We Interrupt Our Regular Programming...

Posted by Bruce Miller
I love WCVE-FM and public radio. Honestly, it’s the only radio station I listen to—even during pledge drives. I sometimes try to turn my dial to other stations rather than listen to the heartfelt pleas for contributions, but I’m never very successful. I find myself always coming back to my comfortable, rewarding radio home.

The pledge are necessary, I know. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if in the middle of Boleros for the Disenchanted, Shining City, Boys’ Life, Souvenir, Irma Vep, Mahalia, The Ugly Duckling, I’m Not Rappaport, The New Century, or Much Ado … the Managing Director stepped out from the wings and stopped the show.

“We interrupt our regular programming,” she might say, “to ask you, our listeners, to donate the money we need to survive. We only do this every six months during our pledge drives. But we won’t stop interrupting our shows until we raise the funds we need.”

I’m being facetious, of course. It’s apples and oranges. But still, were we to try something like this, our poor managing directors would be pummelled with every balled up playbill and loose arm rest in the house.

Live theatre isn’t something you can put on hold while you ask your audience for money. The connection is too immediate and intense. You can’t turn it on and off. Breaking that connection mid-performance would be unthinkable.

And yet any of us who work in this crazy business know full well that the funds needed to keep our nonprofit professional theatres alive are just as necessary as the funds needed to support public television and public radio. Public radio commentators lament that less than 15% of their funding comes from government grants. At Barksdale, we receive less than 2% of our funding from local, state and federal funds.

So here’s a modest proposal—I hope it won’t be perceived as too subversive by my friends at WCVE-FM. And if it is, not to worry. Nobody out there takes this blog seriously.

What if each theatre in town had a fund set up to pay for “sponsorships” on WCVE-FM? I'm talking about an official fund with which WCVE is directly connected. “Sponsorships” are those little 20-second promos that say something akin to “All Things Considered is brought to you today by Henley Street Theatre, now presenting Shining City, a bold and fascinating new play by Conor McPherson, starring Joe Inscoe and Larry Cook.” If such special funds existed at the theatres, when theatre lovers wanted to support WCVE-FM, they could donate their $60 or whatever to their favorite theatre rather than directly to the radio station. As the money is donated, the theatres could call in the funds raised to the radio station, so WCVE could still keep up with their pledges.

All the money donated would then be used to promote the nonprofit theatre on WCVE-FM. The money would go to WCVE (so it would be a win for them) AND the money would also support the nonprofit theatre that needs to pay dearly for those “sponsorships." The donor would be supporting both public radio AND the Richmond nonprofit theatre of their choice. A win-win.

The money raised might actually be greater; donors like win-wins.

It’s worth a moment’s thought.

--Bruce Miller

Another Rave for "Children of a Lesser God"

Posted by Bruce Miller
John Porter, theatre critic for WCVE-FM, has written a glowing review of Children of a Lesser God. You can hear the review by visiting our Signature Season page, or you can read the transcription right here:
John Porter's Review of Children of a Lesser God

"Few pieces of theatre history have had the lasting impact that Children of a Lesser God has had on mainstream America. When it first premiered in the mid-80s, and when the film version was released, it had a profound effect on raising the consciousness of audiences worldwide towards the issue of deaf rights. You would have to look back to the efforts of Helen Keller to find someone who had more of an impact.

So I was curious to see how the play had held up. I had not seen it since maybe the late 80s, and I was wondering if it would appear dated and didactic. I am delighted to say that it is neither. Children of a Lesser God, now playing at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn, is powerful beyond words, shattering with emotion, the kind of play that holds you in its powerful grip long after the show has ended.

Erica Siegel as the deaf and hard-to-reach Sarah Norman runs her emotions back and forth at full breakneck speed. One minute hostile, the next curious and loving, she is impossible to predict, and as such remains a powder keg waiting to explode. Some actors get into a comfortable rhythm during a performance, but Siegel never settles down, even when you think she has. Siegel delivers a bravura performance that leaves you breathless.

Landon Nagel as James Leeds has the difficult role of portraying a man falling in love while also serving as Siegel’s interpreter for the audience. He sails through these tricky waters easily, and carries much of the emotions of the show on his shoulders. Nagel is a powerful performer, and has blossomed by constant work in the area, and shows a great deal of promise for roles to come.

Other standout performances include Richard Gregory as Orin, the rabble-rouser who fights for deaf rights, Linda Poser as Mrs. Norman, Sarah’s mother, who has been hurt by her daughter and lives mostly in isolation, unsure how to support her daughter and never stopping loving her. Also Kenneth Waller as Mr. Franklin, the man in charge of the school who strives to make life better for his staff and students, but doesn’t deny the difficulty each will face in the world.

On the technical side, director Bruce Miller has chosen very strong artists. Katie Fry’s set is workable, Sarah Grady’s costumes are solid, and Lynne Hartman’s lights are perfect mood setters. At once introspective, other times straightforward, they play through the characters’ memories and evoke the proper moods at every turn.

Over the years I have been accused of only loving so-called serious plays and nothing is further from the truth. I enjoy a light evening’s entertainment as much as the next person. But when offered a deeply satisfying adult evening of theatre that makes you ask questions about the world around you, well, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Children of a Lesser God is a rare play that offers satisfying entertainment, and helps you examine lives you may not otherwise have experienced.

That's a rare evening indeed.

For WCVE Public Radio, I'm John Porter."

"Theater Talk" Talks Back with Barksdale

Posted by Bruce Miller
Theater Talk is an acclaimed PBS television series devoted to the world of the stage. To the best of my knowledge, it provides the nation’s preeminent in-depth, theatre-focused TV coverage. The show began on New York television in 1993, and continues to be co-hosted today by Michael Riedel (Broadway columnist for the New York Post) and the series producer Susan Haskins, pictured above and to the left.

Theater Talk is one of the few independent productions on PBS and now airs weekly on Thirteen/WNET in New York and WGBH in Boston. CUNY TV also rebroadcasts the show each week, offering NYC viewers additional opportunities to catch each new interview.

Thirty-five other PBS affiliate stations around the country pick up the program, including WHTJ in Charlottesville, WUNC in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, WUNE in Charlotte, and WHUT and WETA in Washington D. C. Alas, the show is not currently being aired on WCVE in Richmond, but that gives us (and John Porter?) something we can work on in 2009. If enough of us in the community begin to promote the same idea, our Community Ideas Station may respond positively by broadcasting the show.

For the time being, theatre aficionados in Greater Richmond can keep up with the show on line, by visiting the program’s website at http://www.theatertalk.org/. You can watch streaming videos of current and/or archived programs, and subscribe to their podcast.

I bring all this up because I was delighted to receive a comment to our blog, on New Year’s Day no less, from Susan Haskins, producer and co-host of Theater Talk. She had recently read Billy Christopher Maupin’s article of Monday March 10, 2008 announcing an upcoming episode of Theater Talk during which Haskins and Riedel planned to interview the all black Broadway cast of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Apparently that show never took place, and she wrote in to the Barksdale Buzz to explain why.

She didn't have to write. The post was nearly nine months old, and her responsibilities to explain her program to theatre lovers in Richmond VA are minimal, seeing as how the show isn't even broadcast in this market. But write she did. I was mightily impressed.

More and more the national theatre scene is noticing what’s going on here at Barksdale and in Richmond, and this is all to the good. The more our theatre community connects with national institutions and artists, the stronger we become.

We appreciate Ms Haskins taking notice and corresponding with us. We hope to begin a friendly grassroots campaign to bring Theater Talk to WCVE on a regular basis.

--Bruce Miller

Barksdale's Sunday Music Series is Back!

Posted by John Steils

Barksdale Theatre serves the community in a LOT of ways, including co-producing a live music series on selected Sunday nights. The series is called Stretchin’ at Barksdale, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun.

Our partner and co-producer, BJ Kocen, does most of the work. Brad Tuggle, Assistant to the Managing Director at Barksdale and Theatre IV, is staff liaison and general coordinator on Barksdale’s behalf.

But it’s BJ Kocen (that's him, grinnin' to the right) who selects, books and promotes the acts, and hosts every Stretchin’ performance. BJ is a man of many talents, and a charmer to boot. He is a singer and guitarist, songwriter, actor (he played the young lover in Italian American Reconciliation in Barksdale’s 01-02 Season), art gallery manager (he and his wife Jennifer Glave Kocen own the newly opened Glave Kocen Gallery), impresario, and all round great guy. No wonder STYLE Weekly selected him in 2006 as one of the Top 40 Under 40.

Stretchin’ is back for its second year of great music performed live on the intimate lobby stage in Barksdale’s “living room.” Stretchin’ guests (that means you) sit at cabaret tables, enjoy light fare and libations from the cash bar, and groove to some of the best singing and playing you’ll find in any of Greater Richmond’s clubs and pubs.

Six top notch shows are scheduled for the 07-08 season, and each will hold true to the feel that B. J. has established for the series – loose, fun, intimate.

The first show on Sunday, December 9, 6 to 8 p.m., is a whopper. And admission is only $10 at the door—an unbelievable bargain.

Justin Townes Earle, (singing to the left) is the son of international recording artist Steve Earle. He will fill the Barksdale “living room” with songwriting, singing and storytelling that will knock you out. Just back from his gig with the Old Crow Medicine Show and a tour that took him all over the globe, Justin has been compared by the critics with Bruce Springsteen circa Nebraska. His mini-lp, Yuma, is a quiet masterpiece. The amazing Susan Greenbaum will open the show, and BJ will kick it off with Justin for a season opener not to be missed.

Remaining shows in the season are as follows:

Jan 13 – Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule

Feb 17 – Jackie Frost, BJ Kocen and Brad Tucker (The Gobstoppers)

Mar 9 – Sheryl Warner & the Southside Homewreckers (CD Release Party) (photo to right)

Apr 13 – Slash Coleman and Browning Porter

May 11 – All Star Jam

Many thanks to the other co-producers of the Stretchin’ at Barksdale series: Creative Mortgage (http://www.creativemortgage.cc/), The Community Idea Stations (http://www.wcve.org/), and the Glave Kocen Gallery (http://www.glavekocengallery.com/).

For more information about the series, call BJ Kocen at 358-1990. Also, you can check out Justin Townes Earl at http://www.myspace.com/justinearle and Susan Greenbaum at http://www.susangreenbaum.com/.

Come December, we’ll once again be Stretchin’ at Barksdale. We hope you’ll join us for the fun!

--John Steils

(Added by Jessica in Marketing: Also there's a full list of dates with ticket information on Barksdale's Stretchin' page.)