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Paul Birchall’s Got It Covered

This Week’s  Roundup: More Dishing On Community Forums and Arts Neighborhoods, Cabrillo Musical Theatre Lives Again, ISC Gets New Board Members, Watch Out For Those Props, Actors

By Paul Birchall

Report On the Community Forums

LASA Forum at the Theatre of NOTE (photo by Paul Birchall)

Whilst eating a sandwich on my lunch hour, I found myself perusing Steven Leigh Morris’s letter for @ This Stage summarizing the six community forums he conducted throughout the city last month. I attended one of them at Theater of NOTE, while my Stage Raw colleague Vanessa Cate attended the one at the NOHO Arts Center.

It was interesting to read Morris’s takeaways. Two ideas stood out:  The first was the notion of “branding” L.A. Theater. “If we don’t eat each other alive in a dogfight over how we should be ‘branded,’ over who should be included and who not, this could be a significant step forward,” Morris writes.  

Now just how would you brand L.A. theater? I think this is an extremely difficult concept to wrap one’s mind around. I myself have covered shows in Los Angeles for about 25 years and I would not even want to begin describing the theater scene here to a casual outsider in one sentence. Indeed, one is forced to fight the impression that the great unwashed general public already has branded us — and that the brand is one of those nasty red hot poker-y things that sizzle on the flesh and burn.  

The other evening, I was at a dinner party where a couple of wealthy folks were talking about the theater they’d been to see. They were both avowed subscribers to the Ahmanson and the Pantages, and spoke in great detail about Kinky Boots and A Gentleman’s Guide To Murder. When I tried to open up the discussion to more original fare, not the bus and truck iterations of the Broadway tentpoles, I got one of those glassy stares that civilians reserve for geeks who are too close to a subject. It was as though they were saying, “Oh, I know you see many shows, but when I go to the theater, I see only the gold standard stuff that gets written up in the New York Times.”

I think that sums up what we in the local theater community are fighting against.

Another portion of Morris’s article was devoted to further explicating his idea of creating arts neighborhoods in different areas of Los Angeles. Morris’s apologia (in response to Complex Theatre owner Matt Chait’s comment that L.A. theater would be better served by supporting existing companies) turned on “a call for rent-subsidized arts districts for organizations willing to commit to youth engagement and diversity.”   

While some object to the plan as unfeasible, as a model it makes more sense as a means of “growing” shows (from small to mid-size to suitable for national export) than the lame notion offered by Actors Equity, which holds that if you shut down all small theaters, big theaters will appear out of nowhere to take up the slack.  

Morris’s model is founded on the idea of functions generated to enhance communities. One unique aspect of Los Angeles County is that it is home to many small cities, each with their own municipality.  These cities have their own city councils, schools, libraries, and firehouses.  Why shouldn’t they also have their own theater communities?  

One can broadly compare Morris’s concept to our library system.  There’s a library in each of these communities, sometimes several. Each serves its own area and population with specific, regionally appropriate programs. The notion of theater districts strikes me as somewhat similar: They need to be end user responsive, like other public services.

And that is at least part of the idea Morris is proposing.  If it works out, it will take years to accomplish.  But it will be worth it.  

Once I got this point, I finished my sandwich, and my lunch hour was over.

Cabrillo Theatre Update:  Good News

Cabrillo Music Theatre Production of ‘Oklahoma’ (photo by Ed Krieger)

So we have an update on our story from a couple of weeks ago about Cabrillo Musical Theatre and their decision to suspend their 2016-2017 season. The original announcement sent shockwaves through the artistic community: Our own Jenny Lower was downright heartbroken, and went on the record to say so. The reason: Cabrillo is known for the size and scope of its production; no other producing entity in Thousand Oaks or Ventura County comes close.  

While reporting the story, I chatted with Cabrillo Musical Theater director Lewis Wilkenfeld, who explained that the issues initially stemmed from a conflict with the theater’s landlord, the City of Thousand Oaks. The City not only controlled the company’s box office, it also decided whether shows were to be presented in the massive Kavli Theatre, or in the much smaller Scherr Forum.   

Well, I am pleased to report that the suspension has been reversed and Cabrillo Theatre has raised enough money from members of the community to continue production for the next season. The press release touting the announcement explains that these generous contributions will allow the company to “retool the organization, engage in a new focus and strategy, and move into the future in a fiscally responsible way.”  

In a statement sent to Stage Raw, Board Chairman of Cabrillo Musical Theatre Bart Leininger notes, “Many of our issues with the box office have been largely ironed out thanks to Lewis and the staff.  The City is our partner in this endeavor and we need to continue to work together to be successful. I am grateful for the community’s outpouring of love and support for Cabrillo.  I am particularly grateful to the benefactors that came forward to allow us to responsibly move forward into the next season.”  

According to the press release, the production of Tarzan, which was to be presented in the smaller space, has been cancelled. However, plans continue for the two shows remaining, Children of Eden and The Little Mermaid, as well as for next year’s productions, which include Evita, Sister Act, and Peter Pan. All of them will be presented in the larger space.    

The release goes on: “The streamlined production schedule will allow the Board and Staff of Cabrillo to build on a strategy of engaging new community support for the organization in both fundraising and marketing of this professional, non-profit community-based theatre group.” 

Now, when I interviewed Wilkenfeld last month, it seemed to me that the days were very dark indeed for this company. So I think it’s quite wonderful that they’ve managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and have been able to secure the larger of the two theater spaces for their productions in the near future.  Good news indeed for lovers of musicals!  

New Board Members for Independent Shakespeare:  Hamlet Out, Iago In.

David Melville as Dr. Pinch

Also this week: The Independent Shakespeare Company has appointed three new members to its board of directors, including a new chairman of the board, Eduardo A. Braniff, who wins kudos from me for his comment in the press release, “It is a privilege to be leading Independent Shakespeare Company as we answer two exciting questions: ‘How will Los Angeles benefit by ISC providing Shakespeare free year round?’ and ‘What would Joseph Papp have created were he living in Los Angeles today?’”  

Braniff, a branding expert for corporations such as Ford and Coke, with connections to YoYo Ma’s music and culture foundation Silkroad, is joined on the board by community volunteer Tiffany Barnes and Warner Bros. executive Jack Horner.  

ISC Artistic Director Melissa Chalsma said, “One of the most difficult aspects of running a theater in the U.S. is that you must balance the demands of art-making with the incredible challenges of running a non-profit organization. We were fortunate to have our new members join. They bring an energy that is spring-boarding us into the next part of our story. They challenge me and my staff, asking hard questions, and offering real insights. They are my collaborators in every sense of the word.”

Unless you are a member of the Independent Shakespeare Company, I am not sure that changes to their governing board are as earthshattering as, say, predicting when Donald Trump is going to implode. But I have to confess, I went to see the ISC’s production of Othello last week and I thought it was quite delightful, with a particularly luscious performance by David Melville, whose Iago sent up shivers that reminding one of an unholy stepchild of Huge Laurie and Alan Rickman.  

And — as you may or may not know — Melville and ISC will be hosting our upcoming Stage Raw Awards on April 25th, with Melville donning his hilarious and rather spooky musician alter ego, Dr. Pinch.

“Running the burgeoning Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival is quite a commitment and we are grateful to our new board directors who are joining us in this next chapter of ISC’s growth,” Melville told us. “Pinch and the band are a good way for us to cut loose as we roll into another season of free Shakespeare and continue our plans towards expanding to better serve our community by building both outdoor and indoor theaters.”  

Swing That Razor High, Sweeney

Straight Edged Razor photo credit: Creative Commons

And, finally, just when you thought Los Angeles theater had troubles, here comes this dreadful story out of New Zealand.  According to the BBC, which is supposedly a reputable news source, two 16 year-old students, performing in the Kentigern College production of Sweeney Todd, had to be rushed to the hospital on opening night with neck wounds, which they received during the show.  There’s not much else to be said here, though I suspect we can safely assume the incident occurred when evil Sweeney, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, “swung his razor high” on a couple of his victims.

The BBC quotes the school headmaster as saying, that “it was an unfortunate and isolated incident” involving “a prop that was covered in all sorts of duct tape and silver paper.” Both boys were rushed to the hospital and are in stable condition. The police are not investigating the incident as criminal activity — “in this instance, the play is not the reality,” notes the police spokesman. 

The New Zealand Herald actually went farther, and interviewed the knick-knack store owner who sold the acting teacher the straight-edged razors, which were used in the ill-fated production. “I know they discussed the safety element and maybe covering up the blade,” the owner reports. “You can sell someone a brick and if they drop it on their foot, you would still feel sorry for them.”

So the moral of the story is:  People, watch your props!