Laura Giannarelli - the 70's, Actor Overview

I'm not sure I have any great tall tales to tell, but I have been around town since getting out of Catholic way back in '78, so I do have a certain 'institutional memory', as it were.

Just off the top of my head, I can tell you that the theatre 'scene' back then was vastly different. The only Equity houses in town were Arena Stage and the Folger, plus Hayloft Dinner Theatre, way out in Mannassas. There was a gaggle of dinner theatres out in the 'burbs, but they were all non-Equity, and other than the National (a touring house only, then as now) and the relatively new-at-the-time Kennedy Center, there was a lot of nothin' out there, especially in terms of work on a small entry level -- New Playwright's Theatre was a hotbed of activity and there was the old Washington Theatre Club, but not much else.

Actors who were lucky enough to get their AEA cards at Arena or the Folger had to go to NYC once they had them, because those theatres virtually never hired local actors to play meaty roles. They cast everything other than walk-ons and understudies out of NY. So, actors would move to NY and then get hired to come work back down here. It was pretty nutty! However, there was really no other choice. Once you got your card, you really couldn't stay here in town, cuz you wouldn't get any work sticking around.There was so little going on professionally in DC compared to today that Catholic University's Drama Department (still headed by Father Hartke back in the '70s) got Press coverage from -- i.e. the shows were reviewed by -- the Washington Post and the Washington Evening Star.

When I was a student there, our main stage productions ran two full weeks, Tuesday through Sunday, with matinees, too!! And people subscribed and came in droves, because there wasn't a lot else to choose from in terms of live theatre. It was wonderful training for us students, but it was also a boon for theatre lovers in town, who had few places to go to see live theatre.

I'm all in favor of some way of holding on to the history of DC theatre. The times change so quickly, and people move on or pass on, and the stories disappear....

Sometime between 1982 and 1984

I don't remember the exact year, but it must have been sometime in the summer between 1982 and 1984: I was cast as "the cat" in a production of Goethe's FAUST, co-produced by The Source Theatre. We were performing behind some abandoned buildings on 14th St., basically in a large alleyway, and we made our entrances and exits through the buildings. One night, i and an actress made our usual exit through an abandoned storefront that led out onto the street. About halfway into the space, we suddenly heard a loud voice say, "Ok, come on out of there!" Both of us were confused and I said something like "what, who is that". The voice said, "Police! Come on out of there, or we're going to send the dogs in!"At this point, the actress i was with literally flew back toward the stage. With images of ravenous police dogs not only attacking me, but running out onto the stage and taking chunks out of the audience, I decided to take my chances and walk toward the voice. Telling them not to "send the dogs in" and holding my "cat" mask high above my head, i crept toward the front of the store. When i get there, i see about 14 cops, plainclothes and uniformed, with guns drawn waiting for little ol' me. Insistent that i just "shut up", they force me facedown onto the sidewalk with no intention of listening to me telling them that i'm an actor in a play.After a few minutes that feel like a few hours, some of the other actors, also in costume, come out, particularly a tall German woman, who yells at the cops to let me up. Eventually, the cops are convinced of what's going on and they quit standing on my neck. I brush myself off, and we go back to resume the play.What i still can't figure out is, what was so valuable in an abandoned building(!) that brought out the entire DC police department (including the K9 squad).
reg metcalf
brooklyn

Fits and Starts

Reading over these posts is already an insightful experience. It seems as though theatre is an organic living creature. Something of strange evolution that is never really stagnet. It's always growing and changing and turning into a different version of itself. And just when someone thinks they've got it nailed and figured out it morphs again. When it does stagnate, there is a stench connected to that as well.

I'm curious about these rivalries and fallings out...not to rehash them in anyway, but to maybe learn something from them. My own experience has taught me that although we think "theatre" in this generic way, really it is a diverse collection of visions and ideas (hopefully) tempered by lots of training and experience. These storms that come in may actually be the things that shape us most. This is difficult to understand when we are trying to build something positive and without flaw. The best characters are always full of flaws. Hard to see when we are in the midst of it.

The difference between good business and good shows can be at odds with itself at the table. So structure becomes the determining factor with regard to success or failure. When you are small and still building foundation, the lack of structure can be a crusher.

Of the many emotional disputes, what can best be gleened from them in hindsight? And, tempering the passion with the paycheck seems to have worked for many individuals in Washington, what's the best advice with regard to that during the foundation building of a company?

onward...deb.

PS. I know, times have changed. What else?

Reply to Lisa Lias' post

Deborah - I tried to post this reply to Lisa Lias' post and I am not sure it posted, so I am sending it to you.

Lisa Lias – so nice to hear your voice again even if only in print. Nice to read your memories. The 70’s were awesome in Washington small theatres because there was more passion than money and nobody thought twice about working 18 to 24 hour days to make theatre happen. Your mention of HAGAR’s CHILDREN peaked my curiosity. I looked up the info. on that production in which you performed a wonderfully sympathetic Sharon. Also in the cast were Brad Oscar – yes, that Brad Oscar of recent Broadway fame and Ron Canada whom we see in so many movies and TV shows … also cast were Paula Marmon, Portia Kamons, Tom Loftis, Mark Morris, Peter Suddeth and here’s one that surprised me … Brian Hemmingsen as the Sheriff. What a great cast – directed by Harriet Davis who worked as an advisor to director Bobby Small on the original production that went on to NYC thanks to Joseph Papp. Wow, you mention the ASTA Theatre – brings backs memories of achievement as well as rivalries and fights when we all tried to worked under one roof – all of us ASTA founders - we all went separate ways and Donna Cooper wound up as head of the company. Oh yeah, the HAGAR production you did was performed in April 1979 as part of New Playwrights’ Theatre’s “Dramathon 79” at the L’Enfant Plaza Theatre because we had been thrown out of our home on Church Street by the fire marshal … how about that – we moved from a 125 seat theatre to an 800 seat theatre … the nerve of us! Oh Lord! And so many actors and techies worked so hard on that 53 hours marathon! I think we raised over $40,000 with that event (a fortune in those days).
Well, you’ve got me thinking when I should be writing on a script that’s due soon. But thanks for the memories Lisa. Those were wonderful years. The Washington Theatre Lab was remarkable, the Horizon’s Theatre Co was wonderful and Bart Whiteman’s passion for theatre gained him a noble following while turning some others off .. but we were all making theatre happen on a shoestring … we succeeded, we failed … and damn, it felt good!