Stage West, Urban Theatre on the Edge

Ron Lambert

Producing Arts Director for Stage West

Listen to the entire audio interview with Ron Lambert

5/1512009

StageWest, Urban Theatre "On The Edge"

You can listen to the entire interview with Ron Lambert, producing arts director of StageWest, Des Moines own urban theater “On the Edge”. Note that the article that follows is not a transcript, although it includes exerts. Also, please note that the Iowa Arts Gallery does not intend any general endorsement of any works of art, theater or music. Views expressed by those who are interviewed, or the author of the article, should not be considered the general opinion of the Iowa Arts Gallery, its directors or associates. The value of any creative endeavor is a matter of personal judgment. The Iowa Arts Gallery does however seek to inform and promote interest in the arts and to encourage discussion and evaluation of any artistic and creative activity and to do so with respect for the effort involved. srs

by S. Richard Shook, for The Iowa Arts Gallery

Copyright 2009 (This material may not be reproduced or distributed in any form, written or audio, without the express written permission of the author.)

Ron Lambert is enthusiastic, and someone who plainly believes in the concept of urban theatre, “On The Edge”.which is in fact the slogan for StageWest. StageWest literally works out of a hole in the wall in the Des Moines Civic Center that was re-purposed from an office or a storage closet into a community theater, now known as the Stoner Theatre. With a small audience capacity the threat re is a perfect venue for anyone who loves an intimate theater experience. There are no bad seats. Ron said, ”The worst seat in the house is only five or six rows from the stage. ...People like that personal connection.”

Although the seats themselves may prove uncomfortable making one appreciate an intermission, having comfortable seats is unduly burdensome in a situation that requires a lot of flexibility and a need to compromise between the requirements of production and the essential presence of an audience. “The more comfortable the seats become, the fewer you have.” Ron pointed out. He went on to say, “You are kind of limited in the configurations. We've presented shows completely in the round on all four sides...we've used both ends...where the main seating area is-we've moved that...starting at 9 o'clock on a Saturday night we had to move all of the chairs, all of the risers and everything and have a show and a tech rehearsal on Sunday morning.”

Ron Lambert is one of the five founders of the theater group organized in the mid 1990's, “We'd worked together in various theaters around town...We had a single purpose of creating a theater company that would primarily present new works of art, new works of theater that haven't been seen before in Des Moines. And we've stayed true to that.”

Ron's business title, Producing Artistic Director, involves “not only the artistic choices and working with the show directors but also as producing artistic director I produce the shows, handle the administrative work and work with fund raising. I kind-of where a lot of different hats...and its evolved through the last twelve years.”

Audience is an obvious essential component, “Theater by nature tends to gravitate towards an older audience...the struggle is always to try to find the next generation of theater goers.” However, Ron says, “we know we attract a younger audience than most of the theaters in town, that's partially by design, but that's not to say certainly that we are excluding anyone. It is tougher to get the younger audience members to come on a regular basis, there are so many entertainment options...to try to get that next generation of theater goer we feel we're fairly successful in the fact that our subscriber base has increased every year that we've offered season tickets...except one...” That is a trend Ron says is “different for theater right now and a lot of arts organizations are seeing a decrease in commitments to season tickets.”.

Among StageWest's followers are those who are interested in politically “active” plays, “dramatic pieces that address social issues”, “musical comedies”, and Ron says, “some people just love to come and laugh”. Ron pointed out that they also produce plays that don't have a lot “social relevance” but which are just intended to be entertaining, “that's part of it too, entertain folks” although, Ron said, they like to “keep people off guard a little bit.” and give their audience a “new way of looking at things...we search nationwide to find interesting and eclectic mix of types of shows”.

Examples of StageWest's mix of shows includes Souvenir, which relates the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, and influential philanthropist who, perhaps, unaware that what she thought she heard herself sing was quite different than what the audience may have heard her sing, but an audience who were nevertheless, greatly entertained. They stifled laughs and guffaws to maintain the illusion they believed Florence Jenkins needed. While very funny, the play was also poignant. Was Florence aware of her tilted singing and its impact? Whether she was or not, I came away from the play appreciating her humanity and largess of spirit.

Stage West will be completing the 2009 season with the “History Boys” by Alan Bennett. about a group of bright young men preparing for college and the influences placed upon them which include sexual tensions, aspirations and improprieties and the expectations of parents, teachers, and their headmaster.

“Torch Song Trilogy”, is planned for 2010, Ron said, “that's what its about, its about challenges.” Written by playwright, Harvey Fierstein, “Torch Song Trilogy” premiered in 1981 and included Fierstein as an actor. The play later won a Tony award in 1983. Its about a character named Arnold Beckoff, who sings torch songs as a drag queen and who is also Jewish. Originally, it is a play in three parts, or three plays as three acts.

I'd suggest that anyone who is curious about a title, do a little research before going. Two things will happen: You'll have a better understanding of the larger social context, and issues, and may eliminate some surprises, meaning you may or may not choose to go, but unavoidably when you do choose to go, expect that you will be surprised anyway, at least because a live performance will by its nature always be unique. Ron asserts, however, that the idea is not to “knock you over the head” with an “agenda”, but to provide something that causes a “conversation”. Likewise, if you are not familiar with the intimacy of something like the StageWest venue, you will certainly be surprised by how proximity to the set and actors can add potency to the experience and the inherent function of a play to connect with the audience. The approximate maximum capacity of Stage West amounts to around 180 seats, compared with Stephens Auditorium or Fisher Theatre at the Iowa State Center

Ron said that “our core selection group is primarily made up of directors who have worked with us previously and there are several people who have worked a long time with us. I'm always encouraging anybody, even actors when we have auditions. I say, (to the actors) if anyone's been in a show anywhere and you think it fits our mission, let me know about it.”

As part of the play “discovery” process, they have play readings the last Tuesday of every month that is free and open to the public. According to Ron, people often submit plays for consideration. Ron said that “in the last month we have probably received twenty, twenty-five plays.” Because budgets are tight and exceptions of a high quality performance, not to mention the limitations of space, cost is an important factor in choosing a play for production.

For every production there are also a number of people who, aside from the actors themselves, work behind the scenes such as a, light operator, sound operator , (a band in the case of their performance of “Jerry Springer-The Opera”), a stage manager, “in Souvenir, we had someone running the follow spot”, Ron said, “we had a fog machine going. We had to have someone running that...” Backstage Ron said you might expect to have 3-7 people. For StageWest, the budget is tight and the space is tight. While that defines the scope of work that can be presented, for Stage West, it seems clear that budget and space is not a disadvantage by any means.

The concept of “urban theatre” is an intriguing one to me, in part because of the challenges StageWest faces in limited space, limited budget, limit seating capacity, and limited production capacity. Yet it continues to survive, even thrive as they seek to establish a broader audience base, and in these respects they are definitely “on the edge”, at least an edge. And, while they can't please everyone, although they would like to please everybody at least some of the time, they have made that decision consciously. “By design” as Ron said earlier in our interview in regards to the age range of the audience.

Ron also pointed out that while StageWest has a “particular attachment to the downtown area” and in the Des Moines Civic Center, it is often overlooked. Ron said, “we are certainly, consistently working at improving our visibility to downtown residents.and we have quite a few subscribers who walk to the theater, they don't drive, they walk.” Understanding the business connections that are created as a result of their downtown proximity have also been a great help, as patrons of StageWest can easily walk to other places downtown, supporting a mutually beneficial relationship. “They walk to the Court Ave. restaurants, the night spots, and many of them like to advertise in our playbills because they know there's a connection and your going to see our audiences before and after a show at one of the neighborhood hangouts.“

Looking ahead, despite the location of StageWest being “sat upon” by those in the Civic Center isn't likely to change. Literally, they seem to have found a niche and they like it.

srs

Gina Gelder
as Florence Foster Jenkins in Souvenir

Photos courtesy of Stage West

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