An Inconvenient Theater...?
The Imaginative Creativity of Near West Theatre

It's on the third floor of a 100+ year-old building, with rickety stairs and no elevator, escalator or air conditioning. Of course, they do full-scale costumed and staged productions there -- in the summertime! And they don't even charge a reasonable price for their tickets! Six dollars a person? C'mon! Movies cost more than that! How good can they be, anyway? Well, if you ever see even one production of the Near West Theatre, you'll say it's the truly incredible theater! You might even think it's the best theater production you've ever seen. Then you'll wonder: "how do they get so much out of so many people who volunteer their time and energy for months at a time?"

It's a belief that art can be (and should be) used to teach life lessons to anyone with a thirst for learning. That's the mission of NWT, as personified by Founding and now Executive Director Stephanie Morrison-Hrbek and Artistic Director Bob Navis [pictured]. You can see how much they practice what they preach beginning this Friday, July 17 when they open Sweeney Todd in the school version. It's still complicated and difficult Stephen Sondheim -- who doesn't necessarily believe that pretty is essential to telling the story he wants to convey.

Sweeney Todd is primarily the story of injustice. Ask the young people who are performing in this production about the injustice in their lives! The answers will amaze you. They’re eloquent and realistic. They know poverty and homelessness and prejudice first hand, but it doesn’t bury them. They rise above it every day, so working their tails off every night for seven to nine weeks to make something extraordinary is just a piece of cake!

Some of them have been doing it for years, others have come here for the first time. The young performers are only eligible from ages 13 to 19, so they have to learn it fast. Of course, it’s also easier to learn when you want to learn, and if there are people who believe in you to help you along.

Auditions are arduous. Ask anyone. But NWT takes even that process to a new level! The first level—and there are usually 100 or so applicants for each show, some experienced and some first-timers—takes roughly 11 hours overall. Callbacks (to see how the choices mesh together) take another ten. Hours, that is. Navis says, “We do theater exercises—individuals and in groups. The mix is always some with no experience whatever, some with 11 years here, and some who come from other theater backgrounds. Some of that latter batch cannot believe our process, but we need to be sure they all mesh properly on stage.”

Nothing is pre-cast, and last year’s star is not even guaranteed an on-stage role this time around. But there are always openings for the tech crew and/or run crew. There is also a summer technical course for students who want to learn about building sets, etc. They can, if they choose, then be part of the run crew – for the next or future productions.

That was the intent 31 years ago when Stephanie Morrison-Hrbek (Ms. M-H in future here) was asked to form a theater project/company for the neighborhood surrounding St. Patrick’s Church at Bridge and W. 38th Street. The intent will still be the same when they move to their new home in Gordon Square sometime in the next two years or so.

For the first time ever, they’ll have their own space. The tech crew is eagerly looking forward to being able to build sets and not have to watch out for rehearsing dancers. Or storing and distressing costumes someplace other than the seating area for ticket buyers. Not to mention having to bring everything up three flights of stairs just to get to the work space so anything can be done! That’s a dream worth having—and worth working for! In the words of Ms. M-H, “we want to go into our own space—and blossom!” Actually, that should probably be “BLOSSOM!!!”

So what’s so different about NWT and how they approach theatre? Well, take Sweeney Todd, for example. Bob Navis, Jr., the Artistic Director (who chooses the plays to be performed each season) distributes a copy of his ‘Director’s Vision’ – an explanation from his viewpoint of the meaning of the words and the music and even the action in the upcoming production. He purposely looks for plays which mirror today’s society. This season featured Finian’s Rainbow, Once on This Island, and concludes with Sweeney Todd. These choices presented opportunities to analyze and examine what it means to be an American, taking into consideration class, power, revenge, etc. The dialogue continued with today’s world: race, class, foreclosure, unemployment, nuclear threats. Finian confronted many of these aspects when the leprechaun became mortal.

Island confronted racial issues head-on with descendants of French and native (Black) inhabitants. This certainly echoes today’s world, and this play was chosen long before the presidential election of last year!

Preparations for Sweeney Todd began with a visit by mental health professional and poet Joan Hoover, a neighbor who has been active at NWT on and offstage since 1984 including during the coffee-house program era in the late 1980’s. Ms Hoover explained some of the various kinds of mental illnesses to which teens and adults are prone: schizophrenia, paranoia, obsessive-compulsive, ADD and others. Having this knowledge enables the students to become teachers and leaders in real life. (Mental illness and the asylum are major components of this musical.)

Many of the students are already familiar with those who have been in prison or are homeless. NWT makes no distinction in this regard, either. One of their regular actors is, indeed, homeless. But there are also families involved—siblings and parents alike.

The young people who stay with the program learn lessons they take with them into adulthood, not the least being the importance of ‘giving back.’ Recently, some of the alumni of NWT formed the ‘Friends of NWT’ with an ambitious agenda. (Wonder where they learned about that?)

Anyway, they will utilize innovative community projects to gain visibility for the theater. This grass roots effort will extend, expand, augment and support the parent organization. As performers through the years, they learned to think outside the box, and regardless of current career (business, law, medicine or even mainly volunteering) they still make their presence known. Because they know so well—and at first hand—the benefits of learning life lessons through the arts, they make wonderful advocates for the continuation of the program.

Neither Ms. M-H nor Navis are expecting to go anywhere else in the near future, but it has been 30 years, so it’s important to think about leadership succession, for instance. With these two as mentors, the Friends have experienced joy and resilience, the ability to work with a complex assortment of people, to manage, to inspire, (and be inspired by)—and all of this while maintaining a spiritual aspect, as well. In other words, they need to just ‘keep on keeping on’! In May, Stephanie Morrison-Hrbek received the 2009 Cleveland Arts Prize's special Martha Joseph Prize for her work with Near West Theatre. See more details here.

Another innovation is new ticket prices. Ahem. Beginning with next season, they’ll be $8. a person (still $6. for children 12 & under). Of course, there is an option. Star Seats are $20. each. They help NWT continue to offer affordable tickets and bridge the gap between the actual cost of a seat. Since there are only 200-220 seats for each performance (depending on how much room is required for the stage, staging and orchestra), most seats are excellent.

Navis is the visualizer of the pair, and this extends not only to putting the production on stage, but also asking pertinent questions of the architects and planners for the new theater space. “It was important for the form to follow our function” comments Ms M-H. “We need to continue reflecting the spirit of the theater as it is now. And Bob just blew us all away with his perception.”

The current plan is for a combination proscenium/thrust stage, with an open floor, which will allow for approximately 100 seats more than their current space. There will be a full basement, separate bathrooms, costume and scenery building shops. Eventually, there will be another smaller, more intimate theater, too, suitable for coffee-house or poetry readings, and non-musical productions.

Even though they’ll be moving about 30 blocks west, they’ll still be Near West Side, extending from Ohio City into Detroit Shoreway, which means their traditional programming will still be responsive to the community. The complex new concept has been in the active planning stages since 2005, although it was first thought of in 1999. Business activity along Detroit Avenue in theGordon Square Arts District has increased significantly in the last two years. Twenty five new businesses have already located in the area. The first major arts development will be unveiled October 1 of this year, when the Capitol Theater under the management of Cleveland Cinemas begins showing art and independent films similar to the Cedar-Lee — for the first time! Expectation is for 100,000 patrons a year.

A ribbon-cutting celebration is scheduled on September 26th to mark the completion of the Detroit Avenue streetscape construction on Detroit Avenue from West 58th to West 73rd Streets. The new sidewalks, trees and public art will lead people westward to the new theater/dining district which includes multiple restaurants, Cleveland Public Theatre, the Capitol and the as yet-unnamed NWT space. (They are looking for a lead gift, which could include naming rights for the theater.) They’re hopeful of starting the moving process sometime in 2011, with the first production scheduled for late-2111. Maybe.

There’s always hope. Even in this economy, the Lobby has been named by the Kulas and John P. Murphy Foundations.

Navis can be a very hands-on director, for those with little experience. “Sometimes we get surprised by the quality of a young actor. Luke Wehner who is our Sweeney was born to be an actor. He’s instinctive, but also studies a lot before he ever sets foot on stage. Kelcie Nicole Dugger (Anita in last year’s West Side Story) has the arduous role of Mrs. Lovett, but she’s more than capable. On the other hand, our Tobias (Clifton Holznagel) has not tackled such a huge role with us before. He’s usually more of a comedic actor, but he has probably the biggest song in the show Not While I’m Around. This wide range of experience and innate talent is quite typical of our audition process, as we usually find from one extreme in capability to the other. As long as that spark is there, however, we can work with it.”

“We try to bring opposites to life—having artists who always question everything,” he sighs, “Next to the first-timers. It’s good for them to learn from each other.” Navis grows thoughtful. “Sometimes it’s like Acting 101, because some of those who audition have no training or experience at all. But there’s a spark, a certain something that you think can be brought out with patience and hard work—on both sides. We use acting to search for truth—in the play, as well as in life.”

He comes to life when talking about the projected move. “It’s one of the shining lights that’s keeping us going. To have a space of our own. We can then manage a more complex artistic process—and possibly a longer season. But not just to be busy—to us, the process is as important as the product.” After a short pause for reflection, he adds, “It’ll be amazing to have two performing spaces. Now, this one big space is our everything.”

But for now, Sweeney Todd is their current everything. Navis considers this to be Sondheim’s masterpiece. “There is a fierce sense of injustice in Sweeney; he was separated from everything that was his life, totally against his will. This is so much more than the razor-slashing—the focus in our production is the humanity of the characters. I think the audience will be very drawn to them, possibly even to their surprise. Sweeney is not just psychotic—he’s a very real person, pushed to extremes. He just wants to survive. But what do you do when your whole life is just to survive. You have to balance ‘want’ versus ‘need’.

He laughs. “We’re not just about entertainment at NWT.” Indeed. The real question is: Why is this Incredible theater so Invisible to the Community?

To see this production of Sweeney Todd (or maybe make a donation to keep it running smoothly) call the theater box office at 216.961.6391, or visit the website http://www.NearWestTheatre.org. Free parking is available in the lot next to the building.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATroadrunner.com
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