The Story: First-Person - Mitchell Marcus on Acting Up Stage's season

The Magnificent Arlene Duncan with Michael Levine in the company's highly praised and rewarded Caroline, or Change of last season. Now on to the next season. 

The Journey of a Year
An Artistic Director reveals the ideas behind planning a season
by Mitchell Marcus

Programming a theatre company's season is a complicated job. Most people assume (and in many ways correctly) that it’s the most enjoyable task for an Artistic Director, as he or she gets to delve into possibilities and extract a comprehensive slate of exciting stories to tell onstage. However, creating a season can also be challenging and demanding. How do you balance building on past success while avoiding predictability? How do you find the right mix of programming that strengthens connections with audiences, artists, granting bodies and sponsors? And then, how do you tie this all together in a neat, digestible package? 

At Acting Up Stage Company, we were blessed with a 2011-2012 season where all of the elements magically came together. All of our public presentations (Ride The Cyclone, Caroline, or Change and The Long and Winding Road) received critical and audience acclaim, and we had the good fortune of selling out each production and garnering some wonderful accolades during award season. Where do we go from here? Topping our 2011-2012 year at first seemed an impossible task. But I started where I assume most Artistic Directors must: I began to revisit pieces which had affected me; I attended performances which had received good word of mouth; and, I began to daydream about initiatives which could complement a season's worth of shows. Throughout all this, I tried to determine, as I always do, a driving theme or agenda to unite our 2012-2013 slate. 

Suddenly, the theme of connections came into focus.

I decided right off the bat that we would anchor our season with Falsettos, one of my all-time favorite musicals. Falsettos was last seen professionally in Toronto in the mid-90s, and in a world concerned with the legislation of Prop 8, the It Gets Better campaign, and the recent repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, Falsettos offers a platform for discussion about how far society has or has not progressed since the AIDS era. Looking at the breakdown (and ultimate re-genesis) of family after a father leaves his wife and son for another man, Falsettos explores connections (both losses and gains) of those closest to us. As the characters in Falsettos unite and split apart, their interpersonal connections and separations come to define the path their lives will take. Suddenly, the theme of connections came into focus. 

From this kernel, I decided to chart our 2012-2013 season around the idea of connections – moments of both intentional and happenstance interaction which inevitably alter the larger course of our personal histories. In January, I flew out to Vancouver to see Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata at the Arts Club and was immediately won over by its unique charm. In an attempt to create a song-cycle about connection in the age of faceless interaction, Bill Richardson and Veda Hille have set actual Craigslist postings to indie inspired music. Topically, the show allows the audience to contemplate the morphing nature of connections in the technological age. Theatrically, a piece about isolation brings about an intimately connected ensemble. I knew that Do You Want I Have Got? would be a perfect companion to Falsettos in the coming season. 

Every year, Acting Up Stage Company presents the songbook of a famous musician or band

The last piece of the programming puzzle was to determine which artists to highlight in our annual concert. Every year, Acting Up Stage Company presents the songbook of a famous musician or band, reinterpreted through the lens of some of Canada's finest musical theatre performers. In a season concerning interpersonal connections which definitively shaped the future, it seemed a natural fit to pair two musicians whose lives and work are famously interconnected.  Tapestries: The Music of Carole King and James Taylor explores the music and relationship of two exquisite songwriters and lifelong friends who profoundly affected each other's work. 

With a strong 2012-2013 season in place, and one which focused specifically on connection and interaction at that, it seemed the opportune time to roll out a host of new initiatives to engage the public. Since 2006, we have provided a free professional training program for 45 teenagers from across Ontario called One Song Glory.  It’s the only program of its kind in Ontario and we are so proud to have over 250 grads come through the program who are now appearing on stages all across Canada. While I love getting to watch this emerging talent, it is the connections that are made that I find most inspiring – a community of contemporary musical theatre lovers is built amongst 45 young people from different cities across the province, and each participant builds a relationship with different mentors from the professional theatre community.

Gordon

Building on One Song Glory, it was important to offer a way to engage emerging 20-something artists as well. Therefore, we have introduced The Syd & Shirley Banks Prize this season, which gives two emerging artists $1,000, various showcase and mentorship opportunities and the ability to interact with established artists involved in our 2012-2013 programming. While auditioning we were greeted with a plethora of talent, and I am so excited that the two recipients, Alexis Gordon and Andres Sierra, will have the opportunity to connect with each other and with other artists as they engage in our various activities this coming season.

Sierra

Moreover, 2012-2013 will see the second installation of our revamped NoteWorthy program, which is all about building connections between playwrights and composers. In May we will select three composers and three playwrights for a two-week exercise in playwriting, speed dating style,  in which each composer will have the chance to work with each playwright on a 10 minute musical. In the last round of NoteWorthy composer Reza Jacobs and playwright Andrew Kushner's instant connection led to a new writing partnership, and Acting Up Stage Company (in co-production with the Belfry Theatre) are now workshopping the full length version of their 10 minute musical, Alexandria. 

With three shows focusing on impactful connections, and three more revamped initiatives to reflect the focus of the 2012-2013 programming, we thought we had everything in place. However, the final piece came to us after our season was confirmed, but is – perhaps – the most exciting piece of all. We are very grateful to have been awarded a three year grant from the Trillium Foundation to build a new Audience Engagement program. I won’t give away all of our secrets just yet, but I believe we have found some innovative ways to build a stronger hub for musical theatre at Acting Up Stage, with opportunities for audience engagement both inside and outside the theatre. Whether you are looking to see first-hand how shows are created, want to discuss the themes and topics of the shows in more detail, or just want to keep up to date on musical theatre gossip from around the world, our new activities are for you! Sign-up for our new “Musical Notes” blog when our website relaunches in mid-September for all of the news.

As you can see, programming a season is definitely the most exciting, but simultaneously the most nerve-wracking element of being an Artistic Director. Ensuring that every element works together, while finding stories that will excite our audiences, can be daunting at times. However, I do believe that the 2012-2013 season will allow old audiences to connect with each other, new audiences to interact with us both in the theatre and online and artists to form interesting and fruitful relationships which will hopefully lead to even more interesting and fruitful art. 

Did we do it? Did we successfully put together a hit season? Who knows! But we'd love to hear your thoughts all season long. So please 'Like' us on Facebook (Acting Up Stage), follow us on twitter (@actingupstage) and check out Musical Notes at actingupstage.com starting September 20th. Besides, it's never too early to start taking suggestions for 2013-2014!