Lyceum directors paint a picture of coming season for patrons

Friday, May 22, 2009
By SYDNEY STONNER/Staff writer

(Eric Crump/Democrat-News) Lyceum Artistic Director Quin Gresham
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About 15 area actors -- and one mid-Missouri dog -- will be part of the Lyceum Theatre summer 2009 company, Artistic Director Quin Gresham told patrons and the board of directors at the theatre's annual season preview tea on Sunday evening, May 3.

Additional actors, numbering about 70, will be brought in from across the country to create "a really well-pedigreed company," Gresham said. They will star in eight plays throughout the season: "Hairspray," "Annie," "Hello, Dolly!" "You Can't Take it With You," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "Nunsense," "Sleuth" and "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play."

"It really is going to be our best season yet," Gresham said.

(Eric Crump/Democrat-News) Lyceum Managing Director Steve Bertani
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In his presentation, Gresham took the audience on a "theatrical journey from page to stage" by explaining the processes of hiring staff and creating design concepts for each production.

Actors are auditioned in towns across Missouri and in New York City after casting calls have been posted on various Web sites. On backstage.com, Gresham said, the Lyceum's announcement received more than 3,500 hits.

The theater got between three and four thousand resumes and photos from hopeful actors, but only auditioned 300 or so. There were also open-call auditions, where anyone can try out, and at least 200 people were turned away because there wasn't time to see them all.

In part, this large turnout was because troubled economic times have led to cutbacks in the theater world, Gresham said.

"For us, it was a good situation because we really were able to get the best of the best," he added.

Gresham also said that his theater in little Arrow Rock has a good reputation even in New York, a city of eight million people, which is another reason so many people come to auditions.

"It makes me smile every time," he said.

Using "Hairspray" -- the first play in the season's line-up, which is set in the early 1960s --Gresham took attendees through the show's design process, from research into the appearance of Baltimore row houses to themes of space exploration and atomic science incorporated into the set.

The colors of the backgrounds must coordinate with the colors of the costumes, and then lighting designers can choose to illuminate the stage using any 400 colors in the "library," Gresham added.

"It all has to work together," he said.

Rehearsals for "Hairpsray" begin in the next few weeks, and the show opens the Lyceum Theatre's 49th season Wednesday, June 3.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net

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I am the artistic director at the Lyceum, BigPoppi, and wanted to clarify a few things about our casting process. While we get a large portion of our talent from New York, we also hire many talented professionals from Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City and, even closer to home, from Marshall, Columbia and Jefferson City. Having grown up in a small town with no professional theatre, I am firmly committed to ensuring that local talent has a chance. When an actor is skilled enough to play ball with our nationally chosen company, regardless of where they are from, they will always have a chance at the Lyceum. Though the Lyceum exists for the betterment of the community, we are not, however, a community theatre so we can't give everyone a chance--just the best of the best. There are many success stories of young actors from the area learning the ropes at the Lyceum and then going on to pursue careers in the business. Though not a program created under my tenure at the Lyceum, it is one of which I'm particularly proud and will continue as long as there are talented and interested performers in the community who wish to participate.

-- Posted by Quin Gresham on Mon, May 25, 2009, at 6:29 PM

if they can get talent from NEW YORK CITY and choose to turn away locals who are interested in acting how will the little guy ever get a chance. This is a small theatre in a small town. Which has a good reputation. It would be nice to put it on a resume for a chance at a bigger theatre. But we will never get that chance. Seeing as how they turn away local small town talent for bigger names who have already had thier opportunity to get out of the small venues.

-- Posted by BigPoppi on Sat, May 23, 2009, at 3:36 AM