5 Years in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre

Last night was the "final" curtain call (for the time being...) on the Pasadena Playhouse main stage. As readers of this blog and followers of the theatre scene in L.A. know the last 10 days have been a whirlwind at Pasadena Playhouse. The fact that such a venerable institution is forced to shut down is a major setback to the arts in Pasadena, the greater L.A. theatre community, and of course to many an individual associated with the institution. Furious has been caught up in what will surely prove to be a major course-changing event in our company history. What's next? Can our show "Men of Tortuga" (2 weeks into rehearsal when the harsh and swift news of the Playhouse's fate came down) continue as planned? Is staying in the CHT (as we'd prefer) even possible? We hope to have answers within the next two days. Whichever way this turns out, the events of the past several days, have made me reflect on our time at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre and at the Pasadena Playhouse. 15 productions in 5 life-changing years. A few random, but important highlights?

Spring 2004- We're called into a meeting with Sheldon Epps and Lyla White at the Playhouse's offices on Lake St. The pitch: "What would you think about taking residence in our second stage? No strings attached. Rent free." I remember it as an out-of-body experience. Too good to be true. We'd been homeless for a year (opting not to produce until we found an ideal situation). Several months later, we had a key to stage door, and started rehearsals and a low-budget mini-renovation of the space. The Playhouse never got enough credit for how bold a move this was.

2004 - Labor Day weekend. The ensemble moves in. We are going to rip out the existing 140 seats and 10ft. deep stage, at least triple the stage depth, and remove all the seating replacing the old seats with some from our old space. We are doing this while rehearsing Scenes from the Big Picture by Owen McCafferty. It has a cast of 21 and 43 scenes of Belfast life. We want to start big, make our mark. The big idea was to completely change-over a theatre space, and produce a giant play without staff and real budget all in 6 weeks or so. Almost all of us still had day jobs. Foolish? We ran into major electrical problems as we hit tech. This show nearly broke us. In the final days before opening, we slept in shifts on the floor of the lobby fruitlessly trying to "make the lights do what we were telling them to", finish the program, finish the set, the sound design, etc. Melissa Teoh, ensemble member and set designer, went to Target and bought everybody toothbrushes and toothpaste---no one had been home to brush their teeth. I remember too changing clothes in the lobby multiple times as the next day's rehearsal arrived so that the guest actors wouldn't know we'd been there all night and the following day. In the end, it turned out well enough. And while we certainly survived the show, we had little time to recover. Another big idea was that we would produce 4 plays in 9 months. At that time, everybody worked on every show. It was the same 10 people swapping responsibilities. In the end, we opened 5 plays in about 12 months. We slowed down in subsequent years. Quality of experience over quantity.

2005 - We had to lobby to get the rights to the first L.A. production of The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute. Sheldon Epps helped out with a phone call. This was the first time we experienced the leverage that our Playhouse relationship would give us. Also, as our second production at the Playhouse, we had not recovered from the stress and strain of our over-reaching first production. The Shape of Things went extremely smoothly. I remember a significant moment during tech rehearsal when we were standing around (several of us) calmly discussing which gel color to use for a a scene. We had figured out how to get our lights to do what we told them to do, and things were calm enough where the subtlest change in color mattered--we had stopped just trying to survive, and were enjoying ourselves.

Summer 2005 - We started getting paid. The show happened to be The Fair Maid of the West, but the significance is that it was the production on which everybody top to bottom "got paid". Not much, but something that felt significant. This was possible because our more visible position at the Playhouse had helped us attract an impressive board of directors, who knew how to fund-raise, and of course our rent-free situation allowed us to allocate funds to the artists instead of rent.

Quality over Quantity - We only produced 4 plays between 2006 and 2007, two per year. Each production wound up on multiple best of the year and awards lists, and 3 out of 4 plays earned awards for their playwrights.

Blackouts - Ever since our arrival into the space, it's been slated for an imminent renovation. And it needs one. Periodic blackouts have been part of the experience of working at the theatre. See here and here.

Guns - Contrary to popular opinion, no one has to die on stage in order for a play to get a Furious production. However, there have been several gunshots fired in the Carrie Hamilton in the last five years. For two memorable misfires, see here and here.

Staff - In 2007, we took the leap and were able to hire 3 of our ensemble members to staff positions (a full-time general manager, and two part-time positions). We've been able to maintain our g.m. position, but the tough economy forced us to cut one of our part-time staff jobs last year. Still, this was a milestone.

The switch to an AEA contract - we had operated on an Equity "waiver" agreement since our first production, but each year we increased the actors' stipends, and began paying for rehearsal (which is not required by the 99 seat plan). In 2009, we moved to a contract and intend to remain on one whether at the Carrie Hamilton or elsewhere.

Kids, lots of kids - There are several couples in Furious. When we began at the Playhouse, there was one Furious baby. A little over five years later...8 Ensemble offspring. And while they have made life better for us all I think it's safe to say, they've also made the act of producing theatre...trickier. In other words, no more sleeping on the floor of the theatre. See "Acting and Motherhood, also here and here.

A Note from Sheldon Epps

Here is a letter to the public (via the Los Angeles Times) from Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps regarding the pending closure/reorganization of the theatre.

I read a story once about the great painter Pablo Picasso. Apparently there were many times when, in the process of creating one of his great works of art, he would find himself frustrated, confused, overwhelmed, or somewhat defeated by what was in front of him as he painted. This could happen either at the beginning of the process, or after many weeks or even months of work on a painting. At those moments he sometimes found that the best, though sometimes difficult choice was to toss the problematic canvass, and in his words, “Begin again.” Though this could be painful to do, it was by starting with a clean canvas that he was able to get past whatever the challenges were, get the painting that he wanted on to the new canvas, and as a result, create some of his most successful works of art.

Pasadena Playhouse is a great arts institution. We are fortunate to consistently create valuable works of theatrical art with such artistry and skill that -- when we are truly blessed -- our work can touch on greatness. The Playhouse is also a vital community service organization which trains young artists and new audiences, and opens the minds of thousands of young people to the power of the arts. Both of these tasks, creating great art and serving our community, are at the very heart of our mission, and we fulfill that mission with admirable expertise.

However, there are entanglements, obligations, and literal burdens that the theatre has been saddled with for many years that are the result not of what we do in the present, but of poor and misguided decisions in the past. While we have been able to move forward in spite of those challenges over the past decade and come out shining artistically, the fact is that a tsunami of events has now caused these challenges to feel insurmountable, and in fact impeded in a severe way our capacity to do what we do best. Our ability to function incredibly well as a theatre company attracts substantial resources from sales, from contributed income, and from government and foundation support (not to mention a high level of respect and admiration in our field). Unfortunately, far too often those resources must go to obligations created in that nefarious past, rather than to the support of the current art on our stage, and the valuable activities that make us vital right now.

The proposed reorganization will have its own set of challenges, questions, and complications to work through. But it is a way to “Begin again”! This could well be a means for us to expunge the burdens of the past and move forward with a clean canvas. If we can do this properly, with determination, with the pride and dignity that we deserve to display, this plan could well give us a valuable fresh start and allow us to focus our full energies on what we do best. It could give us the valuable opportunity to get back to the pure and valuable joy of creating theatrical art devoted to the promise of the present rather than the burdens of the past. Imagine the possibilities.

-- Sheldon Epps

We'll continue to post news here about the Playhouse's situation as well as what it all means to the future of Furious.

Furious Saddened by Pasadena Playhouse Closing

Furious Theatre Company is deeply saddened to hear the news about the closing of the historic theatre that has generously given us a home for over 5 years. Our relationship with Pasadena Playhouse has done amazing things for our company, and we'll be eternally grateful for our time here as part of the Playhouse family. Our sympathies go out to our friends on the Playhouse staff who are losing their jobs. Although this news presents some immediate challenges for our organization, we are determined to continue with our current season as planned. We are moving forward with our upcoming production of Jason Wells' MEN OF TORTUGA and will explore all options to keep its February 20 opening on schedule in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre. Furious is aware that the current situation will present obstacles but it is our hope that the generous support we have received from our patrons and donors will continue to be there to lift us up in what is sure to be a greater time of need. While it is uncertain where our company will be producing in the future we remain committed to bringing "furious" theatre to Los Angeles audiences.

To read more about this breaking news, follow the LA Times story here.

Furiouser and Furiouser

Here are a few quotes from a really fun (and flattering) write-up by Backstage veteran critic Les Spindle on our 2010 season.

Click here to read the entire blog post.

Furiouser and Furiouser










"One of L.A.'s most acclaimed and adventurous theater groups, Furious Theatre Company, has announced its seventh season, to be presented at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre, adjacent to the Pasadena Playhouse, except for the third offering, which will be staged at a venue to be announced. Pictured here is a scene from last season's magnificent production of Bruce Norris' startling domestic drama The Pain and the Itch, a co-production between Furious and Theatre @ Boston Court. The bill of fare for 2010 sounds as intriguing and edgy as the work we have come to expect from this young but highly accomplished company."

"The only thing likely to make me furious about this lineup would be missing any entries in this most tantalzing season."

Be Furious.

Men of Tortuga - 1st Rehearsal

Here are a few photos from last night's first read/rehearsal for Men of Tortuga - the first production in Season 7 at Furious.







Model of the Scenic Design

The Sound Design Plot












Director Alexis Chamow talking through some ideas with ensemble member Damaso Rodriguez






Cast, Creative Team and Company in the room for the first time


More to come...

Be Furious.

The Best of L.A. Theater in the '00s

In this week's LA Weekly, Steven Leigh Morris writes an insightful article detailing the wins and losses of the Los Angeles Theatre Scene over the past ten years. Read it here.

Included in his article is a list of the "best theatre companies for the past decade", and we're honored to be included. In addition to listing the wins and losses, SLM - always the champion of smaller theatres here in L.A. - sheds some light on the current state of the city's scene and how a majority of what actually shapes our scene locally "flies under the radar" from a regional and national perspective. Hence, making it difficult for L.A. to be recognized for what it factually is - the number one theatre producing city in America.

Here's to an exciting 2010 together. Be Furious in the New Year!

2009 Shout-Outs

With several hundred plays running during a Los Angeles theatre season, it truly is an honor just to be remembered (let alone nominated for something!). Check out the following shout-outs for our 2009 productions.

Veteran L.A. theatre critic, Don Shirley, includes Furious' production of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's "Hunter Gatherers" in his list of 2009 season highlights in his LA Stage Watch column:
CLICK HERE

Mr. Shirley also called out our production on the air during yesterday's "Theatre Roundup" segment on Airtalk with Larry Mantle, 89.3 KPCC.
CLICK HERE

And a few weeks ago in his "blogstage" column, Back Stage and Theatremania critic Les Spindle called this summer's co-production of Bruce Norris' "The Pain and the Itch" with the wonderful Theatre @ Boston Court, "one of the most thrilling and adventurous productions
of the year."
CLICK HERE

Here's to a happy and memorably Furious 2010!

Find out more from BroadwayWorld.com about our upcoming season below:

CLICK HERE

Landry's Last Days (For Now)

Here is a Blog that I asked Landry (our summer intern) to write, reflecting on her last week of work with us. Furious will miss Landry and so will I. We wish her the best because she deserves it. - Nick

Last Blog of the Summer

I have to say, I don’t really want to write this blog because I know that it is the one in which I have to ‘wrap-up’ and say my goodbyes to this internship. Nick asked me a week or so ago what I wanted to get out of my last days here, and my answer was insurance that these are not my last days as a part of Furious.

This internship has been invaluable to me. I have learned things I never could’ve predicted and been lucky enough to work on bits and pieces of almost everything. I learned what goes into a press release, how to use EBay and Craigslist, what a Spuderito is, how to write and distribute a survey, and how to write thank-you and renewal letters to donors large and small. Oh, and to make best friends with Excel Spreadsheets. I also learned the reality of non-profits. Non-profits are messy, unpredictable, and require so much more care than most for-profit businesses with not always as much thanks. But the most important thing I learned is what an amazing contraption Furious Theatre Company really is.

I guess the thing I least expected from this internship was to come out of it with not only connections, but to come out of it with friends. The people I’ve gotten close with in Furious are not only people I immensely admire, but also people I actually want to keep in touch with because they’re all so damn cool. It’s always nice to like the people you are working for, but I think it’s incredibly lucky to actually want to go to work everyday and want to do even tedious tasks because they further the mission of these amazing people and their mission for this incredible company.

I’m not sure what I’ll do everyday without hearing Nick sing all of the incredibly wrong but creative words to my favorite songs. I’m also not sure what I’ll do without him there every Monday morning to discuss the antics of the weekend, or to help me pick out the perfect pair of new sunglasses, or to throw Nerf darts around the room while discussing the day’s goals and occasionally hit me in the face with one (by accident, of course.)

There are parts of every Furious person that I have gotten close to this summer that I want to be exactly like. I don’t want to say I’m obsessed with this company and the people in it, but…I mean…maybe a little. Not to be dramatic, but this internship has changed my life. I have so much more clarity now about theatre and how much work goes into every aspect of it, and I’ve learned even more the importance of being a passionate person. If you’re not doing something you’re passionate about, what’s the point of doing it?

Thank you so much to everyone I had the pleasure of working with this summer, and just being friends with this summer, especially Doug, Brad, Eric, Dámaso, Georgia, Megan, Vonessa, Katie, Christie, Brian, and of course Nick.

I was able to do this internship through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission grant. For those of you that don’t know, this program includes 125 different internships with companies in the arts community in Los Angeles. If these internships don’t exist next year, it will be a huge shame. They are not currently in the 2010 LA County Arts Commission budget, and I can only imagine the detriment to the arts community to not continue to expose the next generation of arts professionals to these incredible companies in such a brilliant way. I, and every other intern I have discussed this with, would without a doubt apply to the program again for as many years as we are eligible. This program presents the best of all worlds, we can make connections for our futures, get a very necessary dose of reality of what the world of the arts really is, give invaluable help to the company we fit best with, and even get paid. The loss of this program would be an undeniable shame. If you are an intern, a mentor, or a person who saw the difference an intern made for a company or the difference the internship made in the intern’s life, please email Anji Milanovic at amilanovic@arts.lacounty.gov. She is fighting to keep the program, and I know showing your support will help immeasurably.

Opening Weekend: An Intern's Perspective

The Pain and the Itch Has Opened!

The jarring content of Bruce Norris’ The Pain and the Itch was perfect for Furious’ first ever co-production with The Theatre @ Boston Court. A year and some pocket change after the decision was made, the show opened. The weekend was a very exciting one for Furious, with a successful fundraising event filled with generous supporters and of course the West Coast premiere of the monstrous baby that is The Pain and The Itch.

As the Furious summer intern, some of the biggest tasks I have had were all centered around one night, July 26^th: our opening weekend fundraising event and performance. That night finally came this past weekend. It felt like prom; all of the planning had happened and it was now out of our hands, and we were waiting in our nice clothes for people to show up.

The event was held in the beautiful Pasadena Playhouse library Sunday evening, with awesome food from Elements Kitchen (especially the pita chips and the chocolate tarts…oh my gosh…) and some great storytelling by Furious co-founder, company member, and P & I director Dámaso Rodriguez and Co-Artistic Director of The Theatre @ Boston Court Michael Michetti. The guests learned about brief versions of the histories of both companies and how they finally came together for this amazing production. They also discussed the play itself, the budget-deceiving set, and challenges brought about by this particular production, among other things. Additionally mentioned was the Furious Ebay Auction, please please please contact us at furioustheatre@yahoo.com or 626 792-7116 you have anything to donate!

The show itself, in my opinion at least, is incredibly funny and entertaining, but also extremely challenging. Dámaso referred to it during his storytelling as an “equal opportunity offender.” Much of the chatter I heard after the show on Sunday night included people reflecting on their own lives and reassuring their specific distinctions from these characters. One patron exclaimed “What a rollercoaster ride!” I think this is very true: it is a rollercoaster ride. If there were audience instructions they would be laugh, tear up, kick yourself for laughing, gasp, laugh, reel back in shock, laugh, and repeat. It’s truly a must see.

-Posted by Landry Allbright

LA Times Preview of THE PAIN AND THE ITCH

In case you missed the awesome feature in this past weekend's Sunday Times or the post on the LA Times Culture Monster Blog. Here are a couple of preview pieces written by Charlotte Stoudt on our co-production with The Theatre @ Boston Court.

This one ran in print on Sunday and on the LA Times online entertainment section:

Collaboration makes way for 'The Pain and the Itch'

Pasadena's Furious Theatre Company and Boston Court combine resources to stage the Bruce Norris satire, which pokes fun at liberal proclivities.

By Charlotte Stoudt
July 19, 2009

If you customize your latte at Starbucks, choke up at images of the Obamas from election night and TiVo at least one show on PBS featuring British accents, playwright Bruce Norris has you in his sights.

After successful runs in New York, London, Chicago and Boston, Norris' wicked satire of blue-state family values, "The Pain and the Itch," opens Saturday in a co-production between Pasadena's Furious Theatre Company and Theatre @ Boston Court. With an elaborate set, production-specific videos and a central role for a 4-year-old, "Pain" required the combined resources of two theater companies known for risky programming.
Sometimes it takes a village to offend liberals.

Click here to read the full feature.

This blog about the show was also posted to the LA Times Culture Monster Arts blog:

The pain of creating 'The Pain and the Itch'

by Charlotte Stoudt

4:00 PM, July 18, 2009

Director Damaso Rodriguez knew he was facing certain challenges with “The Pain and the Itch,” set to open at Theatre @ Boston Court on July 25. Bruce Norris’ intricate satire of blue state bad manners requires a major role for a child actor, an extensive set and the use of video. But the Furious Theatre Company artistic director never anticipated that staging a play could feel so much like shooting a movie.

Click here to read the full blog.

The Pain and the Itch opens this Saturday, July 25th and will close August 23rd...get your tickets now!

Hello from Furious Intern Landry Allbright

My name is Landry Allbright and I’m this summer’s Furious intern. I’m a rising sophomore and B.F.A. Acting major at Emerson College in Boston. It’s my third week, and I have to say, this internship is pretty awesome. I am beyond excited to be a part of the team behind Furious Theatre Company. The other day, I was typing up some handwritten notes from an April company meeting and the goals discussed put a whole new layer on the multi-tier cake of respect and admiration I have for Furious.

After stumbling across the listing on the LA County Arts website, I applied for this internship. Shamefully, I knew very little about Furious so I did research all over the internet and only found things which highly appealed to me. After my first phone interview with Nick (Furious General Manager and Ensemble Member), I gained immense excitement for the position. Several emails and another interview later, I was hired!

For the last two weeks I’ve been working on what we like to call FUNdraising through several different mediums including our Furious EBay Auction. (Be sure to check it out!) I’ve also been working hard to help expand our presence on social networking sites, etc. (Take this survey to help us out if you haven’t already!) Probably the coolest thing I’ve gotten to do is attend the awesome first read thru of The Pain and The Itch last week; this show is definitely a must-see. Don’t miss out! Tickets are on sale now.

I’ll be hanging around here basically being mini-Nick Cernoch for 8 more weeks. I’m already sad you can only hold this position once, but don’t tell anyone.

The Pain and the Itch Report - Cast in Huggies?

Furious is hard at work in the rehearsal room for the season ending co-production of Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch with The Theatre @ Boston Court. It's only been a week and we've almost blocked the entire play! The cast is close-knit regardless of who's a Furious veteran or first-timer. The team and facilities at Boston Court are allowing the creative process to flow at its smoothest! In short, things are going swimmingly.

This weekend was the first time everyone got to work with Olivia, one of the ADORABLE little girls in the role of Kayla, the impish daughter suffering from the title affliction. As it goes, she's older than her character, and while her character wears Huggies in the show, SHE certainly does not.

Thus, the cast, ever empathetic, decided to raise her comfort level by shrugging off their own, donning diapers themselves for the rest of the day. So, no, these pictures are not evidence of an incontinent cast, but rather a show of solidarity with their youthful comrade. It was a very sweet gesture that very much impressed this Assistant Director from the other side of the table.

More inside scoop to come.

-Dan Steele

Kevin Vavasseur as Mr. Hadid

Brad Price as Clay

Scott Lowell as Cash

Katie Davies as Kalina

Vonessa Martin as Kelly

Furious Turns 7...Welcomes New Ensemble Members

Furious Theatre celebrated it's 7th Anniversary this past Sunday.  April 26 marks the date of the very first public performance of Saturday Night at the Palace, Furious Theatre Company's inaugural production in 2002.

The Furious Ensemble that has been built in stages (starting with 6 founders in 2002 and growing to 15 in 2007 when its last "class" of members was added) grew again on the company's latest Anniversary with the addition of Matt Pelfrey and Megan Goodchild.

Pelfrey has been Furious Theatre's award-winning playwright in residence since 2007 when the company produced his play, An Impending Rupture of the Belly as it's first World Premiere.  His plays have been produced across the U.S. with recent productions and workshops in New York and San Francisco. Matt teaches playwriting at UCLA and continues to write Furiously...we're very proud that he calls Furious his artistic home.  Read more about Matt and his writing here.

Megan Goodchild first appeared on the Furious stage in Playboy of the Western World back in 2002.  After leaving L.A. to pursue an apprenticeship with Actor's Theatre of Louisville, she returned in 2006 and re-connected with Furious, working as a designer, assistant director and most recently as an actress again this season in US Drag, for which she was nominated, along with fellow ensemble member Katie Davies, for an LA Weekly Theatre Award.

Congratulation, thank you and welcome to Matt and Megan and Happy Anniversary to Furious Theatre!