Sunday, August 22, 1999
Theatre director stages non-stop work days in artful fashion
BY JACKIE DEMALINE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
D. Lynn Meyers poses in a trunk used in ETC's production of Violet!
(Yoni Pozner photo)
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D. Lynn Meyers gets up at 6:30 a.m. That's not by choice. Her big old dog, Nicholas, decides it's a fine time for an outdoor romp. Nicholas won't see her again for 12 hours, or more likely 16, so she figures he's earned it. So has she.
As producing artistic director at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Ms. Meyers often works long hours, most of them devoted to making ETC's six-play subscription season happen.
Theater people don't take the summer off. A month before the season opens Sept. 8, with the regional premiere of Side Man, Ms. Meyers still arrives at the theater at 8:30 a.m.
But before she leaves home, she does the usual morning things: shower, breakfast, open mail — bills.
“I never open the mail at night. It makes me sick,” she says.
Then it's off to work. This was Lynn Meyers' day on a Thursday, earlier this month.
• 8:30 a.m.
Ms. Meyers is greeted in the blue tarp-covered ETC lobby by Delilah, the theater cat, hungry for breakfast. There's an industrial-sized fan blocking the path, a strange haze in the air and the blast of what sounds like a jackhammer.
She says hi to workers who are midway through a multiweek renovation project.
Today's task is to create an entryway between the theater, the adjacent building soon to house some administrative offices and staff and the staff parking lot. Thirty inches of brick and plaster have to be brought down.
The haze isn't coming from the heavy-duty hammering. The tech crew is testing a hazer, borrowed from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Hopefully it will create atmospheric smoke for Side Man. It must be working because the smoke alarm goes off at 8:35 a.m.
• 8:45 a.m.
She crosses the ETC stage, empty now except for multiple ladders and odd prop pieces set off to the side. She's headed to the rabbit warren of steps and spaces in back that house the staff. She shares her small office with managing director Rick Diehl and tall piles of scripts and resumes. From here you can't hear the hammering.
She wants to get through a lot of those resumes today. If not, she'll have to load them in a suitcase and haul them off to Los Angeles, where she'll be auditioning actors for Side Man over the weekend. Her flight departs at 7 p.m.
The good news is Ms. Meyers may be able to audition actors and see her longtime sweetie, Roger Abell, a crew member on the prime-time sitcom Veronica's Closet.
She won't see her longtime writing agent, which is just as well because the book, play and other writing projects she likes to work on have gotten scant attention these last few months.
She plans to leave the theater at 4:30 p.m., figuring that will give her time to go home and pack.
She points to a good-sized woven basket (with handle) on her desk that's stuffed with paperwork.
“That's "The Basket,'” she says. “I do something from the basket every day.”
• 9 a.m.
Nine staff members meet onstage, sitting in a semicircle. Significant among the props already gathered for Side Man is a cushy green leather circular booth. (It was bought at auction from the Blue Cactus restaurant and loaded into a car by techie Shannon Rae Lutz. “In a dress,” she boasts.) For the rest of the day, everybody will want to hold meetings in the booth. Construction noise underscores all conversation.
Staff reports are mostly good news: subscriptions more than 1,000; single tickets go on sale Monday; the addition of some Saturday matinees; new board member Van Ackerman is helping with access to the Fifth Third Bank Broadway Series mailing list.
The marketing and development folks are in high gear on special events: an evening at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on Wednesday, a “friend-raiser” with jazz at the 20th Century in Oakley on Sept. 2 and an Oct. 18 ladies luncheon anchored to Earhart. They're hunting for an event chairperson for the last.
There's a planned follow-up to the Fountain Square Arts in the Heart event last May with plans for an arts gift bag. Much discussion about what Ensemble's contribution might be.
Everybody likes the idea of a CD sampler of music from the upcoming holiday production Around the World in 80 Days. Cost will be checked.
It's also announced that T.J. Maxx is planning an arts-themed display window that will be on view through October. What will ETC provide?
The staff starts planning the next week's meet-and-greet season kick-off party for board, staff and interns, who are due Monday.
The tech department wants to know when Ms. Meyers can bring the Side Man cast onstage to rehearse. The sooner the better, she says.
The staff schedules a group clean-up of the basement costume and prop rooms. Ms. Meyers promises to call the company that installed the gates for the parking lot. When it rains, the electronic eye gets cranky and uncooperative.
Ms. Meyers urges all staffers to remember a colleague's birthday.
The meeting adjourns at 10:20 a.m.
• 10:20 a.m.
Waiting in her office are Janet Vogt and Mark Friedman, who have a new musical based on the children's classic Anne of Green Gables. They'd like to workshop Green Gables as part of summer 2000's Off-Center/On-Stage series.
Ms. Meyers has decided she wants a comedy, a drama and a musical for Off-Center. This is the third meeting over the course of several months, and the partners have brought along their revised first act and a demo CD.
Ms. Meyers is coming down to the wire on Off-Center decisions, but she's concerned about the size of Green Gables, which has a cast of 22. “Doing something this big in a space this small ... I'm worried about the scope.”
“Our goal is to get it up in our own town,” Mr. Friedman says. “We want to get it on a stage.”
“I don't want you to limit your vision,” Ms. Meyers worries.
They're interrupted by a call from the vacationing Mr. Diehl. It's the one call she takes among a frenzy of notes that pass through a crack in the closed door. Calling from West Virginia, Mr. Diehl wants to make sure there are enough signed checks to tide the theater over until his return. (There are.)
Back to Green Gables. No problem, Ms. Vogt and Mr. Friedman assure her. They'll be happy with a reader's theater production — no set, no costumes, a combo instead of an orchestra. It's fairly solid that local favorite (and former Broadway star) Pam Myers will sign on with the project.
“Whatever we can do,” Mr. Friedman says.
“What's the deadline for a decision?” asks Ms. Vogt, joking, “which day do we send flowers?”
Ms. Meyers promises them an answer within a week. If it's a go, she says, they can expect a preliminary production meeting shortly after Side Man opens. They adjourn at 11 a.m.
• 11 a.m.
Ron the Carpet Guy is waiting with samples. Decisions have to be made for the new office space and a new back row of seats in the theater.
Ms. Meyers is told that the electrician, contracted for the air conditioning next door, has come and gone. He didn't like the noise. A few staffers offer opinions on the carpet pieces, some preliminary choices are made. Ron departs at 11:20 a.m.
• 11:20 a.m.
Color cast photo enlargements from 1998-99 season closer Violet appear. Ms. Meyers admires them as she returns the couple of calls from a would-be producer who wants to see a production of a small, AIDS-related rock musical, The Last Session, at ETC in mid-summer 2000.
The idea is that ETC will put the production together if he raises the necessary $40,000. They set a deadline for fund-raising. Phone call ends at 11:40 a.m.
• 11:45 a.m.
Intern director Bob Rais walks Ms. Meyers to her car to bring her up-to-date on the morning.
Usually Ms. Meyers and Co. stroll over to Kroger's soup-and-salad bar for lunch, but today she's meeting with Barbara Kellar, president of the local MacDowell Society, the arts and literature group.
Ms. Meyers has committed to directing a staged reading of the contemporary political comedy View of the Dome (by Cincinnati native Theresa Rebeck) for the new Theatre of the Mind in May.
They're discussing the possibility of doing an excerpt for the society's annual gathering. Ms. Kellar is also an ETC board member, so the business is interspersed with backstage dish, all off the record.
• 2 p.m.
Ms. Meyers catches up with a meeting (in the leather booth) about ETC's new Web site. Board member and marketing pro Donna Wymore and ETC marketing and development staffers (respectively) Mike Boberg and Sarah Warner unveil what would be the region's first arts “Flash” site. It has an applauding audience, a site map, the potential for movie trailer-style promotion of ETC productions and ticket orders.
“This is so great!” Ms. Meyers says. “My problem is the cost. Right now we have zip budget.”
“It'll be OK,” Mrs. Wymore says. “This will be a showcase site for us.”
The plan is to have it in operation by September at www.cintietc.com
• 2:30 p.m.
Ms. Meyers takes a 15-minute break from the meeting to greet board member Mary Mahler, who has come to check the progress of the demolition.
Coincidentally, Ms. Meyers' mother Audrey stops by. This is a particular piece of serendipity because Ms. Meyers has already realized she won't have time to pack. Mom says she'll be happy to take care of it.
She returns to the Web site meeting. After about 15 minutes Mr. Rais starts passing through making reasonably subtle hand signals. Actors are starting to back up in the demolition dust in the lobby for audition appointments for Side Man. The Web site meeting concludes, with much thanks, at 3 p.m.
Ms. Meyers sees her guests out, as she has with everyone, all day.
• 3 p.m.
Ron the Carpet Guy returns. Ms. Meyers hands him off to a staffer. She greets the actors (who include ETC regulars Michael Bath, Annie Fitzpatrick, Gordon Greene and Greg Procaccino). She and Mr. Rais hand out scripts; she gives some notes.
• 3:10 p.m.
Audition scenes begin in ones, twos and groups. Actors and director discuss characterization. They repeat scenes with variations. In between, the guys discuss Mr. Bath's wrenched knee.
Side Man is Warren Leight's drama about his father, Gene, a great musician but a lousy father and husband. The auditioners are going after him, but not nailing him.
Ms. Meyers offers clues to interpretation.
“He's hard. He's just somewhere else ... He's emotionally numb ... There's a lack of physical energy. He's a 45 playing on 33 ... He's a blur.” Auditions conclude at 4:15 p.m.
Ms. Meyers takes a five-minute breather. The first draft of Around the World in 80 Days arrived while she was in the Web site meeting. Collaborators (composer) David Kisor and (playwright) Joe McDonough had promised to give it to her for her birthday Aug. 19. Ms. Meyers is giddy that it's early.
Duffy Hudson is waiting. That 4:30 p.m. exit from the theater isn't going to happen.
• 4:20 p.m.
Ms. Meyers puts on her casting hat for Mr. Hudson. He's the screenwriter and producer for Tattered Angels, which he hopes will soon become a locally produced independent film.
Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) is already on board, but Mr. Hudson wants a quick sit-down with Ms. Meyers before she heads to L.A. Ms. Meyers has done local casting for Cincinnati region shoots from Shawshank Redemption to Crossing Fields.
They settle into the green leather booth.
“What can I do for you?” she asks.
Mr. Hudson wants a name actress for the second lead “who doesn't need to do it for the money.” The name that tops his wish list is Brooke Shields, who was among the people who performed in it a decade ago when the screenplay was a one-act. He's written to her; her people have written back noncommitally.
Ms. Meyers says she'll call Ms. Shields management when she's in California, talks a little about the art of the deal, lightly suggests video release. They break at 4:45 p.m.
• 4:45 p.m.
Ms. Meyers scampers back to her office and hands out paychecks. She hasn't met her goal of one item from The Basket per day.
“I didn't get there,” she sighs. She eyes The Basket. “I've gotta do this.”
She grabs a business card from it as she loads her carryall. She calls the company that installed the gate to work out the electronic eye problem. The person she needs isn't there. She stuffs the card in her carryall.
She pulls up a resume and calls an actor who wants to audition. His mother answers; he's away on his honeymoon. Ms. Meyers takes down his phone number and stuffs it in her carryall.
There's a letter to subscribers that was supposed to be written today.
“I'll do it on the plane,” she says. “I won't be watching the movie, I guarantee you that.”
• 5 p.m.
Staffers fill Ms. Meyers in on the day's events that she missed as they load up the car. A chairperson has signed on for the October Earhart event. There's a good-sized hole in the lobby wall.
• Postscript
By the time Ms. Meyers gets home at 5:50 p.m., she learns that several of the actors scheduled to audition in Los Angeles have canceled.
She heads for New York instead.
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