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

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"

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?])

Some Coffee and Some Conversing

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Tomorrow at 9:30AM Duke Lafoon (Father Flynn), Maggie Roop (Sister James), and Keri Wormald (Director) from our production of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Doubt: a Parable by John Patrick Shanley, together with artistic director Bruce Miller, will be discussing Doubt in the Coffee and Conversations series at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn on the Lobby Stage. The discussion also serves as part of the Acts of Faith Festival.

Coffee and pastries will be available for consumption, with a suggested donation of $3. The discussion with these artists that have proven themselves with a production hailed as "superbly acted," "perfect for the Acts of Faith Festival," and "an edgy and engrossing delight" promises to be quite fascinating. I might even use the word stimulating, but that might seem a bit much for 9:30AM.
A few other relevant quotes:

"Duke Lafoon skillfully moves from..."

"Maggie Roop convincingly shows us the character's innocence, enthusiasm, confusion..."

"Under Keri Wormald's meticulous direction, the Barksdale's cast doesn't just do justice to John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning script; it delivers a precision-cut gem of a production, each facet sharp and sparkling."

I highly recommend coming out tomorrow morning to chat with Duke, Keri, Maggie, and Bruce. No reservations are needed!

OK...Make That THREE for Doubt: a Parable

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Joan Tupponce with Richmond.com writes about Doubt: a Parable:

"well-crafted, multi-layered play"

"the play's pace and content is so intriguing that the 90-minute production with no intermission breezes by."

"Duke Lafoon skillfully moves from..."

"Irene Ziegler gives a world-class performance..."

"Maggie Roop convincingly shows us the character's innocence, enthusiasm, confusion..."

"Katherine Louis...channels the desperation of a mother..."

"The play's lighting design by Lynne M. Hartman and scenic design by Phil Hayes are as detailed as the character's actions..."

"The superbly acted play is perfect for Acts of Faith."

View Ms. Tupponce's full review here.

Do Two Slam Dunk Reviews Make Doubt: A Parable a Hit?

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

If they don't, then perhaps four sold out shows in the first two weekends of performances do.

Dave Timberline's review "Nun Better" appears in tomorrow's issue of STYLE Weekly.

A few highlights:

"No need to think twice: Barksdale’s

Doubt: A Parable is a winner."

"...an edgy and engrossing delight."

And my personal favorite quote from the review:

"Under Keri Wormald’s meticulous direction,

the Barksdale’s cast doesn’t just do justice to

John Patrick Shanley’s

Pulitzer Prize-winning script;

it delivers a precision-cut gem of a production,

each facet sharp and sparkling."

Tickets may be reserved online through the Barksdale Theatre website or by calling the box office at 282-2620.

(The full review may be viewed by clicking "Nun Better" above or via http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=16373.)

Haubenstock Heaps Huzzahs

The first critic has spoken:

“Splendid!

Fine Performance / Perfect Balance

Irene Ziegler, as the nun, and Duke Lafoon, as the priest, must dance on a razor’s edge of morality; in fact, they virtually leap and pirouette in their verbal warfare.

Produced with blinding clarity under the direction of Keri Wormald

Won the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize in 2005

It is healthier, safer, better always to Doubt!”

--Susan Haubenstock, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Doubt: a Parable Opened

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

I just got home from the opening night of Doubt: A Parable - well, the show was over around 9:30 or so, but there was a fantastic reception following. I think Joy Ross, Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV's Patron Services Manager, said it best: "This is theatre."

Go see this show.

The script, direction, the set, the lighting, the actors. This. Is. Theatre. Tonight was completely sold out. Tomorrow is sold out. I hope every single performance sells out. It was an absolutely and incredible night of theatre.

I will be there again. Probably multiple times. I want to study these four actors, Duke Lafoon, Katherine Louis, Maggie Roop, and Irene Ziegler. Each of their performances is...

Go see this production.

"Doubt" Opens Friday - $15 Rush Tickets!

Posted by Phil Whiteway

I hope you'll make your plans now for our upcoming producing of Doubt by John Patrick Shanley. Doubt won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Our production stars Irene Ziegler and Duke Lafoon, with Maggie Roop and Katherine Louis. Direction is by Keri Wormald. Set Design is by Phil Hayes, and Costumes come to us from our great friends at The Company of Fools in Hailey, Idaho, coordinated here in Richmond by Sarah Grady. Light Design is by Lynne Hartman.

As with all Barksdale productions, $15 rush tickets are available to one and all 90 minutes prior to each performance. You can call 282-2620 a couple hours before curtain and they'll usually know whether there will be any rush tickets available for that performance.

Opening nights are always fun. If you can join us on Friday, please do. And stick around after the show for our Opening Night party.

--Phil Whiteway

Maggie Roop Does Double Duty

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin


Maggie Roop is currently appearing as Lady Vennesse/ Granny/ Ensemble in Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter with Theatre IV (running at the Empire Theatre through next Sunday, while rehearsing the role of Sister James in Barksdale Theatre's production of Doubt: a Parable by John Patrick Shanley, both productions being part of the Acts of Faith Festival. Here she fills out the questionnaire and then talks about pulling double-duty in these productions.

Two questions that I felt I couldn't post the complete answers to on the Theatre IV blog are listed below:

Least favorite word: I think my new least favorite is "wimple"!! I really don't like "panties" either.

Must-see TV show: LOST!!!! Sex and the City is awesome over and over. My new fave is Life.

To view Maggie's complete questionnaire and to read about her experience working on two productions simultaneously, visit the Theatre IV Blog at www.theatreiv.blogspot.com.