Our Policy Regarding Understudies

Posted by Bruce Miller

A couple comments have crossed my desk in the last few days focusing on our policy and practice regarding understudies. Phil and I had a vigorous discussion this afternoon around this issue, arguing pro and con so that we could both wind up on the same page. It was a fascinating debate.

Let me sum up where our thoughts now stand. I do so partially because we're curious how each of you might feel about these matters.

If an actor becomes incapacitated and is unable to go on stage for one or a few performances, we will try to perform the show with an emergency understudy, if such a remedy seems appropriate, and if a capable replacement can be found on an emergency basis. Recent examples include the following.

* Scott Wichmann injured himself during a performance of Scapino! Because of the unique nature and size of his role, we felt it would be impossible to find a suitable replacement with no notice. We cancelled three performances until Scott was well enough to perform again. The cancelled ticket holders were disappointed.

* Robin Arthur became ill during the run of Mame. The director/choreographer of the show, K Strong, was able to go on in her place, albeit with no rehearsal. The show went on as scheduled with no cancellations, and the audience was pleased.

* Robin O’Neill lost her voice during the final weekend of Into the Woods. The director/choreographer of the show, Robin Arthur, was able to go on in her place, book in hand, for one performance. The show went on as scheduled with no cancellations, and the audience was pleased.

If an actor informs us of a performance conflict before rehearsals begin, we have the choice of hiring that actor or someone else. If we choose to hire the actor with the conflict, it is our responsibility to hire and rehearse a capable understudy to take over the role in the original actor’s absence. The expectation is that there will be no appreciable drop in artistic quality while the original actor is away. Recent examples include the following.

* Susan Sanford informed us before accepting her role in The Man Who Came to Dinner that previously arranged vacation plans made it impossible for her to perform during one week of the run. We hired and rehearsed Jan Guarino to replace her during that week. Jan did a great job and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show. Coincidentally, Susan had stepped in for Jan several months earlier when Jan had to leave the cast of Annie Get Your Gun to begin another contract.

* Emily Cole Bitz informed us before accepting her role in Smoke on the Mountain that she had a family commitment that would cause her to be out of town during one week of the run. We hired and rehearsed Marianne Minton to replace her during that week. Marianne did a great job and the audience loved the show.

* Scott Wichmann and Jen Meharg informed us before accepting their roles in The Odd Couple that they had an out-of-town wedding obligation that would cause them to miss one week during the run. We hired and rehearsed Richard Koch and Vickie McLeod to take their places for one week. Richard and Vickie were outstanding, and the audience saw just as good a show as they would have seen with Scott and Jen.

In every instance that an actor has become sick and we have sent a talented but less-than-fully-prepared understudy on stage to play the part, every audience member who has communicated with us has expressed appreciation for us not canceling the show, despite the less than total preparedness of the understudy.

In every instance when an actor has taken a planned leave of absence and we have sent a fully prepared understudy on stage to play the part, the audience has seemingly loved the show. A few audience members, however, have complained that our box office staff failed to notify them of the actor’s planned absence when they purchased their tickets.

When an actor’s absence is planned, we always issue a press release in advance of the understudied performances. Local media outlets sometimes run these press releases; often they do not, or they run them after the fact. We also always announce the planned for cast replacement on this blog. Ticket buyers who want to know about any and all planned cast replacements can always come here to find out what’s up.

In emergency and planned situations, we follow national theatre protocol. We do not ask our box office staff to inform ticket buyers of cast replacements or understudies. There are several reasons why.

1. What we sell at our box office are tickets to shows, not tickets to the solo performance of one actor.

2. We believe it demeans the work of the remaining cast and the understudies to “alert” ticket buyers to a cast change, indirectly implying that the new cast is somehow less worthy than the original cast.

3. We fear that the mere act of informing ticket buyers of the presence of an understudy may make them feel compelled to choose another week, thereby placing an unfair burden on the remaining cast and the understudy who are then forced to perform for half-houses or worse.

4. It is not possible or appropriate to provide our box office staff with all the information they may need to answer questions about why the actor is absent, how large is the role of the absent actor, how close is the skill set of the understudy to the skill set of the original actor, is the understudy fully prepared, how does the cast change impact the show.

5. We have no way of knowing which audience member is determined to see which actor, and we don’t want to put ourselves in a position of second-guessing who is coming to Annie Get Your Gun specifically to see Jan Guarino, or The Man Who Came to Dinner specifically to see Susan Sanford, or Smoke on the Mountain specifically to see Emily Cole Bitz, or The Odd Couple specifically to see Scott Wichmann and/or Jen Meharg. We welcome questions from ticket buyers about whether this or that favorite actor is going to be in this or that performance. Our box office staff will do its best to answer those questions, but we don’t initiate them.

6. Finally, if a single ticket buyer is dissatisfied with any aspect of a Barksdale performance, we welcome their constructive criticism and we apologize for their disappointment. If a subscriber is dissatisfied with any aspect of a Barksdale performance, we offer them a cash refund, no questions asked.

We always announce understudies to the audience prior to the performance in which the understudy will be appearing. And if we were to ever believe that any given Barksdale performance were to be less than professional, we would offer refunds to all ticket buyers who requested them, be they single ticket buyers or subscribers.

This is our policy regarding understudies. We believe it is in keeping with national best practices. We believe the refund policy goes well beyond national best practices. We welcome your input and opinions.

--Bruce Miller

Closing Thoughts on "Smoke on the Mountain"

Tonight was the closing performance of Smoke on the Mountain at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern. It was a bittersweet time, I suppose. We had, after all, been working on the show since January (including rehearsals), so we definitely had a healthy run of (so I'm told) around 40 performances. Several Broadway productions have run for less than that (Carrie-the musical- officially ran for 5, not counting 16 preview performances, which still only comes up to 21).

But I suppose I'm not really feeling the humor tonight. Although there was lots of humor to be had and was had during the run of Smoke, onstage and off. If you happen to run into one of the cast members, be sure to ask them about Aunt Judy, a special figment of Julie Fulcher (Vera)'s brilliant mind.

Smoke on the Mountain, I think, is quite possibly the most fun I have ever had doing any show. The chemistry in this cast was sensational. Every single one was a delight. I do hope that the Sander's Family and Reverend Oglethorpe might emerge on a Richmond stage again someday not too far away. No matter where I am, I think the call to step back into Reverend Oglethorpe's shoes would be a temptation too alluring to pass up.

The love, comraderie, and joy that was shared on that stage each night is something that doesn't come with every show. Perhaps it's something that happens only once in a lifetime. I hope that's not true, but if it is, I'm glad I was there on that stage with Aly, Julie, Drew, David, Eric, and Emily. It's an experience that I will never forget.

A much-deserved "Thank you" goes out to director Bruce Miller for allowing the seven of us to be together on that stage 40 times and to stage manager Joseph Papa for holding it all together.

And that, dear readers, is my small love letter.

Hail and Farewell to

Our sold out production of Smoke on the Mountain closes this Saturday evening. I’m going to be sorry to see it go. Along with Brooklyn Boy at Barksdale Willow Lawn (another show that I loved), Smoke was our entry in this year’s Acts of Faith Festival. I couldn’t have had more fun directing (and watching) this small but heartwarming musical.

Every time you pick or direct a show, it says a little bit about you. I like what Smoke says about me. It connects two important parts of my life—my life as a theatre professional and my life as a person of faith.

I enjoy being an elder, liturgist and Sunday School teacher at Bon Air Presbyterian Church. But like many Presbyterians, I’m not particularly comfortable wearing my religion on my sleeve. To tell the truth, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable now writing this blog entry.

Religion is a personal thing to me; my faith is something I hold on to with a quiet humility. Smoke on the Mountain is not quiet, but it’s certainly humble. It takes place in a small Southern Baptist church in 1938. The central message of the play, to me, is Jesus’ teaching that we should love and accept each other rather than judge and exclude.

In Smoke, Eric Williams is really wonderful as a recovering alcoholic who has recently been released from prison. In Act II, he delivers a moving monologue about how Jesus shared the loaves and fishes with a multitude of men including unlikely congregants like himself. That monologue always chokes me up.

If there’s one thing I’m sure about in my faith journey, it’s this. God loves and extends his grace equally to all of us. Those Christians who choose to judge and shun rather than embrace their fellow men are missing the point.

Smoke was my breath of fresh air. I thank so much the wonderful cast: Emily Cole Bitz, Julie Fulcher, David Janeski, Billy Christopher Maupin, Drew Perkins, Aly Wepplo and Eric Williams. They lit up the stage every night with their open, loving hearts—and their great talents.

I thank our inspired designers: Bennett Fidlow, Heather Hogg, Terrie Powers and David Powers. Their church in the valley by the wildwood was a sanctuary of good will in these troubling times. More than once in the past couple of weeks have I recalled my favorite lyric from the show.

Soft as the voice of an angel breathing a lesson unheard

Hope with a gentle persuasion whispers a comforting word

Wait till the darkness is over, wait till the tempest is done

Hope for the sunshine tomorrow after the darkness is gone

Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice

Making my heart in it’s sorrow rejoice

I rejoice in Smoke on the Mountain. Thanks to artists and audiences alike for this opportunity.

A Smokin' Pinch Hitter

The cast of Smoke on the Mountain had quite a twist last weekend when Marianne Minton came in to pinch hit for Emily Cole Bitz who plays Denise, one of the twins. She’s the girl. It’s kinda fun because Emily is the annual fund manager for Barksdale Theatre/Theatre IV, while Marianne is the annual fund manager for the Richmond Symphony! I mean, come on, does it get more Twilight Zone than that! (Pause for you to listen to the theme music in your head.)

Emily deserted…er…left for a time for Arizona, a trip planned long before Smoke. We did miss her terribly, but did have an absolutely fantastic time with Marianne in her short time with us. Below you can see how much fun Marianne was having with Reverend Oglethorpe (Billy-Christopher Maupin) in the dressing room (3 flights above the onstage action)!

Smoke Cast to Appear at Poe's Pub

The talented bluegrass cast from Smoke on the Mountain, our hit musical at Hanover Tavern, has been invited to entertain at Poe's Pub tomorrow evening. If you're one of the many who are crying out to hear more from the "Sanders Family Singers," show up at Poe's at around 9 p.m. for another evening of good times and good tunes.

Emily Cole Bitz, who plays Denise (one of the twins; she's the girl - pictured above with David Janeski, the other twin; he's the boy) reports, "The term 'hodgepodge' can definitely be used to describe our set list. It should be a rockin' good time. Trust me, you don't want to miss the reggae version of 'Jesus Is Mine.' Lest visions of fire & brimstone deter you from coming, assorted non-religious songs will be performed as well! There might be a nominal cover. Hope to see y'all."

One of our goals at Barksdale is to connect with the community in an ever increasing number of ways. We're delighted that Poe's Pub sees fit to share the many talents of our amazing Smoke on the Mountain cast with their customers.