Friday, November 21, 2008
The old Pachamama’s building at the corner of 23rd and Kasold streets looks common at first glance, but it will soon house what will be the only Shakespearean theater in Kansas.
The building’s Shakespearean atmosphere — a double roof and woods with a creek and a footbridge in back — drew Victoria Hartman in.
The building that was formally Pachamama's Restaurant will soon be turned into a Shakespearean Theater and will employ KU students through independent study classes and internships. Students in the department of English, theatre, music and dance will have the opportunity to work at the theater, which is planned to open by next summer.
Hartman, a playwright who recently moved to Lawrence, first noticed the building’s potential while sitting on a bench outside it, finishing rewrites for her play, “Monsoon Christmas.” Hartman has since developed a plan to use the building as the home of the Shakespeare Repertory Theater Company. The theater will offer students the opportunity to watch Shakespearean plays and to participate in the productions.
Jackie Koester, Hoisington sophomore, played the “Lady of the Night” in the University Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” last semester.
Koester said a Shakespearean theater in Lawrence would give students the opportunity to explore themes such as love, hatred and passion and the history behind Shakespeare’s works.
“Shakespeare’s themes still have significant meanings and relevance, even in today’s generation,” Koester said.
The company plans to present five performances each season and feature professional and local actors. It will also offer about 30 independent study opportunities and internships for college students, programs for students in secondary school and training for people interested in careers in Shakespeare.
Hartman is working to build partnerships with the department of theatre and film; the department of music and dance and the schools of fine arts, business and education at the University. She said she hoped to work with schools and universities in Lawrence, Topeka, Ottawa, Manhattan and Kansas City.
Paul Laird, professor of music and dance, spoke with Hartman about the project. He said the theater would give musicology students who generally worked with papers and presentations a chance to design, perform or arrange music for a production.
Hartman said she plans to create a managing producer position to help handle the budget, ticket sales and daily business of the company.
Joe Haugh, Leawood senior, is a marketing major with a concentration in entrepreneurship. He said an internship such as the one at the theater would be beneficial for business students.
“You actually get to put some of what you’ve learned out in the real world,” Haugh said.
Professionals from Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Mass., will teach some classes for a month-long intensive professional actor training program. Hartman said the company inspired her to start her own theater in Lawrence.
Hartman said she was excited about the design for the theater, which will include a T-shaped stage to allow for more interaction with the audience. The building will also include set and costume shops and three acoustically designed practice rooms for art forms such as stage fighting, clowning and Elizabethan dance.
In the spring, the theater will sponsor a number of fundraisers to pay for expenses, including an “Amazing Shakespeare Race” based on the CBS program “The Amazing Race.” Hartman will ask businesses to donate money for the event, which will feature contestants racing to four Kansas cities in three days, performing tasks related to Shakespearean works. The winning team will receive $10,000.
Hartman said the goal for the theater was to be self-sustaining in three to five years. She said the projected yearly revenue was $150,000 from class tuition and $300,000 from ticket sales.
Along with playwriting, Hartman is also a director and producer. Her play “Monsoon Christmas” was well received around the country, winning awards such as Critics Choice in the L.A. Times for seven months and four NCAAP Image Awards. The play will premiere in New York this spring.
The Shakespeare Repertory Theater Company is scheduled to open for the 2009 spring/summer season.
— — Edited by Becka Cremer
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