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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

This Week’s Roundup: Rogue Machine Moves to East Hollywood; Sheldon Epps Steps Down; Diane Rodriguez Appointed to the National Arts Council; Justin Tanner Says Reefer No Longer a Laughing Matter

By Paul Birchall

Rogue to Met

Theatre/Theater (photo courtesy of Rogue Machine)

By now, you will have heard about the plans to move Rogue Machine Theater to new digs — essentially transferring the troupe from their home on Pico, across from Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles (I’m sorry, one of my quirks is that I always think of theater companies in terms of restaurants that are within walking distance) to their “new” space on the top floor of the MET at Oxford Street and Santa Monica Blvd. 

It is funny to think of all the companies that have shambled through that space and then moved on, from the odd little company started by Holly Hunter and friends back in the early 90s, to the showcase-y spot where a casting director staged a large set of HBO one-acts to, more recently, DOMA, which has been producing musicals there since 2011.

In his interview with Julio Martinez for LA Stage Insider Rogue Machine artistic director John Flynn framed the move as an idyll en route to an even more promising venue now being readied at the old Angstrom Lighting building on Cahuenga.  According to Martinez’s report, Flynn was approached by Open Fist board member Richard Polak who, having purchased the Angstrom building, offered Rogue Machine the opportunity to rent the space in a year’s time, when its multimedia renovation would be ready for use.  

Flynn explains that they were hoping to remain at the old Pico Theatre/Theater building for the year, but the owners raised the rent to the point where it just made sense to move out early.  “By the end of the year, even with the rentals, we realized the amount we were paying for rent was just too much for us to be able to make work,” Flynn notes. 

Yes, it is the same old story of rising rent causing the exodus of a theater company — except it isn’t quite the same, as Rogue already had been making plans to move on and up to Theater Row.  So when MET owner Paul Koslo approached Flynn and offered him a year’s lease at a substantially lower rent, it allowed the company to create an “interim” season before moving to the space on Cahuenga. 

“The price is affordable, about half of what we would have had to pay at our current location, since the Pico landlord had intended to raise the rent again this year. Koslo is only renting us the large space upstairs at the MET. We’ll have to size down a little in terms of our normal production over the year. It seemed like the right thing to do. I would rather be producing than not producing,” says Flynn

And almost as an act of staking their territory, on Friday night the company held a one-night reading of Christian Levantino’s play “King Dick,” about the meeting between Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley. 

Once the theater company has sat on the furniture, you might say, it’s theirs.

Meanwhile, in news that is sad if not absolutely unexpected, Jeff Murray and Nicolette Chaffey, the producers of Theatre/Theater and the prime tenants at the former Rogue Theater space on Pico, have decided to call it quits. In a farewell letter posted on Big Cheap Theatre and now circulated widely, Murray writes, “We thank EVERYONE (and especially you) for the past three and a half decades of support! How LA is that?” Murray went on to celebrate “the most extraordinary parade of individuals, projects, audience members, hustlers, and artists’ launched “from our well-trod boards” over the last 34 years.

I was also curious about what was going on with DOMA, which is no longer housed at the MET, so I reached out to the company for a comment. Lucy Pollak, their press rep, replied that DOMA’s lease had expired and they’d decided not to renew it.  “They are currently exploring options to open the next show in a space that is better suited for the kind of work they do.” 

So, in the year ahead, we will see Rogue Machine taking over the MET while Sacred Fools moves into the Elephant.  We will be following not just the heroes who are evolving to bigger and better places, but also those who are withering on the vine.

Sheldon Epps Out

Sheldon Epps (photo courtesy Pasadena Playhouse)

The year is starting with a big shakeup at the Pasadena Playhouse, with Sheldon Epps leaving his position as artistic director after having been at the theater for 20 years. 

A Los Angeles Times story last Thursday lauded Epps’ two-decade tenure at the theater and accomplishments that included literally turning the institution’s finances around with agile fundraising and major outreach to craft more diverse audiences.  Epps, who will become “Artistic Director Emeritus,” was instrumental in the creation of several productions that went on to major Broadway fame, including “Sister Act The Musical,” “A Night With Janis Joplin” and ”Baby It’s You.” He can also be credited for the Equity upgrade of some local shows, including Stoneface, reprised at the Playhouse as recently as last year. 

According to Playhouse chairman David DiChristafero, “When he first got here, the theater was coming out of a dark period, and he’s done an amazing job and taken the theater to heights of success that we couldn’t have imagined.”

In a press release announcing the departure, Epps cited his accomplishments in transforming the makeup of the Pasadena Playhouse audience. “I am especially proud of our success in the area of audience diversity, as well as diversity on stage. Our efforts have become a model for addressing these important issues for our field,” he says. 

The Times article also hinted that the front runner candidates to succeed Epps include current associate artistic director Seema Sueko, though DiCristofaro notes, “We’ll be happy to talk to any and all folks qualified and interested, and certainly Seema would be considered that if she applies.”

As for Epps, he’s a little cagey about what is next.  “I think I have an interesting book in me,” he says in the Times article.  “Perhaps about my experiences in the worlds of theater and television — and some interesting things to say as a black man in America who has had success in those fields and also faced significant challenges. I also love teaching, and then whatever else is around the corner.

Ms. Rodriguez Goes to Washington

Center Theater Group’s Diane Rodriguez (photo courtesy of CTG)

The Center Theater Group has announced that CTG’s associate artistic director Diane Rodriguez has been appointed to the National Council on the Arts, which is the advisory body to the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Rodriguez is a longtime mainstay of the Los Angeles creative scene, and she produces for all the Center Theater Group stages, including the Taper and the Kirk Douglas.  She also served for some time as the director of the Latino Theater Initiative which, along with several other parallel diverse subsets of the Taper Too organization, were folded up a few years back, to much consternation. I have reviewed her shows on several occasions over the years — from her charming and rather melancholy Christmas tale “La Posada Magica,” to Erik Patterson’s incredibly moving “Sick.” 

In her new position, Rodriguez will be on the committee that evaluates grant applications, agency budget levels, and policy recommendations.  She was appointed by President Obama and approved by Congress, making her one of the most important people I’ve ever sat across from at the theater, — even though, as I recall, she sort of glared at me. (I really did not like some of her Taper Too shows very much, so I can understand that.).

Justin Swears Off the Pot, Mom

Justin Tanner (photo by Bill Raden)

The New Year began with a rather startling admission by one of Los Angeles’s finest residing playwrights, Justin Tanner, which he made a few days ago on his Facebook page. I reached out to Tanner, who graciously agreed to allow me to quote him, so I am not invading his privacy or speaking out of school.

Tanner reveals that for the past 20 years, many of his plays were written under the influence of marijuana.  “It didn’t used to be that way.  When I wrote my first plays (from 1987 to 1994), I understood the need to be clearheaded while writing. That’s why my early work has a light, flowing stream-of-consciousness feel,” Tanner explains.

“Then, in 1994, I wrote Pot Mom, and I figured since pretty much everyone in the play was stoned, it would help the writing if the writer was stoned as well. And when that play turned into my biggest hit ever, I thought, what the hell, maybe the marijuana had actually helped me write that play. And with one exception (Heartbreak Help in 1996) I have been using dope as a tool (or to be honest, a crutch) ever since.”

Tanner feels his writing during this period was “choppier, jokier, less human” than any of his earlier efforts.  “I still wrote decent enough plays, but they never achieved the kind of lift off that my earlier work did.” In a gradual self analysis, Tanner came to some arresting conclusions: “I began to ask myself: If I hate writing so much that I have to get myself obliterated in order to do it, then why the hell am I writing?” 

And then, after a computer snafu obliterated the first scenes of a play that he had been laboring over, inspiring him to rewrite them on an old school typewriter stored for years in his basement, Tanner discovered that the process of writing was flowing better.  “Three hours and twenty pages later, I had finished the first scene. For the first time since 1996 I had actually worked on a play in a totally sober, clearheaded state of mind. And the writing was good. Flawed, overwritten at places, off-point occasionally, sometimes totally inappropriate for the piece. But I didn’t stop to change or correct anything. I simply kept moving. And since then I’ve written every day. Never looking back, only looking forward to the finished product,” writes Tanner. 

Tanner is one of our most talented and important writers, and I think it’s fair to say that, among our local authors, he is almost irreplaceable as a craftsman of the “LA Voice.”  His happiness over his rebirthed creativity — even while using an ancient Smith Corona typewriter of the sort that’s so ancient even libraries don’t carry them anymore — is a wonderful thing.

The discussion made me think a bit about the counter-social skills that are often thought necessary for the creation of art.  Does the road of excess truly lead to the palace of wisdom, or does it just drop to rock bottom?  I’ve heard both sides, but I firmly come down on the side of keeping oneself healthy and happy so you can write the sequel to whatever it is you’re working on.  That said, I have to drink about four double shot cappuccinos before I write anything myself.

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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

The Year’s Five Top Stories, L.A. Theater-Wise

By Paul Birchall

One thing folks love at the end of the year is a nice end-of-the-year list, and I am perfectly delighted to look through my “Desk Calendar of Fun” to recall the several comparatively most important stories in Los Angeles in 2015. 

I say “comparatively” because really, one can’t help but note that these stories will already be known to folks who inhabit the murky netherworld of Los Angeles theater. If you are familiar with them, you are one of the club; it’s part of the “lore” — the code and key that lets you in. But just because the New Year loves a look back, let’s have a peek.  

1. Actors Equity Attacks the Los Angeles 99-Seat Theater Plan

Pro-99’s March rally in front of North Hollywood’s AEA headquarters (Photo by Bill Raden)

This year’s main story is the one that we are going to be hearing about more and more in the months ahead: the clash between Actors’ Equity and its union members here in L.A. who desire to perform “voluntarily” in theaters containing 99 seats or less. Equity’s still mystifying decision to set aside the 99-Seat Plan established through fierce negotiation back in the 1980s has set into play a ferocious backlash over the last year.  

The summer was filled with protests: In March, local AEA members who supported the 99-seat scene marched on the union’s own headquarters. In April, AEA actually held an advisory referendum, the purpose of which was to determine how local members felt about the 99-seat program. Though the referendum was worded in such a way as to create maximum confusion amongst voters, over 60% of them voted to maintain the status quo. The results were essentially ignored by the leadership, who instead offered incremental changes to the proposal. In May, when the time to vote for new leaders arrived, the president of Equity was voted out and Kate Shindle, who had strongly lobbied with the 99-seat faction, won.  

With the union settling in to wait out the clock (the changes were due to go down June 1, 2016), the Pro99 faction filed (but withheld from serving) a lawsuit that forestalled the action. This was in late October, with several prominent members —  including Ed Asner, Gary Grossman, and Vanessa and French Stewart —  citing breach of contract and breach of good faith. As of early December, the two sides had agreed to quietly discuss the situation. Little news is leaking out about the negotiations – and that seems promising to me.  

2. The LA Weekly Cuts Theater Coverage; Stage Raw Adds to It

Photo courtesy laweekly.org

The L.A. Weekly is supposedly the “alternative” paper for culture and the arts in Los Angeles, so its decision some time over the summer to essentially cut all long form theater coverage sent strong ripples throughout the theater community. The decision to also terminate funding for the LA Weekly Awards, which ended the 35 year tradition of honoring and celebrating the city’s not-for-profit and intimate theater productions, was appalling news for local arts practitioners.  

The gap in both local coverage and long form reviewing is currently being addressed by Stage Raw, but the fact that the LA Weekly was a huge newspaper while Stage Raw is an emergent, albeit ambitious, website cannot be ignored. A rave review from Stage Raw does not yet pack quite the same wallop as a rave review from the Weekly, even when the review might be by the same writer. 

Stage Raw has also stepped up to produce the former Weekly Awards — if only because it would be a sad thing to let such a good party fall by the wayside. The change has made for some strange situations as theater critics develop unexpected new job skills: I remember wearing my finger tips to the bone the week of the Awards, tying those damn gold ribbons around the awards scrolls. But we’ll do anything to keep the party going!

3. The Think Tanks Cometh

A Los Angeles Theater Network meeting on Diversity (Photo by Jessica Salans)

Now that the local theater scene is grappling with what corporate self-help books call “strategic planning,” many opportunities have arisen for groups to get together and hash over plans and thoughts on the future. The Los Angeles Theater Network, which launched in the spring of this year, consists of theater practitioners from a number of smaller companies who now meet regularly to discuss how to promote diversity, marketing, and creativity within the region. Though the group is non-partisan (meaning they profess not to have an opinion on Pro99), it does provides a format that’s incredibly nurturing for differing points of view. Meetings are usually headed by luminaries such as Jon Lawrence Rivera and Ashley Steed, and those attending read like a who’s who of the small theater scene.  

On a related note, Stage Raw hosted a four-part seminar that addressed many of the same issues dealt with in their “Visualizing the Invisible” series. Noted panelists in the series included LA Times critic Charles McNulty, Rogue Machine’s John Flynn, and Sheldon Epps, artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse. 

Elsewhere, the death of print has led to an abundance of smaller theater-related websites —such as Footlights and Broadway World — which are serving to pick up the slack. Now when a story breaks there is competition to “scoop” the other websites and get it online first. It is actually rather healthy and amusing to watch.   

4. Morris to LA STAGE Alliance. Rob Kendt to Edit American Theatre 

Steven Leigh Morris addresses last year’s First Annual Stage Raw Theater Awards (Photo by Tim Norris)

Also big news this year was the promotion of two well-known professionals in the theater journalism community. Steven Leigh Morris has been hired as executive director of the LA Stage Alliance, the city’s go-to organization for the advocacy and furthering of matters relating to local theater. In this position Morris will work to develop Los Angeles theater and keep it prominent, both locally and nationally.  He will use his already terrifyingly enormous rolodex to liaise with political leaders and decision makers — all for the benefit of the arts community we know and love.  

Meanwhile, the hiring of former Backstage West editor Rob Kendt as the editor of American Theater magazine is a huge deal. Kendt cut his teeth in arts journalism in LA and he knows this city as well as any in the country. When he commissions articles on our community, it’s done using local writers and with an awareness of the challenges. And if an important issue arises here, we can depend on Kendt to be aware of it in a way that few journalists on the East Coast can be. It’s a good thing for us, indeed.

5. Fall and Rise of Sacred Fools and Theater Companies Ousted by Economic Trends  

The news that Sacred Fools is moving into the shuttered Lillian Theater complex —purchased by Fools’ patrons Patrick and Carlyn Duffy who will act as the company’s landlords — is so fresh that the ink is still wet on the press release. It’s also a story with ramifications that will become obvious in the months to come, as we wait to see how Sacred Fools will handle the numerous spaces they’ve just inherited and whether any will be available for the Hollywood Fringe this summer. That Sacred Fools will preserve the Lillian spaces as theaters on Theater Row is wonderful news, but we can’t help but feel sorry for the companies that faced similar economic woes and didn’t have a patron to help them move up.  

Although theater companies come and go all the time, this has been a year when we’ve become more aware of the lifetime trajectory of theater real estate. A theater company moves in and takes up space in a run-down economically depressed area. Before long, the theater has helped anchor the neighborhood. Rents rise, and the landlords decide that they can find a tenant who will pay more than the theater company which started the upscaling process. Out goes the good theater company, and in comes a new carpet store or a Walgreens. We saw this a number of times this year, with the Celebration Theatre, the Banshee and The Elephant Theatre Company. Many of the resident companies manage to find another space and go from good to better, but many don’t. However, this is the year when people truly started to identify this disturbing gentrification phenomenon.  

Etcetera

Spring Awakening (Photo by Kevin Perry)

Of course there were other incredibly important events over the year. For instance, there was the amazing journey of Spring Awakening, a production which moved from the Deaf West theater to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to Broadway and then to the White House. It is indeed one of the year’s great inspirations. 

And runners up for any list of significant events would have to include some national stories, such as the debate over the Howlround Jubilee, in which participating theater companies were asked to produce only plays by authors of diversity. Although some have found fault with the idea of excluding white male authors, the Jubilee’s basic concept has opened up a compelling discussion about race consciousness in the theater. 

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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

HAPPY FESTIVUS FOR THE STAGE RAW-OF-US

By Paul Birchall

The band from ‘Miravel’ with Colin Kupka on sax. Photo credit: Steven Leigh Morris.

Fog and drizzle had settled over the Skylight Theatre, but though the weather outside was frightful, the mood at the Stage Raw party inside was delightful indeed.  A veritable who’s who of theater lovers had assembled on this murky Monday in late December to celebrate the holiday of Festivus, and to toast each other with hot apple cider and rum punch. 

Amongst the theatrical cognoscenti were luminaries from both sides of the theater aisle: theater critics such as our own Myron Meisel, Terry Morgan and Deborah Klugman, as well as a cornucopia of publicists that included Phillip Sokoloff, David Elzer and Judith Borne.  Steven Leigh Morris — the new executive director of the LA Stage Alliance and the publisher of Stage Raw — was the genteel host, while Peter Finlayson, Alan Mandel, and Stage Raw managing editor Bill Raden were among the attendees who sipped and chatted and opined about the future of Los Angeles theater. 

When it came time for the entertainment, there was a dandy performance of an excerpt from How Love Lasts, the fascinating documentary-musical by Brooke Bishop and Daniel Landberg. 

Paul Birchall, Peter Finlayson and Judith Borne at Stage Raw’s Festivus 2015. Photo credit Steven Leigh Morris.

Independent Shakespeare Company stalwart David Melville and the lovely Mary Guilliams Goodchild reprised the wonderful “Dr. Pinch and the Pinchtones,” a comic spin-off from their production of Comedy of Errors. 

Jessica Emmanuel performed a jazzy ballet that perfectly encapsulated ambivalence to the holidays, evincing in equal measure melancholy confusion and joyous celebration.  Anchored by sax player Colin Kupka, the band from Jake Broder’s recently closed play Miravel warbled away as folks hobnobbed and gossiped (for as you know gossip is the real reason why any theater person goes to a party during the Christmas season). 

The reason for the get-together was both to make merry and to raise money to support Stage Raw.  In the last few weeks of December, Stage Raw critic Myron Meisel generously stepped forward with an offer to match any tax-deductible donation up to $5,000.  The site’s bean counters (I think there’s at least one bean who does the counting), reports that we reached the desired total of $10,000. 

As a result of donor generosity — and that goes for everyone who contributes, either by tossing us nickels or by just reading our reviews and articles — Stage Raw will continue, at least into the next year.

And a special salute goes to Myron, a stalwart supporter of the arts who open-handedly puts his money where his mouth is.  If you need to point to someone whose dedication to the craft of arts journalism is above the call, just aim that digit at Mr. Meisel.

Thanks again, everyone — and onwards to the next party!  

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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

Sacred Fools Theater Company Packs its Bags for Hollywood

By Paul Birchall

Sacred Fools’ Heliotrope Ave. stage

In a development that bucks the recent trend of landlord-gouged itinerancy among Los Angeles’ intimate-stage theater companies, East Hollywood’s award-winning Sacred Fools Theater Company revealed today that it is leaving its Heliotrope Avenue home of 19 years after acquiring the Hollywood stages formerly known Elephant/Asylum Complex at 1076 Lillian Way on Santa Monica Boulevard’s Theater Row. 

The five-theater complex, which includes the Lillian, Asylum and Elephant theaters, had closed in September after the building’s owner completed a deal to sell the property that subsequently fell through.

A press release cited a combination of rising rent and the production limitations at the Heliotrope stage, which the company will vacate by the end of this month.

The future Hollywood home of Sacred Fools at the Lillian.

Sacred Fools managing director Padraic Duffy explained to Stage Raw that the move was only partly due to rent increases.

“Part of it was that the rent was just going up and up,” Duffy said. “But we had also slowly become more and more aware that we’ve been limited in terms of space and scope for the type of shows we’ve wanted to do. We’d been doing a soft search for a new space for a while. [The Hollywood complex] will allow us to double down in the area.”

Sacred Fools board president Bruno Oliver added that the company had long wanted to be closer to Hollywood, but exorbitant rents seemed to put the district out of its financial reach. When the Elephant/Asylum suddenly became available in November, however, Duffy’s parents, the actor Patrick Duffy and his wife Carlyn offered to acquire the property and serve as the theater’s landlords.

“We needed an angel, and they said if you find the right place at the right price, come to us and let us know,” Oliver said. “We want to make it clear, Patrick and Carlyn Duffy are the owners of the theater.”   

Oliver added that the company plans to complete the move in January and has scheduled their inaugural production, Padraic Duffy’s Past Time, for a February opening. “We’ll be out of the Heliotrope space in the end of the month. Then it’s going to be ‘Sacred Fools at the Lillian!’”

As for the other theaters, he said it will take time to renovate them and the plans are as yet not clear as to how they will be used. Options being considered are renting the stages to other theater companies or using the venues for invited productions. 

“There are so many companies in turmoil,” Duffy reflected, “it’s great that we can now say ‘you don’t have a space, come rent here and do your awesome show!”

Oliver also vowed to maintain complex as a venue for the annual Hollywood Fringe Festival.

“Our plans are to have as many spaces as possible for the Fringe,” he offered. “Not all of the spaces may be available right away, but we’ll see. We believe in the Fringe, our intention is to make as much space for the Fringe as possible.”

“We haven’t sat down with the Fringe producers,” interjected Duffy, but we are excited to jump in and are waiting to find out how.”

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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

This Week’s Roundup:  IRS Red Tape for the Nonprofit Arts, New York Report, 99-Seat Lawsuit Update, and Stage Raw’s Second Annual Holiday Festivus

By Paul Birchall

IRS to Arts Donors: Drop Dead

The Performing Arts Alliance (PAA) has been raising the alarm about the latest threat against the economic lifeblood of the nation’s nonprofit theaters, orchestras, opera and dance companies and their artists. And this time, it’s not coming from a crippling recession or the opening of a new front in the culture wars. It’s coming courtesy of our friends at the Internal Revenue Service.

The D.C.-based Alliance, which lobbies on behalf of America’s professional nonprofit arts institutions, has issued an Action Alert on a proposed IRS regulation that for the first time would allow — but not require — 501(c)s to collect their donors’ Social Security numbers or taxpayer identification numbers to substantiate gifts. The new rule was published in September for public comment, but its language has attracted little attention in spite of what could be its devastating impact on donations should it be enacted.

The deadline for comment is Wednesday, December 16.

According to the Alliance, the rule, which is being offered as an option to the traditional contribution receipt issued to donors with the dollar amount and the disclaimer that the charity did not provide any goods or services in exchange for the contribution, will kick in with gifts of $250 or more.

The problem, the Alliance argues, is that at a time when identity thieves are routinely plundering the high-security databases of major banks and giant retailers — and when the IRS itself is urging taxpayers to never give out their Social Security numbers unless “absolutely necessary” — even offering a voluntary option to nonprofits to become repositories for sensitive personal information will jeopardize donor giving while putting arts institutions under the crosshairs of hackers.

“This is just like another nail in the coffin of the performing arts scene,” insisted Jay McAdams, the executive director of South L.A.’s 24th Street Theatre. Jay, who spoke to me by phone, said the proposed change would impact all of the city’s nonprofit theater companies, but would particularly affect 99-seat stages, whose individual donors typically give in the hundreds rather than the thousands of dollars, and do it online with a credit card.

“If I’ve got to give you my Social Security number on [an online] form, I’m probably going to click off of it,” he said. “So why wouldn’t a donor do that? … A $300 donation is a pretty big deal for a lot of 99-seat theaters. I would guess that the vast majority of 99-seat theaters have very few donors at the $300 level. You know? So if you’re going to put a barrier in there at $250 to jump over, you’re just hurting the small guys.”

Nonprofits also point out that, bureaucracies being bureaucracies, the fact that the IRS is now insisting that the proposed rule will be voluntary doesn’t mean that it will not become mandatory in the future.

The Alliance urges interested parties to weigh in by posting comments to the IRS on the PAA’s Action Alert page. The responses need to be filed by Wednesday, so there isn’t much time.

These Vagabond Shoes

The Great White Way (Wikimedia Commons)

Early this week, I flew back from New York where I was vacationing with family. It was my mother’s birthday party, and also a fine opportunity to see some shows in the Big Apple. Now, I know what you’re thinking: I must have gone to see hot Broadway musicals like Hamilton, An American in Paris, or our own L.A.-bred production of Spring Awakening (which has announced a new national tour, by the way), and what have you. Frankly, I did no such thing: Instead, I dove into Off-Off-Broadway, the equivalent of the 99-seat scene I tend to gravitate towards here at home.

It was a treat to get even a slight taste. While it is useless to generalize in terms of our own theater scene, I can say that Los Angeles and New York are quite comparable in terms of professional skill and polish. What New York has that is different from L.A. is public and municipal support at an exponentially higher level. Hop into a cab, and backseat video monitors blare ads for the Off-Broadway production of Clever Little Lies, featuring Marlo Thomas. Head into Tribeca, and audiences willingly climb up four creepy steep flights of stairs in a ramshackle industrial loft building to pack the vibrant and exciting production of In the Soundless Awe in New Light Theater Project’s attic-sized performance space — a show that, due to the Actors Equity Association-mandated “Basic Showcase” code, may only run 16 performances over 4 weeks.

But don’t get me started; the code, which governs Off-Off-Broadway’s small-budget, independent productions, is enough to make any theater lover insane. New York is replete with productions of almost astonishing virtuosity and talent — shows rightly known the world over — but due to this crazy code, they must close in no more than a month. It’s terrible.

And, yet, it’s still better than the revolting Los Angeles 99-Seat Agreement that is being renegotiated for our city. In New York, 16 performances may turn the ephemeral life of a theatrical production into a mayfly-like blink of an eye, but at least the shows go up with little other interference. I wonder how L.A. would fare if a similar system were established here?

Noises Off, Talks On

March’s Pro-99 demonstration in NoHo (photo by Bill Raden)

By now, you will have heard that the plaintiffs for the Pro-99 seat movement and the AEA folks are continuing to meet privately to debate the future of Los Angeles’ intimate theater. Very little news is coming out of these meetings, and I’ve said already that I think this is a good thing: The less we know, the more progress is being made and the more hopeful the plaintiffs are of succeeding.

One thing that seems interesting, though. If you look at the December 7 press release that has been circulating, beneath the notice that the plaintiffs won’t serve the lawsuit while the discussions are taking place, there’s the sentence, “The plaintiffs have withdrawn with prejudice any claims or causes of action against Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association.” The phrase “with prejudice” literally means the suit against McColl can never be filed again. But what on earth does it imply? Does it mean, as I suspect, that the union wasn’t willing to talk until charges against her were dropped? If it took that kind of pressure to get the AEA leader to the table, it does suggest that the negotiations are quite a bit more charged than was thought. 

Perhaps news of what is going on behind the closed doors will be leaked at the various holiday stage parties around town, where no secret can withstand spiked 99-seat egg nog for long.

Let’s Have a Festivus!

Yes, it’s Christmas and lord knows the Theater loves a party. I am no exception. And I just want to say, if you invite me to your theater’s party, I will almost surely come. And you would love me at your party! I am a bon vivant and I will regale you under the table with glorious theater tales and bits of ancient lore. Think: a cross between Bob Cratchit, Falstaff and the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Actually, of course I am lying. Not lying about coming to your Christmas party (I would certainly do that), just about being a life-of-the-party kind of guy. I am more of an eavesdropping on other folks’ conversations and write them down for my column sort of a fellow.

One seasonal festivity that I definitely won’t be missing and to which you’re all invited is the Stage Raw second annual Festivus party, which is going to take place at the Skylight Theatre, 1816 N. Vermont Ave on Monday December 21. There will be hot music courtesy of Jake Broder and his sizzling jazz trio from Sacred Fools’ hit musical Miravel, plenty of Christmas spirits, a nosh spread and, onstage, live performances by David Melville and Jessica Emmanuel, and an excerpt from Brooke Bishop’s poignant documentary-theater piece on lifelong love affairs, How Love Lasts!

Last year’s event showcased a wonderfully broad range of talent, from acoustic guitar music to Alan Mandell’s recitation of Beckett, to the inimitable John Fleck. Oh, that was a fun night — and, yes, there was plentiful of gossip to boot, as you’d expect from an SRO bacchanal packed with cocktail-lubricated partiers and containing more than a few theater journos. 

The event costs a paltry $10, but feel free to pay more as the proceeds will pay for Stage Raw’s outstanding community-supported stage coverage. So swing on by and have some fun even if you’re skint. Or stay home and offer your support from afar by buying tickets online anyway to help insure there’ll be another Festivus party — and the online arts journal that hosts it — next year.

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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

This Week’s Roundup: A Note from Sean Branney, SLM on Theater and Our Community, Olya Petrakova on Stagecraft, and Daniel Henning on a Meeting With Alec Guinness

By Paul Birchall

More on Banshee

(Photo courtesy of Theatre Banshee)

After news of the imminent closure of Theatre Banshee theater companies broke last week, I received a very nice email from Banshee artistic director Sean Branney. He particularly wanted to address the question of gentrification, and my suggestion that small theaters time and again help gentrify neighborhoods, only to get tossed aside by their landlords so they can reap higher rent. 

“At the end of the day, the gentrification of our Magnolia Park neighborhood certainly played a role in our being priced out of our space,” noted Branney. “But beyond gentrification, producing theatre has never been harder. There’s more competition from at-home entertainment. The audience is more fragmented. The reach of the press has never been shorter. Half price ticket services cut deeply into companies’ margins. The situation with AEA looms huge and ambiguously over the community. Ultimately, there’s a lot of forces at work which make the impossible job of running a small theatre that much more difficult.” 

It was fascinating to hear this from Branney and to realize that many of the issues you hear bandied through the zeitgeist are not just airy-fairy theories but real developments that need to be taken into account — and soon. Theater companies in Los Angeles operate in an atmosphere that is not necessarily benign or even ambivalent. It requires energy and ferocious innovation to survive in a culture that already wrongfully considers theater in Los Angeles beneath aesthetic consideration. The Banshee is really just the latest canary in the coal mine and we must take the closing of the company as just one more wakeup call.

What Would SLM Do?

Steven Leigh Morris at the 2015 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards. (Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)

By now you may have read the interview in American Theatre with our own former editor Steven Leigh Morris who’s moved on to his new gig as executive director of LA Stage Alliance. The interview, conducted by the classy and professional Kevin Delin (also a contributor to Stage Raw) was a dynamic and thoughtful discussion of what Morris perceives to be his role in the community. 

Since Morris is new in the job  — the ink is probably still dry on his business cards — he can be forgiven for not talking specifics. Just casting a spotlight on the problems relating to theater and our community on the pages of a national periodical like American Theatre can be said to be a good start. If nothing else, it is reassuring to at last have a voice on the scene who is both passionate and articulate — and who can articulate that passion in a way that immediately gets the issues the attention it needs.

I especially appreciated his comment, “We need to get recognition of the art of theater beyond the theatre community, so that people who live in Los Angeles understand really clearly that if they haven’t seen a play, in a large or a small theatre, they haven’t really lived in Los Angeles.” 

Of particular note was the idea of creating a neighborhood for theater activity. Opined Morris, “The Hollywood Fringe Festival is particularly successful because it isolates a festival into a very specific geographic corner, a one-mile square block. And I think part of its success is attributable to that, its being tethered to a neighborhood. I see that as a potential fix to the geographic issues… That has worked in other cities, and I think that can work for us, too.”

On a post on the Pro99 Facebook page, Morris was challenged about whether he really means for Los Angeles to create a “Manhattan-style theater district.” “Exactly the opposite,” is Morris’s reply. “Neighborhoods —plural. Theater districts. Once upon a time it was simple to access the entire region, but traffic and poor public transportation has segregated us into colonies. Dealing with that is the challenge.”

Also intriguing was Morris’s discussion of the process by which a show in a small theater can jump to a larger venue and then perhaps on to Broadway. “That has been a model in New York for decades,” Morris suggests. “Now it’s starting to catch on here. I think there was more of a divide 20 years ago in that regard; I think the relationship between larger and smaller theaters is a little more fluid than it used to be. The smaller theatres are being scrappier, knowing the artistic directors of the larger theatres, and pitching their stuff.” 

He continues, “This is so complicated, which is why I am loathe to distinguish between the virtues and the vices of large theatres and small theatres. Maybe it’s age, but I’m just coming to see that theatre is theatre and it takes many many shapes and sizes. And the reasons for doing it are as varied as the appearances it takes. It’s very hard, and almost foolish, to draw divides and try to segment the kinds of theatre we have.”

A Petrakova Manifesto!

Artel’s Olya Petrakova, left, and Bryan Brown (photo by Bill Raden)

On a related note, the publishing of this interview with SLM in American Theatre has prompted long time local theater luminary Olya Petrakova to publish her LA Theatre Manifesto on the L.A. Theater Network Facebook page. 

Petrakova was the artistic director of the wonderfully ambitious and challenging theater company ARTEL and the subsequent Artworks Theater company which performed out of the now tragically shuttered Schkapf stage.  The document, which was first written and circulated in 2006, is a pleasure to read. (A word of disclosure: Petrakova once responded to one of my reviews of a show of hers with, “He writes his reviews like he is on the toilet” — which might be the best description of the critical process I’ve ever heard). 

Her manifesto details some of the steps that might yield an artistically sound and vibrant company. Much of the talk strikes one as being universally applicable to all good artist-driven theater groups: for instance, an emphasis on collaboration, notable in her statement, “…(the) ensemble meets regularly 3 or 4 times a week for at least 1 year, and when they meet they train, they work on the common vocabulary, develop the common aesthetic, discuss or improvise researched materials related to investigated ideas or to a specific future production.” 

Petrakova’s manifesto undeniably boasts an “artist” sensibility, and steadfastly favors loyalty to a particular theater company over branding oneself as an individual performer. Her other ideas include curtailing the conventional roles of director, producer, and writer, along with transforming the concept of place. “We don’t need traditional theatre space to create theatre, and spend thousands of dollars maintaining one, padding the pockets of greedy landlords. We need space to train, to meet, to work. When the good piece of theatre is born, it will find the place to be shown. I will watch it on the streets, on the roofs, in the abandoned houses, and pay for it.”

Of course, some of Petrakova’s ideas are more idealistic than practical (good luck getting my granny to your theater if there are no comfy seats to sit on). But as Petrakova herself clearly suggests, a manifesto is meant to spark debate, not be adopted as whole cloth.

Daniel, Alec and the Star-Shells of Madness.

Daniel Henning

Meanwhile, to conclude on a cheery note, we have this delightful essay up on Buzzfeed by Daniel Henning, the artistic director of our much beloved Blank Theater Company, about his childhood meeting with Alec Guinness. This is a story that has, in one version or another, been going around for years and years. It’s even mentioned in Guinness’s autobiography, apparently as a rather amusing self-deprecatory anecdote that makes him sound rather mean.

According to Guinness, he was once approached after a show by a young boy and his mother. The boy shyly but proudly admitted he had seen Star Wars over a hundred times and added that he would adore Guinness’s autograph. Guinness was appalled that someone would see this movie so many times. “Looking into the boy’s eyes, I thought I detected little star-shells of madness beginning to form and I guessed that one day they would explode.” He grudgingly agreed to give the kid his autograph. First though, he asked, “Would you do me a favor?” “Yes, sir! Anything!” replied the boy. “I want you to promise never to see Star Wars again!” In Guinness’s telling of the story, the little boy burst into tears and was hugged by his mother, who snarled at the famous actor, “What a dreadful thing to say to a child!” 

On Buzzfeed, Henning — who reveals that he was indeed the boy — takes exception to the “official” story. He recalls attending a tribute to Guinness at the San Francisco Film festival, where he took the microphone and told the star that he had seen the movie 102 times. Guinness gasped and apparently fell out of his chair in shock.

Later, Henning went backstage to talk with the actor, who agreed to give the boy his autograph if he promised never to see Star Wars again. Instead of bursting into tears (Henning says), he and his mom shook hands with the star and happily left. The anecdote — Guinness’s version — was then promoted for publication and legend, Henning insists. 

Henning opines that he can’t understand why a wise and kind man like Guinness would feel the need to invent a story that actually makes him sound rather unpleasant. “But why did Guinness make himself into a monster? Why did he change the story from his being kind and gracious and lovely to being so mean to a child that the child busts out crying and his mother becomes haughty and drags him away?” Henning wonders.

It is an interesting question — but the truth is, the story really is amusing in its embellished form. I mean, how could you not laugh when you hear such a thing? And the telling of it does allow Guinness to clearly position himself as someone who took his Star Wars fame with a cup of lemon juice.

As for all the “star-shells of madness” bursting in Henning’s eyes — well, that is subject to interpretation, but I have seen some of his plays, including The Why, and that was some pretty star-bursty madness right there. 

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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

Bye Bye Banshee & Stage Raw ‘Visualizes the Invisible’

By Paul Birchall

BANSHEE OUT OF BURBANK

Theatre Banshee: another L.A. cultural treasure lost to gentrification (photo courtesy of the company)

Here’s a bit of unwelcome news for your Thanksgiving leftovers.  We’ve just had a note from Sean Branney, artistic director of Theater Banshee, the incredibly imaginative and innovative theater company, that the group has made the decision to leave their headquarters on Magnolia in Burbank. 

In an e-mail headlined “The End of an Era,” Branney writes, “It is with heavy hearts that we let you know that as of December 1, Theatre Banshee will be forced to move out of its artistic home at The Banshee. This fall we were hit with a sudden and massive increase in our rent. We have explored all available options and none proved a feasible solution to our dilemma. After twenty years of producing in the space, our time is up.”

Although the note goes on to assure us that the people who make up Theatre Banshee will continue to create, it is not as clear where this will happen.  I also can’t say this is the first time that a well respected theater company has been forced to move because a neighborhood is becoming gentrified due, in great part, to the existence of the very theater company that now can’t afford the rent. 

Really, I can’t even list the number of theaters this has happened to over the years, from the old Burbage on Sawtelle to the Celebration on Santa Monica.  On the other hand, it is sometimes not a bad thing for a company to move:  You can’t get bigger by staying in the same place, after all, and perhaps we will see Banshee take steps toward expanding to a mid-sized company.

Banshee has had a tremendous run; awards literally rained down upon such past productions as The Crucible and The Walworth Farce.  It is sad to see them being forced out of their theater home, but the truth is that a company as good as theirs is not down by a long shot just because they have to find a new venue. 

STAGE RAW THIRD SYMPOSIUM

Steven Leigh Morris, left, and the “Visualizing the Invisible” panel at 24^th Street Theatre (photo by Paul Birchall)

The intellectual sparks were a-flying on Monday night at the third of Stage Raw’s symposia “Visualizing the Invisible,” about the crises affecting arts coverage in Los Angeles.  The topic of this third panel was diversity, which is a theme that has been echoing throughout the region and country of late, as evidenced in the minutes of such local think tanks as the L.A. Theater Network, and on the pages of the national theater sounding board Howlround.  Their controversial proposal, Jubilee, calls for theater companies to pledge to a season of presenting only works by writers of color or other minorities or women.

Although the topic of diversity in arts coverage might have been the intention, the actual conversation (ably moderated by LA Times critic and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle President Margaret Gray) gradually turned into an exploration of diversity in the theater world in general. 

Panelist Jose Luis Valenzuela, UCLA Distinguished Professor of Theater and artistic director at the Los Angeles Theater Center, suggested that a critic or theater journalist needs to come from a place of contextual awareness.  “I think a critic can write about anyone, as long as the intellectual research has been done and you know what you’re talking about.  As long as you are a theater person and know the contemporary history and the context.”

Bob Verini, former theater critic for Variety and now a critic for Stage Raw, agreed.  “Critics have a responsibility to educate themselves on everything.”  He also joked, “What a lot of folks may not realize is that there are fewer professions easier to enter than theater criticism.  I can create a blog and get a comp.  When you review something, you are a critic.”   

More seriously he added, “Readers demand context:  Even when a show is not a critic’s cup of tea, the reader should expect the critic to be able to dip his feet into the cup of tea to see how it rates amongst plays of its type.” 

The curious issue of a lack of diversity amongst theater journalists themselves was raised by LA Weekly and Stage Raw critic Lovell Estell III who, as Verini noted, was one of the very few theater critics of color writing in the US.  “I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” noted Estell.  “I have yet to see another black critic.”  Estell described how he was dragged to the theater as a child by his mother — and he hated it at the time.  “Every time I go into a theater now, I hear my mother laughing.” 

The conversation gradually shifted to the need to establish a benchmark for diversity in theater generally.  Valenzuela noted that this is a conversation that has been going on for decades —since back in the 1980s and 90s, when the concept of “color-blind casting” gained traction. 

Estell explained that he was not a fan of color-blind casting.  “It’s nice to get a balance – but to say that we want to cast you because you are black or Asian — that’s condescending.” 

Added actress Rose Portillo, “Just doing color-blind casting for the sake of doing color-blind casting is not a good goal.  However, if you’re a certain artist and Chekhov speaks to you (you should have the chance to do it).”

Actor Richard Azurdia insisted that minorities want to go to the theater and see their own experience reflected.  “Every time we see a show with an artist of color or a disability – we come out to support them.”  He went on to coin a new term as an alternative to color-blind casting: “color-conscious casting.”  “We need to be race conscious.  We all see color, that’s fine:  We have to be conscious of it so we can work together.” 

Added Valenzuela, “Our color does not change.  People of color go to the theater if they think it’s relevant.” 

The discussion gradually shifted to thoughts on how the current theatrical economy has actually worked against promoting diversity on stage.  Valenzuela recalled how the country’s regional theaters used to be far more experimental and daring, serving their communities far better than they do today.  “Now the regionals are just a stop on a tour: They’re considered successful only if they sell tickets or get a good review,” sighed Valenzuela. 

In an interesting twist, a consensus emerged that the real problem is socio-economic. “Commerce diminishes the art form,” opined Valenzuela.  “The theater that sells the most tickets becomes the status quo.”

Jay McAdams, artistic director of the 24^th Street Theater, noted that the real issue will always be money.  “We want people who can spend up to $75 a ticket.”  He went on to say that the real obstacle to diversity is that poor people cannot afford that.

Michael John Garces, artistic director of the acclaimed Cornerstone Theatre Company, agreed. “Marketing is getting butts on seats.  That’s commendable!  We do it.  But that’s not engaging the audience, that’s manipulating the audience.  The people who can engage aesthetically with the audience are those who will be relevant.” 

During the post-symposium questions, a discussion erupted over Howlround’s Jubilee. The general consensus was dismissive. 

Garces suggested that the proposal itself was merely meant to provoke rather than provide a template for execution.  “Howlround is great,” he noted.  “But they have no power.  They can just instigate, and people can get riled up, and there will be a conversation on the topic.  However, no one is telling you what to do.”

Valenzuela put the “Jubilee” concept into perspective by noting that many portions of the performance community have been excluded for a long time.  “We are talking about a whole history of exclusion,” he explained. “Not everyone has learned how to deal with that issue.  Some people do want to make that conversation on their own.” 

As Valenzuela concluded, “This is a city of the 21^st century because of its diversity.  The society we have in this city is the global culture.”

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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered:

Paris, Suddenly Don Shirley, Deaf West at the White House, More Snark About L.A. Intimate Theater

By Paul Birchall

Tragedy in Paris

It’s been a week of hauntingly familiar trauma in the news. All of us must feel great compassion for the people of Paris following the appalling attacks that claimed 129 lives. That the targets were mostly entertainment and leisure activities — a rock concert, a Cambodian restaurant, a shopping mall, a football stadium — underscores that the attacks were deliberate aggressions against core Western values and freedoms.

After an atrocity like this happens, the press and the more tedious pundits and politicians spout recriminations and day-after-quarterbacking, demanding that we bomb the villains out of existence or cut off immigration so that the only people allowed into the country are those who look or think exactly like them.

My feelings are slightly different: Although the Paris attacks now threaten to globalize what has been a bloody regional civil war, they are part of a broader cultural war. The extremists don’t like freedoms we in the West take for granted. They burn books, manuscripts and musical instruments. They deny women education, force them to wear burqas or, if they’re from a religious minority, even allow them to be raped. They execute gay men by throwing them off of roofs. They behead scholars.

How do we in Los Angeles respond to this? By going on without fear — or at least with the awareness that fear itself should not stop us from doing what we love. Artists must continue to create art, the more provocative and more outrageous the better! And those who are not artists must go on supporting the things that give pleasure and which make all religious zealots gnash their teeth with rage. By all means, go on out to a rock concert. Eat a delicious dinner out. Spend a bit of your hard earned money on something wonderful and provocative — like a play. Be a warrior of culture.

Don Shirley, Contrarian

Don Shirley, right, with Stage Raw’s Myron Meisel

Earlier this week, Don Shirley penned a fascinating, contrarian article about the 99-seat movement in the guise of his summary of the Ovation Awards, hosted by French Stewart and Vanessa Claire Stewart, and that featured an appearance by Stage Raw editor Steven Leigh Morris as Los Angeles Stage Alliance executive director. The thrust of Shirley’s piece was a surprisingly clear-eyed analysis of the 99-seat issue, except with the opinion that it might be better for the minimum wage proposal to pass. Shirley’s take appears to be that the preponderance of small theater shows is in some way preventing the growth and inception of mid-size theater companies. 

He writes, “LA theater invests too much time and energy in maintaining a system of many easy-to-ignore theatrical boutiques, and not enough time and energy in creating institutions that can engage larger numbers of Angelenos, including more diverse audiences, as well as a bigger share of the national theatrical spotlight.” 

He continues, “Now Equity is trying to prod — clumsily, at times — some of LA’s smaller companies to become more professional and more prominent, while still leaving open the self-producing option for membership companies.”

We have heard this sort of argument before: Somehow the abundance of small theaters prevents the formation of mid-size theaters. I actually just don’t see the logic of it. How does the existence of one thing prevent the creation of another? The statement is a non sequitur. Regulations and rules to kill off one form of art are not the answer. 

Far better is to let people create the art they want and allow the “market” to decide. I get very tired of folks trying to compare the L.A. theater scene to the New York (or even the Chicago) scene. In his piece, Shirley notes the undeniable fact that very few shows actually move from the 99-seat arena to Broadway — while it is far more common for shows to move from public regional spaces like the Taper. 

As I think of it, the answer isn’t to saddle the small theaters with onerous regulations that prevent their existence in the hopes that instead of 100s of shows, we will get maybe four or five shows that pay equity wages. I think a better approach might well be to develop a robust system of government support (local, state and national) that allows nonprofit companies to develop works and then move them up and out. In London, for instance, it’s the government-backed theaters like the Royal Court where much of the most interesting and provocative stuff is born — and the Royal Court includes an 85-seat studio stage in addition to its 365-seat main stage. 

Shirley also noted what he thought was a peculiarly equitable attitude on the part of hosts Vanessa and French Stewart towards the opposing factions of the 99-seat fracas, particularly when they suggested everyone “find a friend you disagree with and tip a glass.” Shirley suggested that this was due to an attitude forming that it is necessary to move beyond the 99-seat issue, which may eventually be decided by the courts. Certainly, I think that is part of it. But I prefer to think the real change in attitude is the result of the backchannel talks that is going on between Equity and the 99-seat plaintiffs, and which (perhaps mercifully), no word is leaking out.

It’s Official: Deaf West is a Cultural Juggernaut

Deaf West’s Spring Awakening at Inner-City Arts (photo by Tate Tullier)

And, almost as a counterpoint to the Shirley article, we have received news that the Broadway juggernaut that is the Deaf West production of Spring Awakening, which was launched from Inner-City Arts’ intimate Rosenthal Theater, has been invited to perform at the White House. Broadway World is reporting that the cast (along with original authors Steven Slater and Duncan Sheik, are travelling to Washington DC to perform at an assembly on Americans with disabilities and the arts. Even more amazing, the show will be streamed live on the net at the celebration on November 18^th. 

Well, this is rather nice news, isn’t it? And, while I do generally share Shirley’s opinion that a production like Spring Awakening is the exception, not the rule, the truth is it is still a fine example of the system working as it should. When people discuss the shows that leap from the Taper to Broadway, for instance, those too are exceptions, not rules. There are many ways for shows to reach Broadway, if Broadway is where you want to go, and my point is that we should not be hobbling at least one avenue to the land of glittering prizes. Like I was taught back when I was in Stanislovski in acting school — you should negate nothing.

In any case, congratulations to the cast of Spring Awakening! Watch them live at https://www.whitehouse.gov/live, from 1 to 4 p.m. (Pacific Time) on November 18.

A Hollywood Agent Lectures L.A.’s Intimate-Stage Actors

Meanwhile, did you catch the delightfully loathsome article on Backstage by the so-called “Secret Agent Man” on his experiences attending an intimate show in Chicago vs. attending one in Los Angeles?

So the gentleman attended a play at a small theater in Chicago and was impressed by “an authentic theatrical experience, the kind you rarely see in L.A.” How pleasantly put! He further admits that he bustled backstage, utilizing his “agent” business card to schmooze the actors. How pleased he was that no one recognized that he was a super powerful agent who could make their dreams come true! How quaint and pleasant to be taken for one of the great masses and “to interact with them on a creative level. It sure beats having to make small talk about the industry.”

He further denigrates the L.A. scene by noting, “actors here in L.A. often seem to use theater as a means to an end. Plays are considered failures if they don’t attract industry attention.” And then, “from my perspective, most of the waiver productions I attend feel like showcases, not genuine theater.”

I suppose that there is some subjective truth to statements like this, which is why folks make them, of course. But I can’t help think that it is rather rich that some agenty agent, who comes to town to cast some dog food commercial, then snarks about a L.A. play because its actors want to get cast in dog food commercials. And what should actors do when they meet a Hollywood agent, who is only allowed backstage because he’s a talent agent? Are they supposed to engage in some Kabuki-like metaphor space where you can talk about anything other than the fact you’re meeting an agent? No, really.

And if I hear one more person talk about Chicago theater versus L.A. theater, my eyes will bug like what happens when you squeeze a cabbage patch too tightly. Yes, Chicago theater is indeed wonderful. I acted in Chicago theater for three years after college — it was the highlight of my life. But if you put a great L.A. play up against a bad Chicago play, I promise you the L.A. play is better. And, yes, if you put an L.A. showcase of sitcom wannabes against something done by the Pegasus Players or at the wonderful Theater Building on Belmont — well, it is an unfair comparison to make. It’s like comparing fish to, er, ham.

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This Week’s Roundup

Acrimony, Celebration, AEA and Yet More on Diversity

By Paul Birchall

The Old Guard

Halloween came and went, the veil that supposedly separates our world from the world of the dead is firm again, and we can put away the jack o’lanterns and set up the mantelpiece for Thanksgiving.  

Except, this year, for the LA theater community, Halloween is every day.  I mean, it never ends, and the one thing that has emerged this week in the absence of actual stories is the fact that there is plenty of sniping.  Was there ever a time when civility among the writers and journalists in our community was at quite this low an ebb?  Not in the last 20 years that I’ve been doing this, anyway:  Diversity versus status quo,  Union versus intimate theater, Embittered Old Guard theater journalists versus Embittered young Turk jerk theater journalists. Everyone is so angry!  Anger is exhausting. Isn’t it better just to bide your time and smile?

I think we have seen that some areas of the journo community are trumpeting the advent of a sort of war between a mythical Old Guard and a band of ferocious newbies.  I don’t buy it.  There is no Old Guard:  Really, Los Angeles would be lucky if there were an Old Guard; it would suggest that there had been a system in place over the last decades.  The so-called Old Guard has always just been dedicated writers working to cover the community in the best way they were able to, given the technology of the time.

Celebration Theatre opens shop in its new digs

Congratulations are in store for the Celebration Theatre, which has reopened in their new location at the Lex Theater on McCadden Place.  Although many of us were sorry when the Celebration had to leave their former LaBrea Ave. and Santa Monica Blvd. home, now a fine pot shop, the new location (just up the street from the Geffen GLBT Center) is  a great fit for the company’s work.  Although the two spaces are unrelated, synchronicity between the two is inevitable and will promote only the best work for both companies. 

The Celebration just opened Rober O’Hara’s Booty Candy, its baptismal production in the new space, and now, on his Facebook page, artistic director Michael Sheppard has announced an open call for company members.  “That doesn’t mean you get automatically cast or your play instantly produced, but it does mean that you can be part of a cutting edge queer theater company,” Sheppard notes. 

Even for ridiculous theater critics, the temptation to apply for company membership is really strong, and I can’t think of anything more delightful. Just the offer to audition sends me into fantasy land, despite my entire lack of acting credits or talent.  What if?!  So I heartily advise everyone to consider auditioning for the Celebration.  Why not? 

Incidentally, I also think we’re going to see more and more of these calls for company members in the months ahead, as the impact of Actor’s Equity new rules on the formation of non-Equity companies start to come into play.  What Sheppard, and other theater artistic directors who hold open calls for members right now, are doing is hedging their bets – creating rosters of performers who can be grandfathered into their companies even when AEA tries to shut them down. 

Yet More Updates on the AEA Lawsuit

We are hearing multiple reports of news that the AEA is actually meeting with the plaintiffs who filed the Pro-99 seat lawsuit against their own Union.  Neither side is being especially forthcoming about the negotiations, if negotiations they are.  On Sunday night, Jason Alexander referred to a “rumor” of talks at last weekend’s party celebrating the career and 86^th birthday of plaintiff, union man, and TV/ stage legend Ed Asner at the Skylight Theatre. (Alexander also referred to L.A.’s intimate theater scene under the 99-seat-plan as doing just fine for decades, “Then Equity decides to roll in and ‘improve’ it,” he quipped. Until the lawsuit filing, AEA refused to negotiate much of anything concerning its proposed changes to the Plan, and the result of that, along with alleged breaches of a 1989 Settlement Agreement, good faith, and fair representation, was the long-awaited filing of a lawsuit by AEA members against their own Union – or “Association” as some have been quick to point out.

So in the wake of the lawsuit, there appear to be talks, and talking is good!   I feel confident that the plaintiffs are unlikely to cave in, given how far they’ve taken this, but some compromise agreements, to preserve the health of the intimate theater scene, could be in the offing, we hope.

Frankly, I consider the lack of concrete information about these talks to be healthy. They can’t really negotiate in a climate of free-floating chatter. It is only when the ship starts leaking that the ship starts sinking.  One way or another, when the time is ripe, we’re going to be learning more about this story over the next week or so.

There’s No Business Like No Business

Meanwhile, in the propaganda department, AEA will be hosting a sort of seminar on how to produce small theater.  The class, entitled “The Business Behind the Show:  Producing for Non-Profit Theatre,” is “specifically designed for AEA members,” and will provide an analysis of the economics of strategies for producing small shows.  The class is a webinar, and will contains segments on obtaining grants, creating subscription series, and, yes, “the changing scene,” which, one suspects will refer to the minimum wage requirements that AEA is trying to push through, and which instigated the aforementioned lawsuit.

The speakers will include marketing and production executives from the New 42^nd Street Theater and the Manhattan Theatre Club, all lovely New York companies to be sure, but of marginal Los Angeles involvement – and their involvement only underscores the fact that AEA seeks to impose a One Size Fits All scenario. 

Jubilee, Chapter 17 . . .

The national fracas continues over the idea proposed by Howlround regarding the “Jubilee Year,” in which a group of organizers have asked theater companies to set aside the year 2020 to be a year in which plays will be produced only by women playwrights, or by playwrights of color, non-Caucasion ethnicity, or of LGBT orientation – anything but works by white male writers.  The proposal has had some traction in the media, and, as unlikely as the actual results are likely to be, it is spurring an interesting debate on the lack of diversity in the contemporary theater scene.

Howlround has now released a follow-up editorial about the Jubilee plan, entitled “You Don’t Have to be an Ally, But Don’t Be An Enemy,” which actually underscores the idea that the Jubilee is less an actual plan than a state of mind – a desire to find a way to boost diversity in the theater scene.  

The author, Catherine Castellani,  a playwright who’d qualify for the Jubilee proposal,  notes that it’s fine to object to the plan, but suggests that there are ways to enhance a greater variety of theater. 

“What does the alternate creative and positive response look like?” she asks. “I only know what I’d do. I’d network like mad. Go to every show I could manage. Volunteer. Get out there, be visible, be a supporter, use the opportunity to discover new potential collaborators. Frankly, do it in the hopes of becoming a known quantity, someone an artistic director might take a chance on down the road,” Castillani writes.  

I can’t say that I agree with the idea of excluding anyone – if the Jubilee were to say “for this year, no women’s plays will be considered,” there would be a rightful outcry. 

How about, instead, a proposal in which the season of 2020-21 will resemble the gender-ethnic-sexual-preference make-up of the population – something more along the lines of a manifestation of what we aspire to?

However, the more I think of it, the more the extremism of the premise is actually being used as a wedge to get us to examine the general way theater companies do business.  Many articles are being written discussing the subject, from Ezra Buzzington’s pieces online to playwright Marsha Norman (“Women have lived half of the experience of the world, but only 20 percent of it is recorded in our theatres.” ) It is a sad fact that the stages simply do not resemble our culture and if the debate on the discrepancy is made with some urgency, perhaps that isn’t a bad thing after all.