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

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

The Themes of Karen Karen Zacarías's "Legacy of Light"

Posted by Bruce Miller
It's cliché, but nonetheless true. You'll never please all of the people all of the time.

More and more I believe this is particularly true with theatre, that most accessible of art forms. Virtually everyone considers theatre to be something they "get." Thank God for that. Theatre has never been highbrow or esoteric; it never will be.

Sure, there are the Waiting for Godot's and Rhinoceros's of the world (Beckett's Godot will be produced this spring by Henley Street, and Terrie and I saw Ionesco's Rhinoceros last Saturday at William & Mary). But even with these purposefully nebulous masterpieces, most audience members join in on the laughs and then have further fun discussing the deeper meanings of these multi-faceted literary classics.

And there are high caliber contemporary works like Stephen Adly Guirgis's The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (currently under co-production by Henley Street and Triangle) and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (produced earlier this season by Richmond Shakes). These great plays let the audience know early on that they intend to intellectually challenge and, perhaps, spiritually provoke. The audience "gets" this, and winds up loving the show (or not) based at least somewhat on whether they like to be invited into the fray.

Then there are plays like our current production of Legacy of Light by Karen Zacarías. Everyone seems to be appreciating this production. But some people walk away LOVING it--over the top in all caps--while others walk away with something like a shrug.

Legacy is not purposefully nebulous; it doesn't seek to challenge or provoke. So within the first few scenes, some audience members think they "get" what Legacy is all about, or they try to "get" it, and then some of them sit through the rest of the 2 hour 5 minute production somewhat indifferent as the unfolding action fails to further amplify the theme they think they "got."

Part of this may be my fault. Early on I've discussed with our various marketing staffers that Legacy can be viewed as a "girl power" play, focusing as it does on the lives of two great women scientists. I've called it a "mother/daughter" play, and indeed it is. "Girl power" and "mother/daughter" are two strong marketing themes you can hang your hat on. Those people who study these things tell us that, unless you're the Triangle Players or mounting a production of Lombardi, between 70 and 80% of all your ticket buyers will be women. And so, as we've attempted to sell Legacy to the Richmond theatergoing public, we've been hyping the "girl power" and "mother/daughter" themes.

Maybe this is why some people think that Legacy is principally about women trying to balance their personal and professional goals, or gender equality. Certainly the play addresses those themes, and was inspired by the playwright's personal experience of those issues. But I don't think that's what the play is principally about. And the trouble is, if one decides that Legacy is meant to thoroughly discuss those concerns, then the contemporary scenes, as Karen Zacarías has written them, may fall a little flat. In the contemporary scenes, "gender equality" is more or less a given.

May I humbly suggest that the principal themes of Legacy of Light are:
1 legacy - what do we get from our forebears and what do we leave to our children;
2 life, death and immortality; and
3 the interconnectedness of all things across time and space.

Among the many who LOVE Legacy of Light, these three themes are the ones most frequently discussed. The play examines these themes in terms that are scientific, spiritual and personal.

Like our previous productions of Boleros for the Disenchanted, The Clean House, Well, Melissa Arctic and James Joyce's The Dead, Legacy of Light is about lots of things. With plays like these, I think there is a danger, while watching and after, in trying to pin them down. They are best experienced, in my humble opinion, by allowing them to wash over you and lead you simultaneously on two or five different spiritual and intellectual journeys.

The fun, for me, comes at the end, in trying to piece all the various journeys together.

These productions are not esoteric, but, like great poetry, or music, or art, or dance, they also may take a while to pin down.

That is their strength.

--Bruce Miller

Who's in the pics? - 1 Ricardo Melendez and Patricia Duran, 2 Tamara Johnson and Maggie Horan, 3 Larry Cook and Tamara Johnson

Announcing Barksdale's 2010-11 Signature Season

Posted by Bruce Miller
"Brilliant" - defined by TheFreeDictionary.com as "Full of light. Shining." Exactly how I feel about the five plus one shows in Barksdale's 2010-11 Signature Season.

Somewhere near the top of the list of my most important responsibilities is selecting which plays we will produce. Play selection is not something I do alone or in a vacuum. Suggestions come from virtually everywhere (Board members, subscribers, single ticket buyers, teachers, theatre artists of all stripes, contributors). I honestly appreciate and benefit from all the ideas you throw my way.

Direct input into the process comes from Phil Whiteway (of course, he's the one who has to pay the bills), Chase Kniffen (he will assist me in selecting the artistic teams that will bring each title to life), Sara Marsden (she'll sell the tickets), Judi Crenshaw (she has to articulate the strengths of each title to the media outlets and the general public), plus Joy Ross Davis (group sales), Sue Griffin (costumes), Bruce Rennie (tech director), and several others.

At the end of the day, the buck stops with me. If you hate (or love) a play produced by Barksdale, I'm the guy to blame (or congratulate).

From the millions of titles that exist (surely the world must have given birth to at least several million comedies, dramas and musicals by now), there are perhaps a couple hundred titles that make it on to one or another of the lists that always float around the Barksdale offices. From this wealth of great work, five or six titles ultimately emerge. The criteria against which each title is assessed are:

* is it a "great" play (Barksdale's mission is to produce "the great comedies, dramas and musicals--past, present and future")

* do we have the capacity, based on existing resources, to produce a first class production (our mission charges us to create "national caliber productions")

* will our production be fresh, unique and alive

* will it captivate the audience

* does it have the potential to expand our subscription base (lots of lengthy and very personal discussion here; remember, the productions that have passed this test include everything from Guys and Dolls to Intimate Apparel to Boleros for the Disenchanted to The Little Dog Laughed to Cyrano de Bergerac to Melissa Arctic to Is He Dead?)

* does it add to the diversity and breadth of our work and offer new opportunities to our artists and audiences (we try very hard not to produce on our Willow Lawn season the same type of play over and over again)

* is there or will there be a considerable font of energy created around this title among our artistic leadership and family

* is there a unique "hook" that will allow us to extend this energy to single ticket buyers, group sales leaders, and playgoers / playmakers at large

* does the season feel good as a whole--is the total greater than the sum of its parts

* would the season make our founders (Pete, Muriel and Nancy) proud; will it engender pride among our Board of Trustees and staff

This year there was a special emphasis on a final criteria.

* Will it make money?

With the continuing sluggishness in the economy, the significant declines in governmental and corporate support, and the increasing competition coming from CenterStage and the "Broadway" season, there is no margin for financial error. I know that admission is not very high-minded. I'm just being honest.

Five titles (with a sixth subscriber option) have run this gauntlet and emerged with colors flying. I'm very excited to announce Barksdale Theatre's 57th Signature Season!

Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - by Donald Margulies
White Christmas - Music & Lyrics by Irving Berlin, Book by David Ives & Paul Blake
Legacy of Light - by Karen Zacarias
Contemporary Broadway comedy - title TBA
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek, Book by Jeffrey Lane
The Bluest Eye - by Lydia Diamond, based on the novel by Toni Morrison

More to come tomorrow about each of these wonderful shows. I hope you'll subscribe!

--Bruce