). It rhymes with Charles Boyer, except you’re probably not old enough to remember who Charles Boyer is.

So, based on what I thought I knew, I figured if you wanted to sound like “Joe Sixpack” you could use the American pronunciation, and if you wanted to sound like “the cultural elite” you could use the French pronunciation. To me, it was Red State Blue State simple.

Of course I was wrong.

If you really want to sound like an Ahtistic Directah, you would use the real French pronunciation: fwä'yā' (listen for the third pronunciation after clicking http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=foyer&submit=Submit ). But if you really went around saying that, not only would you sound snooty, you'd also run the risk of sounding stupid.

In French, the word “foyer” doesn’t mean what it means in English. In modern French, the word “foyer” means “home” or “hostel.” The most common use of the word “foyer” in modern French is in the phrase “femme au foyer,” which means “housewife.”

You see, “foyer” meaning the entrance hall that leads one to the lobby of a theatre is not a French word at all. It’s an English word. Who knew? The correct English pronunciation is foi'ā' ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?foyer002.wav=foyer ). Don’t take my word for it. Go to London and ask anybody.

Here's where the theatre history kicks in. In days of yore, early London theatregoers of means enjoyed a social meeting room that they could adjourn to when they wanted to warm up during intermission. The common feature of these rooms was a large, roaring fireplace. The theatres themselves were not adequately heated, being relatively cavernous spaces, so social rooms with hearths were provided for the upper crust. They were located off the lobby and you went there to get nice and toasty before you returned to your seat for Act II.

The English chose the word "foyer" as the name for these rooms because, at the time, referencing a little French every now and then was cool among the socially elite. And the Old French word "foier" meant "fireplace" or "hearth."

As more theatres were built, designers began to open up the "foyers" to everyone, not just the wealthy few. In more and more theatres, audiences began entering the "foyers" from the street. They'd enter, warm up, then proceed into the lobby, and finally into the theatre itself. Check out the fireplace to the right, located in the "foyer" of the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway.

Today, in modern French, the word for “fireplace” is “cheminée," the Old French word “foier” no longer exists, and the modern French word "foyer" means "home" and has nothing to do with theatres. So when we correctly pronounce "foyer" as foi'ā' ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?foyer002.wav=foyer ), we do so because that's how they say it in England, not because that's how they say it in France.

Of course, we're in the United States of America, and you can pronounce “foyer” anyway you want. All American dictionaries list the American pronunciation first and the English pronunciation second, indicating that both pronunciations are perfectly acceptable. I guess it's just another case of po-tay-to / po-tah-to.

But wait a minute. Isn't there a large fake fireplace in the upstairs lobby of Barksdale's Willow Lawn facility? Doesn't that mean that the real “foyer” at Barksdale is the upstairs lobby, and the downstairs lobby is more appropriately called a …

Fogetaboutit.

--Bruce Miller

Julinda's Jubilation - "Christmas Classic"

Posted by Bruce Miller
The critic has spoken, the box office phones are ringing, and it looks like This Wonderful Life is poised to be the smash hit it deserves to be. Julinda Lewis, Susie Haubenstock’s pinch hitter at the T-D, wrote a glowing assessment of this classic Christmas story and Scotty’s remarkable performance.

Here are the review quotes we’ll be pulling:

“Enchanting!
A Christmas classic ~ Energetic ~ Endearing
A fast-paced, humorous theatrical tour-de-force
A one-man wonder
A holiday package all wrapped up in Scott Wichmann
Superb!”

--Julinda Lewis, Richmond Times-Dispatch

So book your passage to Bedford Falls soon. I know I’m always trying to hawk tickets. So shoot me; it’s my job. But over and above all that, this really is a show and a performance you won’t want to miss.

--Bruce Miller

It's a Wonderful Art Form

Posted by Bruce Miller
I confess. I’ve never enjoyed opera. I take no pride in admitting this. I consider it a grave shortcoming.

It’s not from lack of trying. I’ve seen great opera. In the early 1970s, I trekked northward with a group of fellow theatre students from U of R to see Norman Treigle’s legendary performance at New York City Opera in the title role of Boito's Mefistofele. The fires of hell left me cold.

I’ve attended Verdi’s La Traviata at the Met; Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann at the Baltimore Opera Company; and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Tosca and La Bohème, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at the Virginia Opera. Others in the audience were enraptured and on the edge of their seats. I was the brain-dead imbecile fighting to stifle a yawn.

All hope is not lost. I loved Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors on TV as a child. I was dazzled and captivated by the scenes from Mozart’s The Magic Flute included in the film of Amadeus. Stephen Sondheim is called “operatic” by many. I hang on every note he’s ever written.

I’ve come to believe the reason I don’t cotton to opera is because, to me, it goes against so much of what I love about theatre. Great theatre seems “real” to me. Great opera frequently seems “fake.” I hear others say this about musicals and I think they’re insane. I guess it’s all about where we come from. So don’t yell at me. I’m admitting to a dearth of intelligence, taste and sophistication. It’s not opera’s fault; it’s mine.

I write this confession, this mea culpa, as prelude to this: I know there will be some in the world who are so enamored of action/adventure and spectacle that Scotty Wichmann’s one-man performance in This Wonderful Life, which opened last night at Barksdale Willow Lawn, may seem "slow" or "small" or "tame." I suspect these same people won’t watch the original Frank Capra film unless it is colorized and even then keep waiting for the car chase and the explosions.

I suppose they're entitled to their opinions, but I really don't share them.

I’m a terrible cry baby and I’m ashamed to be. No matter how hard I try to keep my cheeks dry, it gets worse the further into my dotage I advance. I’m easily and instantly overcome by sentiment. My one consolation is that my father, a.k.a. “the greatest guy who ever lived,” was the same way. He couldn’t make it through a blessing at the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table without becoming so feklempt he was unable to speak.

Last night I’m not sure which made me cry more—the heartfelt sentiment of one of my favorite Christmas stories, or the one hour and 50 minute glimpse I had into the utter majesty of this art form to which I have devoted my life. I don’t want to overstate things so as to build up unreasonable expectations, but in this case I don’t see how overstatement is possible. Scott’s performance is brilliant. He should be on Broadway. He should win a Tony. Richmond is unbelievably fortunate to have him in our midst.

And to be just, it’s not solely about Scott. John Moon’s direction is invisible and outstanding. Every detail--and it’s all about the details--is just right. The pacing is perfect and the ebb and flow of emotion couldn’t be better. Lynne Hartman’s light design is world-class and adds immeasurably to the art. There must be 150 light cues illuminating Adam Karavatakis’s tasteful, evocative and effective set and Sue Griffin’s spot-on costume(s).

Which brings me to Rick Brandt, our stage manager. Do you know how hard it is to call a show that has a different sound or light cue every few seconds? And the irreplaceable Linwood Guyton, our sound and light op. Do you have any idea how crazy you can get trying to focus on and perfectly execute that many rapid fire cues?

Last night went off without a hitch and EVERYONE involved should be intensely proud. This is masterful storytelling at its very finest. I feel so gratified and grateful. Christmas is here; theatre is wonderful and life-changing; all’s right with the world.

I know. My passions are out of control and over the top. Talk about operatic. I’ll stop writing now.

Hope to see you at the theatre! I’ll be the one with the handkerchief poised and ready.

--Bruce Miller

Sign Interpreted Performance this Sunday at Willow Lawn

This season, we are launching a program to provide American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for one performance per title in our Signature Season, with some expert guidance from Sign Master Carol-lee Aquiline. Two interpreters will sign all of the dialogue during each selected performance. The online reservation system has been tailored to provide convenient ticket purchasing. Please click a show title for ticket information. We're hoping that many people will take advantage of the interpreted performances!

Our first ASL Interpreted performance in the 08-09 Signature Season is this Sunday, October 26th at 2 PM at Willow Lawn.

The Clean House

The Clean House has gotten rave reviews!

"Perfect!
Free-Spirited, Romantic Comedy"
Richmond Times Dispatch

"Masterful!
Amusing, Moving and a Little Bit Magical"
Style Weekly

"A Delight!
Funny and Poignant"
WCVE - Public Radio

ASL Interpreted Performances this season:

The Clean House
This Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 2 PM

This Wonderful Life
Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 2 PM

Children of a Lesser God
Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 2 PM

Well
Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 2 PM

Thoroughly Modern Millie
(at The Empire Theatre) Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 2 PM

Appearance of Theatres Fails to Pass Muster

Posted by Bruce Miller
I received the following unsigned letter in my office this morning. It’s worth sharing.

“Oct 2, 2008

Dear Mr. Miller:

I write to you without including my name in the interest of simplicity, and hope that I do not offend.

I have found much to love and enjoy in the numerous Barksdale productions that I have seen over the past few years. My first was The Full Monty; the most recent was Guys and Dolls. Doubt was, for me, the most powerful.

When attending Barksdale productions, I feel you should know what a big impression the atmospherics of the Willow Lawn and Empire venues have made on me, and I do not mean in a positive sense.

The Willow Lawn lobby cries out for re-modeling. It puts one in mind of a neglected moose lodge. Its current appearance is jarring and does not do justice to, or reflect, the level of excellence on stage. This is not an expensive proposition and could be solved with some cans of paint and a few trips to Ikea. It needs light colors, modern lighting and sleek, updated furniture. You have talent on your technical staff who would no doubt do a fabulous job of re-modeling.

The Empire Theater is obviously a treasure and beloved by Richmond. I remain mystified, however, by the abject and, frankly, embarrassing appearance of the outside presentation of the theater. It looks abandoned and neglected. The marquee must be lit up! The front of the Empire Theater needs to be lit up to look alive and welcoming! Right now, it looks like it is closed and waiting for demolition. The presentation window boxes which face the street are not lit and do not feature the posters of the show that is currently playing. I cannot understand this. It’s as though what is going on inside the theater is beside the point based on what the outside of the theater is telling the public. One of the presentation windows has broken glass. This makes a very bad impression of neglect.

I realize that keeping a theater in running order is very expensive. The solutions to the above problems, however, do not require huge investments of money.

Best of everything and keep up the otherwise very good work.”

I agree with much of what is included in this letter, and appreciate receiving it. I’ll respond in a subsequent blog posting. Please feel free to offer your opinions.

Hope to see you at our rundown theatres!

--Bruce Miller

Stretchin' at Barksdale - Great Way to Relax

Posted by Bruce Miller
One of Barksdale’s terrific but lesser known programs is Stretchin’ at Barksdale, a homegrown, organic, Sunday night concert series produced and hosted by B J Kocen, one of Greater Richmond’s most enthusiastic music impresarios. The kickoff concert of the 08-09 Stretchin’ Season—our third—took place Sunday evening before a crowd of about 40 music lovers, all assembled at tables spread out in front of the lobby stage in our comfortable Willow Lawn “living room”—that’s “lobby” for those of you who resist the urge to be homey.
There are about five great things to be enjoyed at a Stretchin’ concert. The first, of course, is the music. Each month, B J (or Beej to those who know and abbreviate him) assembles a stellar roster of talented singers and instrumentalists from both near and far. Past Stretchin’ All-Stars have included Paul Curreri, Slash Coleman, Harry Gore, Susan Greenbaum, David Janeski, Browning Porter, Devon Sproule, Brad Tuggle, Sheryl Warner and the Southside Homewreckers, and, of course, Beej himself. This Sunday’s lineup, pictured above, included (left to right) George Garrett on cajon, Jackie Frost on rhythm guitar, Beej on rhythm guitar, Brad Tucker on bass, and Jim Wark on lead guitar. Jackie, Beej and Brad were the principal vocalists.

A second crowd-pleasin’ aspect of the Stretchin’ experience is the price. Most Sunday evening concerts (almost always 6 pm to 8 pm) carry a cover of only $5 with no drink minimum. You won’t find a better bargain than that.

A third attribute of the series is the venue. Turns out Barksdale’s living room is about the perfect place to hear authentic music up close and personal. The acoustics and sound system are great and you never sit more that 15 or 20 feet away from the performers. Seating is cabaret style, at tables, so you can purchase a Blue Moon (or the beverage of your choice) and perhaps a snack from the Barksdale bar and then have a place to set it down. And, of course, the living room is smoke-free.

Then there’s the spontaneity. All the performers are there for the love of the music; they split the meager box office and whatever tips the appreciative crowd cares to toss into the on-stage bucket. So there’s not a lot of rehearsing. It’s mainly great musicians jamming together, often for the first time, giving the whole evening an improvisational, jazzy feel, except the tunes trend a lot more to Van Morrison and Eric Clapton than Miles Davis or Thelonious Monk. Requests are often shouted up from the audience to the stage, and when they know ‘em, they play ‘em.

Last but certainly not least, there’s B J Kocen, about as charming an emcee as you’ll ever want to meet. He establishes a laid back, comfortable tone while liberally sharing his true passion for this music that he loves. You can’t help but go wherever the music is taking you when Beej is driving the cab.

You won’t see any ads in the paper for our Stretchin’ evenings—with these prices, who can afford ads? But you can sign up for the Stretchin’ email list by writing B. J. at bjkocen@gmail.com. Or you can sign up for the Barksdale email newsletter and receive reminders from us as well. No reservations are required. Just show up at the door with your fiver and a pal or two in hand, and then sit back for a relaxing evening of good music with good friends.

You’ll be glad you did. Hope to see you at the theatre!

(Note: Many thanks to Scott Elmquist, Photo Editor at STYLE, for the great pic of Sunday's concert; Brad Tuggle who serves as staff liaison for the Stretchin' series; and the Glave Kocen Gallery for letting B J share his artistic energy with the performing arts as well as the visual [B J co-owns and co-runs the place with his beautiful wife Jennifer Glave].)

--Bruce Miller

The Clean Lobby

Posted by Bruce Miller
When you come to see The Clean House, opening this Friday, you’ll notice that our theatrical house is, in fact, noticeably cleaner. After a few weeks’ investment of sweat equity, our hardworking Board is about to complete a redesign of our downstairs lobby.

This is Phase III in the gradual renovation of our Willow Lawn theatre facilities. Phase I was the installation of our new sidewalk awning at the top of the 07-08 Season. Phase II was the addition of our new exterior signage last spring.

As you’ve no doubt discerned, we’re transforming our duckling into a swan step by step, as time and contributed funds allow. We began with those components that you first encounter when walking toward the theatre from the parking lot. Now we’re making our way indoors.

Phase IV will be the cosmetic renovation of our elevator, and then we’ll move onward and upward to our box office and, thereafter, the atrium that surrounds our stairway as it ascends to the theatre proper.

The work on the downstairs lobby is not yet finished, but we’re promising completion of at least the painting before the end of the week.

All thanks go to the two guiding lights of this noble effort:

John Moon (actor, director and past Board President), who has organized and implemented the work. When not laboring in theatre, John is engaged professionally as a designer of exhibits and installations at museums and other cultural institutions nationwide.

David Crank (set and costume designer and former Board member at TheatreVirginia), who has shared with us his design expertise. David just won an Emmy Award for his Art Direction of the John Adams miniseries. Before John Adams, David worked as Art Director of last year’s multiple Oscar-winning film, There Will Be Blood.

Both men have generously donated their time and talents to this project, and we thank them for their gracious contribution to the cause.

You may remember that the downstairs lobby was originally painted a peach / cream color. Various viewers have described the particular tint and its twelve-year patina as “Silly Putty” (Phil), “Band-Aid” (me), and “Nipple” (Page Bond).

Since last the roller met the wall in 1996, the interior surface has become markedly scratched, dinged and smudged, so it was time (past time really) for Extreme Make-Over: Barksdale Edition.

The new color is a deep, dramatic crimson, serving as an elegant background for new photo displays enhanced by new track lighting. A good deal of clutter has been removed from the lobby. We’re creating new, more coordinated and informative interior signage, and constructing a new, comfortable seating area opposite the elevator.

The work was performed on a volunteer basis by Barksdale Board members (ably assisted by Emily Cole from our development staff). David Powers, our Tech Director at Hanover Tavern, is constructing the new seating. Many thanks to all those who made this renovation possible.

As you experience our spruced up digs, please let us know what you think. The theatre’s public spaces are always a work in progress, just as are our continually changing stage sets. We welcome your input, and look forward to seeing you at the theatre!

(Notes on photos: top right - today's view of the wall where our photo boards will go, the church bench will soon be replaced with other seating; top left - the new "etched" logo on our glass front doors, reflecting this morning's sunny parking lot; mid right - Pardon Our Dust; lower left - new lighting outside the box office window; lower right - our staging area in the atrium, the vintage Barksdale sign will soon be re-hung by the front door with a plaque explaining its history.)

--Bruce Miller

Singing to Help Others

Posted by Bruce Miller
A concert reading of the songs from the Tony Award-winning musical Parade will be presented tonight and tomorrow in benefit performances at Barksdale Willow Lawn. Thirty-three great singers will join together to celebrate the music of Jason Robert Brown, one of Broadway’s hottest “new composers.” The benefit concert is being coordinated by Hannah Zold, an alum of several Barksdale musicals including Into the Woods, The Full Monty and Mame. Music direction is by Damas E. Boudreaux.

The volunteer cast is comprised of many of the finest theatre voices from Richmond and beyond. All funds raised are being contributed by Zold and her performers to Barksdale’s Bifocals Theatre Project (which takes touring one-acts into senior centers throughout Greater Richmond at little or no charge) and Barksdale’s hospital audience program (which makes tickets to musicals and comedies available free-of-charge to families who come to Richmond to be with a child undergoing treatment at an area hospital).

Parade, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Alfred Uhry, is one of the most acclaimed new musicals of Broadway's last decade. It opened at Lincoln Center ten years ago, and received the 1999 Tony Award for Best Book (Uhry) and Best Score (Jason Robert Brown). It was nominated for Best Musical, but lost that year to Fosse, the tribute to Bob Fosse’s legendary choreography.

Quoting from Wikipedia, “The musical concerns the real-life 1913 trial of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, who was accused of raping and murdering a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan. The trial, sensationalized by the media, aroused anti-Semitic tensions in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. When Frank's sentence was commuted due to possible problems with the trial, he was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia where a lynching party kidnapped him from the prison. Frank was taken to Phagan's hometown of Marietta, Georgia, and he was hanged. The Anti-Defamation League was formed partly in response to Leo Frank's trial and lynching.”

Broadway director Harold “Prince turned to Brown (pictured to the left) to write the score after Stephen Sondheim turned the project down. Prince's daughter, Daisy, had brought Brown to her father's attention. Uhry, who grew up in Atlanta, had personal knowledge of the Frank story, as his great-uncle owned the pencil factory run by Leo Frank.”

“The show was Brown's first Broadway production. His music has ‘subtle and appealing melodies that draw on a variety of influences, from pop-rock to folk to rhythm and blues and gospel.’ The plot hews closely to the historical story. The true villains of the piece are portrayed as the prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (later the governor of Georgia and then a judge) and the rabid publisher Tom Watson (later elected a U.S. senator).”

The Murder of Mary Phagan, a movie based on the same historical incident, was filmed in locations throughout Greater Richmond in 1987, starring Jack Lemmon as Georgia Gov. John Slaton and Peter Gallagher as Leo Frank.

Parade is the third in playwright Alfred Uhry’s “Atlanta Trilogy.” The first play in the trilogy, Driving Miss Daisy, will be presented at Barksdale Hanover Tavern this fall, starring Joy Williams, Jim Bynum and Garet Chester, and directed by Joe Pabst.

Jason Robert Brown's new musical 13 (pictured to the right) is set to open on Broadway this September. The entire cast of 13 is made up of 13 teen actors, and the entire band is comprised of teen musicians. The story of the musical concerns a happy 13-year-old from NYC who, weeks before his bar mitzvah, moves with his parents to Indiana where he must begin a new life.

If you love great singing, new musicals and/or stirring drama, or if you want to support this cast of magnificent performing artists as they raise funds for two worthy programs, please come to Barksdale Willow Lawn for the 8 pm performance tonight (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday). Tickets are available at the door for $15, or you can purchase them in advance at the box office for $12.

Having listened in on two rehearsals, I can report that the singers are amazing. I can’t wait to see and hear this huge and talented cast performing these rousing songs.

See you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Coffee & Conversations - Guys & Dolls

Posted by Janine Serresseque
Rostov’s Coffee & Conversations, Barksdale Theatre’s free and fun series of behind-the-scenes panel discussions, will take place tomorrow morning (Tuesday, July 8, 9:30 a.m.) as originally scheduled. Please join us!

The topic will be “Behind the Scenes of Guys and Dolls,” and the guest panelists will be Rachel Abrams (Adelaide), Jodi Ashworth (Sky) and Scott Wichmann (Nathan), with artistic director Bruce Miller moderating. Doors will open at 9 a.m. with free coffee and Danish to accompany the delicious backstage banter, which will begin at 9:30 a.m.

But which doors will be opening? Isn’t Barksdale’s and Theatre IV’s Stage Explorers Summer Camp in full swing this week?

Indeed it is. Forty-five elementary students grades 1 – 6 will be racing up the stairs at 9:30 a.m. all too eager to tackle the days curricula and each other. So what is the more demure Coffee & Conversations crowd to do?

Not to worry. Thanks to the generosity of our Willow Lawn landlords, Coffee & Conversations has been moved, for this one day only, to the spacious, comfortable Willow Lawn Community Room. The Community Room is located inside the Mall. Just walk toward the mall past the Barksdale entrance, enter the Mall adjacent to Victoria’s Secret, turn right and pass the Food Court on your left, almost immediately go through the glass doors on your left into the South Tower (all right, it’s only two stories, but a Tower is what they call it), rise up to the second floor on either the elevator or stairs, then follow the arrows to Room 500.

A fun and informative time is guaranteed for all, so please join us for the final C & C of the season.

See you there!

--Janine Serresseque

Keeping Up with Kevin

Posted by Bruce Miller
Kevin Hoffman, pictured to the right with Erin Thomas, Susan Sanford and Matthew Costello in Barksdale's 2003 production of Proof, just won a significant shot at the big time. We couldn't be happier for him.

After earning his BFA in Acting from Elon University, NC, Kevin came to Richmond to appear in Proof. He did a terrific job. Since then he's been pursuing his career out of NYC. After two soap opera gigs on All My Children and As the World Turns, lead roles in four independent films, four NYC stage acting credits, ten regional theatre gigs, and one theme park stint with Universal Studios in Orlando, Kevin is about to take a big step forward.

He has just been accepted into the prestitious Old Globe/USD MFA Acting program starting in the fall. This nationally recognized actor training program only accepts seven students each year to participate in a two and a half year training period focusing on classical theatre while performing at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. It includes a full tuition scholarship, living stipend, as well as an expenses paid trip to London to study in the second year.

Needless to say, Kevin is ecstatic. We wish him all the best.

--Bruce Miller

RAPT and Other Acronyms

Posted by Bruce Miller
A grand time was had by all tonight at the annual Open House hosted by RAPT, the Richmond Alliance of Professional Theatres. The guest speaker was Peggy Baggett, Executive Director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts and one of the most able state arts leaders in the nation. Peggy informed the 100 or so attendees about Virginia’s upcoming Minds Wide Open celebration, slated for March through June 2010. The theme of this statewide initiative will be Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts. Peggy invited all artists and arts organizations in the Commonwealth to participate.

Phil Whiteway, our Managing Director, introduced Peggy and welcomed the diverse crowd of actors, directors and other miscellaneous theatre practitioners to Barksdale Willow Lawn. Barksdale was proud to co-host the festivities for the third year in a row. Christine Walters, the head cheese at Comedy Sportz Richmond and this year’s RAPT Pres, introduced the theatre producers who were there and generally emceed the evening’s announcements.

David Sennett (pictured to the right) announced the upcoming RAPT auditions and the free audition workshop, which he generously conducts. He explained that he doesn’t act in Richmond because he “can’t afford to,” and suggested to me publicly that if Barksdale should ever become “LOA” I should give him a call. As we all retired to the lobby, several actors came up and asked me what he was talking about.

Perhaps now is a good time to review a few of the AEA (Actors’ Equity Association) acronyms so that people can understand David's announcement. I hope no one will get the wrong impression, however. AEA works tirelessly on behalf of its members, and wants each member to be gainfully employed. They never prohibit a theatre, any theatre, from meeting David’s or anyone else’s salary requirements.

Having said that, lets go wading into the alphabet soup. LOA stands for Letter of Agreement, and it specifies a particular AEA contract. In fact, Barksdale has operated under an LOA contract for several shows, Crowns at the Empire being a recent example.

At Willow Lawn, Barksdale normally contracts with AEA actors using an SPT contract (Small Professional Theatre). Our minimum SPT contract pays marginally less than our minimum LOA contract, but we are always allowed to pay more to get the actors we want.

At Hanover Tavern, we work under a GA (Guest Artist) contract, and even though Hanover Tavern has fewer seats than Willow Lawn, we pay more under the GA contract because fewer contracts are awarded for any particular show. Some Hanover shows, like the upcoming Driving Miss Daisy, have no GA contracts at all.

Another AEA contract is the TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) contract. There were several years when Theatre IV employed actors using TYA agreements. Still another is the SA (Special Appearance) contract. Firehouse and Henley Street use SA contracts when employing AEA actors. SA contracts are similar to GA contracts except they are for smaller theatres and have no health insurance requirements.

The big daddy of the regional theatre contracts is the LORT contract (League of Resident Theatres). TheatreVirginia was the only Richmond theatre to employ actors under a LORT contract. TheatreVirginia went out of business in 2002. Perhaps it was a LORT contract that David meant to refer to instead of an LOA.

Of course, David is right in one regard. Like a lot of smaller cities, Richmond underpays its theatre artists, whether they are actors, directors, designers or administrators. Barksdale continues to work faithfully to raise all salaries, including actor salaries, to more acceptable levels. The reason we proceed cautiously and responsibly is because we are determined not to suffer the fate of TheatreVirginia (see the vacated theatre seats pictured above and to the left in STYLE's 2002 coverage of TVA's closing). No one in Richmond or at AEA wants to see another Richmond theatre go belly up.

Whatever combination of initials a theatre may use, no talented actor should be discouraged from auditioning because of the contract a theatre employs. If a theatre wants to work with an actor, and the actor wants to work with the theatre, then the actor can always try to negotiate a contract that meets his or her needs, despite its initials. No matter which contract a theatre uses, AEA doesn’t prohibit a theatre from paying more than the minimum if an actor’s unique contributions to the production justify the payment.

Also present at tonight’s RAPT Open House were two of Barksdale’s high school talents, Hannah Miller and Jack Schultz from Trinity Episcopal School. Their video coverage of the evening will be added to this post soon as the first edition of Barksdale Backstage, our new video blog commentary. Stay tuned. We’ll post the video as soon as it’s edited into shape.

--Bruce Miller

Looking Up at Willow Lawn

Posted by Jessica Daugherty


On your way in to see The Little Dog Laughed at Willow Lawn, lift your eyes up for a look at our new and improved building facade. Our old sign was damaged in a storm, and we've replaced it with new letters finished with hammered gold foil. The work was done by Carousel Signs.

The new building front:


















The original facade before the old sign was damaged in a hurricane: