Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tucson Weekly : Arts : Desiring Dynamic


Tucson Weekly : Arts : Desiring Dynamic



PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 28, 2008:

Desiring Dynamic

Beowulf Alley mixes known fare, an 'alternative' romp and a brand-new play as it overcomes financial problems

By JAMES REEL


Jordana Franco and Tenoch Gomez in "Noche de los Muertos."

Last week, a half-dozen black-clad Hispanic actors stood on the Beowulf Alley stage, giving a reading of Gavin Kayner's Noche de los Muertos.
It was a departure for Beowulf Alley in many ways: opening a workshop to the public in preparation for a premiere, later this season, of a local play requiring a Latino cast, something otherwise found almost exclusively at Borderlands Theater. Every element of that sentence represents something new for Beowulf Alley Theatre.

It's a house that nearly closed in the summer of 2007 during a financial crisis that shed the company of its artistic director. To cope, the board started some serious brainstorming about fundraising and audience development, and assigned artistic direction to a committee that solicited production proposals from directors in the community.

Beowulf Alley is still operating with an undisclosed deficit; the tax form it filed late last year shows that, for the season ending in June 2007, the company spent nearly $38,000 more than it took in, a serious but not necessarily fatal figure for an organization with annual expenses approaching $200,000.

"We had a choice last year: Close the doors, or continue," says board member Mike Sultzbach, who heads Beowulf Alley's artistic committee. The closure would have been temporary while the company tried to get its finances in order, but the board decided that going dark would lead audiences and potential donors to assume that the company had permanently folded. So it proceeded with a season cobbled together mainly from proposals by local directors.

"The process worked, but it wasn't as efficient as it could be," Sultzbach admits. "We learned pretty quickly some things we could do better."

Lessons learned, the company is continuing with that system through this season, and by January, it will already have assembled a schedule for 2009-10. After that, says Sultzbach, the company may be able to hire an artistic director again.

"The advantage to the way we're doing it now is that directors submit plays they're passionate about directing," Sultzbach says. "The hard part for the theater is, out of these submissions, how do we make a season out of them? It's easier to control the theater's artistic vision if you have an artistic director who selects the plays and then finds the directors and casts."

The board's big concern right now, Sultzbach says, is to build the company's audience, so the coming season offers more well-known plays than in the past. Noche de los Muertos, the new play by Tucsonan Gavin Kayner, will run in November, but before that, opening Sept. 27, comes an old chestnut, Wait Until Dark, which enjoyed a popular film adaptation 40 years ago, with Audrey Hepburn playing a blind woman fending off a home invasion led by a memorably creepy Alan Arkin.

Director Dave Sewell pitched Wait Until Dark, because he felt it had popular appeal, yet was one of the better examples of the stage thriller, with truly three-dimensional characters. Noche de los Muertos, on the other hand, is something that the artistic committee decided to mount as part of its mission to present more daring and unusual material; for this, the group recruited director Sheldon Metz, a recent transplant from Los Angeles who had already sold them on a production of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Proof for April.

Both Sewell and Metz, who have run their own companies, seem relieved to be able to direct plays they believe in without having to micromanage every element of the show and the theater's administration.

Metz, for example, threw himself into 96 Los Angeles productions through the course of 47 years, while also producing events in Las Vegas. "I directed plays, designed and built sets, even stepped into some roles for a weekend," he says. "Here, most of that is pretty much done for me. I'm designing the set for Proof, but I don't have to build it and do the lights and worry about the politics of the theater and fundraising. Here, I just get to direct a show."

Sewell adds, "It's nice not having to worry about all those other elements, like I did when I was working with the Tucson Theatre Ensemble. Now, I can just be excited about being entrusted with a chunk of the Beowulf season."

It's Sultzbach's committee that has to piece together the total season and assemble a design team, while building the audience and donor base. To that end, the theater is relying more heavily than usual on known quantities: Wait Until Dark, Proof and, in January, another Pulitzer winner, Dinner With Friends. "They're all solid plays," says Sultzbach. "They've all been on Broadway, and all three had movies made out of them. We knew we were dealing with good, solid material."

The other two productions, in contrast, are efforts to reach out to different audiences. Kayner's Noche de los Muertos focuses on an intense church-versus-state conflict toward the end of the Mexican revolutionary period in the town of Magdalena, not too far south of the border. It's a rare opportunity to showcase Hispanic performers (including the remarkable Angelica Rodenbeck, who isn't cast nearly as often as she deserves simply because her Spanish accent is a bit too strong) and demonstrates a commitment to new work amid the more familiar fare. In February will come 3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff, for which nobody involved makes any great intellectual claims. Sultzbach says it's "come in, have a good time and leave," but also the sort of thing that could attract an alternative (unspoken word: gay) audience, some of which might be inspired to check out other Beowulf productions.

Additionally, the company is developing acting and technical workshops, a readers' theater series and a youth-oriented late-night series, plus, next summer, classes for kids.

"The mission is to open this place up to the artistic community of Tucson," Sultzbach says. "We don't want it to be this little ensemble of the same actors and directors all the time; we want to make the Tucson community of artists feel like this is the place they want to come to. Whether we'll be 100 percent on all of these projects this year remains to be seen. As our programs generate revenue for us, and our fundraising increases, which will give us more flexibility, we'll be able to enhance those programs.

"As excited as I am when I look back and see what we've accomplished in the past year, I'm even more excited as we move forward. In another year or two, this place will really be dynamic."

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tucson: Stage Crew/ Police Officer walk-on roles, Beowulf Alley Theatre

 

 

From: theatre [mailto:theatre@beowulfalley.org]
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 6:15 PM

 

Wait Until Dark at Beowulf Alley Theatre – Stage Crew/ Police Officers

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, www.beowulfalley.org, at 11 South 6th Avenue, Tucson has an immediate need for a 2 stage crew positions that will also serve as two police officers. The policemen are walk-ons but they do have about five lines apiece of basic "police talk" that must be rendered convincingly. Some stage experience (i.e., acting) would be beneficial, but it would also be a good opportunity for newbies with a willingness to learn. The backstage work will most likely consist of helping with off-stage sound effects, prop management, and fire safety protocols. Both should look as if they were at least old enough to graduate high school and the police academy. Rehearsals will be a few nights per week for approximately 3 hours with an occasional 5th rehearsal some weeks. Tech rehearsals will be approximately the two weeks leading up to opening night, September 27. Performances are Thurs-Sat at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. through October 12. A stipend will be paid. If you can commit to the schedule, want to learn and have some fun, please call the director, Dave Sewell at (520) 888-5815 or call the theatre at (520) 622-4460.

 

We also have an immediate need for a Stage Manager/Light board Operator and Sound Board Operator.

 

Please contact the director, Dave Sewell at (520) 888-5815 or call the theatre at (520) 622-4460. We are willing to train. A stipend will be paid.

 

This is our most immediate need but we have technical positions open for each of the productions following Wait Until Dark. Give us a call if you are available for other productions!

 

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Archive and subscription information on http://tucsonstage.com

 

Monday, August 25, 2008

Stage Manager, Sound Board Op and Stage Crew needed

Wait Until Dark at Beowulf Alley Theatre – Stage Manager, Sound Board Op and Stage Crew

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, www.beowulfalley.org, at 11 South 6th Avenue, Tucson has an immediate need for a Stage Manager. Rehearsals have began and most weeks will be 4 nights per week for approximately 3 hours with an occasional 5th rehearsal some weeks. Tech rehearsals will be approximately the two weeks leading up to opening night, September 27. Performances are Thurs-Sat at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. through October 12. A stipend will be paid. If you can commit to the schedule, want to learn and have some fun, please call the director, Dave Sewell at (520) 888-5815 or call the theatre at (520) 622-4460.

 

We also need a Sound Board Operator and Stage Crew. Please contact the director, Dave Sewell at (520) 888-5815 or call the theatre at (520) 622-4460. We are willing to train. A stipend will be paid.

 

This is our most immediate need but we have technical positions open for each of the productions following Wait Until Dark. Give us a call if you are available for other productions!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Participants of the public workshop of "Noche de los Muertos"

Participants of the public workshop of "Noche de los Muertos" a new play by local award-winning playwright, Gavin Kayner.

 

"Noche de los Muertos" is a highly theatrical, classically based, culturally appropriate drama. Set in a provincial village in the Sonoran Desert in the 1920's, Noche explores the power of rites and rituals that influence thought to the point of irrationality and how passionate individuals deal with devastating conflicts.

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre, through grants from Tucson Pima Arts Council and Arizona Commission on the Arts, conducted the workshop to allow the characters of the play to come to life. When a play is written, its voices are inside the head of a playwright. By giving the characters the voices of actors, new discoveries are made and this allows the playwright to make refinements and further develop its richness. We are proud to be the theatre in Tucson that was given the opportunity to share these homegrown talents with our community in the month of August and look forward to having everyone come to see this marvelous piece fully mounted as our second production of the season, November 1-16, 2008.

 

The photo was taken by Bill Dell

 

Back Row L-R:

                Tenoch Gomez, Renaldo; Jordana Franco, Catalina; Alex Samaniego, Priest; Bardo Padilla, Tomas;

                Jan Henderson, Pelancha; Esteban Oropeza, Narrator

               

                Front Row L-R: Mike Sultzbach, Director; Angelica Rodenbeck, Irma; Gavin Kayner, Playwright

 

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Aisle seats: Arts picks for the week | www.azstarnet.com ®

Aisle seats: Arts picks for the week www.azstarnet.com ®:
Tucson, Arizona Published: 08.15.2008

Theater

Tucson playwright Gavin Kayner will premiere his new play, 'Noche de los Muertos,' at Beowulf Alley Theatre in November. But first, a staged reading of the piece. This is your chance to see art in the making, and, after the reading, join the discussion with the playwright. Tell him what you think works, doesn't work, and talk about what it all means, anyway. The story is set in the Sonoran Desert in the 1920s, and it's rich with the rites and rituals that give this area such great layers. The reading is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Aug. 23 at Beowulf, 11 S. Sixth Ave. It's pay what you can. 882-0555.

Friday, August 15, 2008

8 properties make cut for facade program


8 properties make cut for facade program
Published: 08.09.2008

TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen

Eight downtown properties have been invited to submit proposals to take part in the city's $530,000 facade improvement program, which is designed to restore historic facades in pre-1948 buildings.
A selection committee on Friday narrowed a list of 23 applications to eight. The eight property owners will each get $7,500 from the city program to cover architect fees for concept designs and cost estimates for facade work, said Glenn Lyons, chief executive of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, which is overseeing the program for the city.

The property owners have until Oct. 7 to submit proposals. Four or five will be chosen to have work funded for as much as $125,000 for a corner property and $90,000 for one midblock, Lyons said.
Each property owner will have to match the city funding.
The money comes from a downtown revolving loan fund established in 1982 to use for things such as upgrading buildings.

"Every one of the (23 applicants) deserves the funding," Lyons said. "We only have money for four (or five) and we had to cut to eight for phase one."
The eight properties are:

• W.A. Julian Building (former Club Asylum), 111-121 E. Congress St. Built 1905
• 256-278 E. Congress St. (Tooley's on Congress). Built 1916-28
• 64 E. Broadway (former Southern Arizona Legal Aid). Built before 1919
• Wig-O-Rama, Grill, Vaudeville Cabaret, 98-110 E. Congress St. Built 1904
• Rialto Block, 300-320 E. Congress St. Built 1919-21
Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave. Built 1921
• The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Built 1912
• ArtFare The Muse, 51 N. Sixth Ave. - the small building between Arizona Hotel and Sears Executive Center, all three leased by ArtFare. Built 1931

The program is limited to buildings on Broadway and Congress and Pennington streets, between Toole and Church avenues, Lyons said.

The selection committee consists of Lyons and Donovan Durband from the partnership; Fran La Sala, assistant to City Manager Mike Hein; Brooks Jeffery, associate dean of the architecture school at the University of Arizona; Demion Clinco of the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission; developer Phil Lipman; Mary Lou Focht, owner of Old Town Artisans; and Jonathan Mabry, the city's historic preservation officer.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Public Readings of a New Play by Award-Winning Local Playwright


Public Readings of a New Play by Award-Winning Local Playwright



Beowulf Alley Theatre Company

11 South 6th Avenue · Tucson, AZ 85701
Administration 622-4460 · Reservations 882-0555
http://www.beowulfalley.org/
theatre@beowulfalley.org



Tucson, AZ, Aug. 4, 2008) Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, at 11 South 6th Avenue (between Broadway and Congress), has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Tucson Pima Arts Council to workshop the play, Noche de los Muertos, by local, award-winning playwright, Gavin Kayner, directed by Mike Sultzbach.

The staged readings will be held on August 20, 21 and 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the theatre, and the community is invited to “pay-what-you-can” to attend. Season Subscribers and Flex Pass Holders are invited to attend free. Those who pay more than $6.00 will receive an online discount coupon for the fully staged, World Premiere run in November, directed by Sheldon Metz. Following the reading, the public is invited to have a dialogue with the playwright for consideration in the refinement of his work.

Noche de los Muertos was a top ten selection for the Reva Shiner prize, a semi-finalist for the Ashland New Play Festival and winner of third prize in the Latino/Chicano Literary Competition - University of California Irvine. A compelling historical tale, set in a provincial village in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, Noche de los Muertos conveys contemporary themes of the power of government and religion and explores the power of rites and rituals that influence thought to the point of irrationality and how passionate individuals deal with devastating conflicts.

Kayner received critical acclaim for his play, Thumbs, when Piquant Productions produced it on Beowulf’s Baron Stage in February 2007. Thumbs was featured in Old Pueblo Playwrights 2003 Festival of New Plays, was a finalist in both the Long Beach Playhouse and National Arts Club New Works Festivals and a semi-finalist for the Julie Harris Award in 2005.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

A Highly Seasoned New Season!"

"A Highly Seasoned New Season!" *
by Jesse Greenberg

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company's new season starts in September with Wait Until Dark, by Frederick Knott. Remember the film, with Alan Arkin and Audrey Hepburn? In October, BATC has the world premiere of an award-winning play by local playwright Gavin Kaynor, of our Old Pueblo Playwrights. It's called Noche de los Muertos, a historic play that explores the very current issues of governmental and religious power. Other goodies are planned until the season concludes next April with the brilliant comic drama Proof, by David Auburn.

For more information about the coming season, [click here] or call 882-0555
* FROM THE DESERT LEAF JULY/AUGUST 2008.