THE LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE ARTISTIC LEADERS ARE QUOTED IN NEW BOOK
ON REGIONAL THEATRE
Executive Director Richard Stein and Artistic Director Andrew Barnicle offer Words of Wisdom in The Backstage Guide to Working in Regional Theater by California State University, Fullerton Professor Jim Volz
MAY 16 , 2007 - LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA – The Laguna Playhouse artistic leaders – Executive Director Richard Stein and Artistic Director Andrew Barnicle – are among the names of theater professionals offering words of wisdom in a new book called The Backstage Guide to Working in Regional Theater by California State University, Fullerton Professor Jim Volz, a national arts consultant and author of the books Shakespeare Never Slept Here and How to Run a Theater.
In The Backstage Guide to Working in Regional Theater, leading figures in America’s regional theater movement provide actors and other theater professionals real-life observations on working in the industry.
On page 36, in a section labeled Beware the Potential Pitfalls, Barnicle lists several pitfalls of the business.
“Advice: You can only be sure you’ve got the part when you are standing on stage on opening night. Mantra: It’s never about money, but it’s always about money. Pithy quote—from Bernard Sahlins, founder of Chicago’s Second City to his company before a New York opening: ‘Just remember guys, in New York City, if you’re one in a million, there’s thirteen o’ yas.’ Others: Theater, and especially casting, is not a democracy. Thank goodness. And the strongest personality in the room will direct the play.”
On page 41, Stein offers an abbreviated history of regional theater and advice for those who wish to work in the field.
“The regional theater in America has evolved from being a passionate alternative to commercial New York theater, to a foundation-driven, cookie-cutter institutional formula heavily dependent upon government funding, to an entrepreneurial quasi-commercial nonprofit hybrid struggling to survive and attract audiences in an electronic age. To some, the heyday of the regional theater is long past, but I think what is emerging has the potential to be a more democratic and pluralistic institution that more closely mirrors our national character. It will be a sort of return to regional theater’s roots and a rejection of its rigid, insular and elitist adolescence…anyone who contemplates a career in regional theater must be passionate about the art and be able to communicate that passion to others.”
Both Barnicle and Stein had distinct responses to the question, “Are there key figures in American theater who have been crucial to your career or informed your work?”
“All of those pioneers who participated in the diaspora of proven theater people from New york in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s: Zelda Fichandler, Jules Irving, Herbert Blau, Gordon Davidson, Des McAnuff, et al.,” states Barnicle on page 366. “The successful creation of a regional network (crystallized by TCG and collective bargaining agreements such as LORT) has made it possible for generations of theater students to believe they can have careers without migrating to New York.”
“Joe Papp embodied that entrepreneurial spirit, melding a fierce advocacy that theater deserved government support like libraries and schools with an equally indefatigable commercial producer’s instinct for working the marketplace,” says Stein on pager 371. “Under his leadership, The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival championed a highly eclectic program, something we emulate at The Laguna Playhouse. He certainly fired my passion for this career when I met him and heard him speak while I was a graduate student.”
The Backstage Guide to Working in Regional Theater is available at most bookstores and online at Amazon.com.
ABOUT LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE
Founded in 1920, the Laguna Playhouse is one of the oldest continuously-operating theatres on the West Coast. The Laguna Playhouse has evolved from an amateur theater into a professional venue that is now a member of League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a prestigious body of the nation's largest non-profit professional theatres. In addition to employing Equity actors, The Playhouse is also a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group, the national organization of American professional theatre. Annual budget now stands at more than $6 million.
More than 100,000 theatergoers annually attend performances at the Laguna Playhouse. Its continued growth, expansion, artistic excellence, audience popularity and critical acclaim have helped make it one of Southern California's most important nonprofit theatre companies.
The Laguna Playhouse is widely noted for its Youth Theater, Education and Outreach programs. In 1989, its Youth Theater was recognized as "Outstanding Children’s Theatre" by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. The theater’s Equity school tour, THEATEREACH, has offered four productions on tour and visits more than 150 schools, performing for more than 28,000 children annually.
# # #
