Actors Life
Actorslife.com interviews Syzygy Artistic Director Martin Bedoian and Managing Director Katherine Bedoian
Los Angeles Downtown News
Hot on the Street, Hot on the Stage
Downtown Theaters Skip the Light Fare and
Bring Out the Big Guns
by Rob Kendt
While the drama over the future of Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) continues
to play out, there's no shortage of theatrical wattage on its stages. One
of L.A.'s hottest young theater companies, Syzygy, will mount the West Coast
premiere of Jamie Pachino's Waving Goodbye at LATC June 17-July 31.
Acclaimed and honored at Chicago's Steppenwolf in 2002, the play - about
tragedy uniting an estranged mother and daughter - has a powerhouse cast
this time out, with regional theater regular Michelle Duffy (Continental
Divide, The Real Thing) alongside local treasures Heather Fox (a mainstay
at Hollywood's Open Fist Theatre), Damien Midkiff (acclaimed in Syzygy's
previous productions), Scott Cummins (most recently the director of the
small-theater hits Killer Joe and The Pagans) and Hope Shapiro
(another Open Fister with New York cred). They may not be household names,
but trust us: This is the most exciting cast this summer aside from ER's
The Blacks and the Taper's Stuff Happens.
Backstage Magazine
New York City
Forging Ahead: New Theatre Companies Still Emerge in Troubled Times
By Simi Horwitz
In these post-Sept. 11 times, coupled with an economy that's questionable -questionable at best- who would even think of launching a theatre company? Well, the fact is dozens of new theatres (maybe hundreds, although precise numbers are not available) have cropped up nationwide. Admittedly, these are not big operations. They are very small, not-for-profit companies. They do not have permanent homes, although they'd love to. In the meantime, however, they will be renting space on an as-needed basis. No one disputes that there are serious financial challenges and fundraising is daunting today. Nevertheless, the creative impulse forges ahead. Martin Bedoian, co-founder and co-director of the newly formed The Syzygy Theatre Group in Los Angeles, puts it this way:
"When passion exists, it exists regardless of economic circumstances," he asserts. "I also feel that a loss of art reflects a loss of humanity and now, in troubled times-precisely because they're troubled-we need art more than ever."
The Syzygy Theatre Group, the aforementioned Los Angeles-based theatre company, also has a curious name, to say the least. "'Syzygy' means the alignment of three heavenly bodies, like an eclipse," says Bedoian, who suggests that the name reveals the theatre's broad mission, involving synergies and continuums.
"We are interested in creating a continuum between the past, present, and future. We will do the classics, modern classics, and present the work of new playwrights. We are also interested in creating a synergy between the producing artist, playwright, and audience. All will play a contributing role.
"We feel the audience is often forgotten in the process," he continues. "At some point in the future, we are going to be inviting members of the audience to help us choose a play from a number of new submissions and to sit in on rehearsals to which we'll also invite board members."
And that's only a small part of the theatre's mission, which will encourage audience members to "adopt an actor" (yes, that is the name of the funding initiative) in order to be a more active participant and, more relevant, raise money. The theatre is determined to pay actors more than the Letter of Agreement Contract with Equity demands. In the company's two productions to date, "We have managed to pay actors for rehearsal time, and that's virtually unheard of for smaller theatre companies," says Katherine Bedoian, a co-founder and co-artistic director.
"Most audiences really don't know-and are shocked to find out-how little actors in small theatres are paid, if they get paid at all. In fact, in many small Los Angeles theatres, actors have to pay the producers in order to be members of the company. We believe that when audiences come to realize that, and what we're trying to do, they'll want to help."
The Bedoians are further convinced that when theatregoers and other potential contributors fully understand the theatre's large mandate-to create a repertory company whose members all get a salary-there will be monies available, despite the crunch. The spirit of innovation alone is the turn-on, they suggest.
Among the long-term goals in the hopper-indeed, it's seminal-"is to find a locale in the country (maybe somewhere in the Midwest) that doesn't have a theatre presence, and then move part of the Los Angeles-based company to that community to establish a theatre," says Martin Bedoian. "In Los Angeles, we would have a smaller theatre that's edgier and our actors would be able to move back and forth between the two theatres."
So far startup monies have come largely from the father of an actor friend and other individual contributors. The company's first production, Naomi Wallace's "The Trestle of Pope Lick Creek," had a budget of $32,000. "You have to remember $12,000 went to pay actors," notes Katherine Bedoian. "Our second production, Barry Keeffe's "Sus" [a British play about racial profiling in England in the late '70s], had a budget of $10,000. But then, it has a much smaller cast."
Ever mindful of economic realities, the Bedoians emphasize that if the theatre company gets off the ground, for the near future the company will have to limit itself to two productions a year, only one of which will boast a large cast and a long run.
Clearly, in the best of all possible worlds, at some point Syzygy will be the beneficiary of corporate, foundation, and government largesse; not that they are optimistic that that will happen, underscoring the fact that arts funding across the board in California has been cut by 85%.
Even in the best of times, "You're constantly battling the image that somehow L.A. theatre isn't very good. On top of that the competition is enormous," says Martin Bedoian. "There are easily 350 to 400 small theatres in the Los Angeles area, all eager to get funding."
Los Angeles Times
THEATER
Small companies jump to Equity
By Don Shirley, Times Staff Writer
In L.A., most actors in venues with fewer than 100 seats work for the paltry minimum per-performance fees prescribed by Actors' Equity's 99-seat theater plan, which amount to little more than gas money, with nothing paid for rehearsals.
But a couple of companies have broken the pattern. Arroyo Repertory Theatre and Syzygy Theatre Group, though housed in spaces that could qualify for the 99-seat plan, are operating with Equity contracts that cover rehearsals and pension benefits as well as higher wages.
Arroyo Rep moved to a space at La Salle High School in Pasadena last summer and planned to use nonunion actors for its "Taming of the Shrew" because the space hadn't been approved by Equity for the 99-seat plan.
But when mononucleosis swept through the nonunion cast, said artistic director Jude Lucas, the company quickly turned to six Equity actors who already knew the show and arranged for them to work on an Equity contract, which increased total costs by $3,000 - and contributed to a shortfall of more than $3,000. Yet Arroyo has decided to use Equity contracts for "Tartuffe" in January.
The company wants to become a midsize theater, which requires contracts, Lucas said. The use of contracts now "is a steppingstone. It's time to jump into the abyss and hope someone catches us."
Syzygy began using contracts this year with "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" in a 98-seat theater and is continuing the policy with "Sus," which opened Friday in the 42-seat Hudson Guild Theatre. The contracts added more than $11,000 to the cost of "Trestle."
"It's right to try to do it," said artistic director Martin Bedoian. "But if we were managing our own space [instead of renting] or doing a whole season, there's no way we could do it." However, he said donors sometimes make larger contributions when they learn the reason for the greater costs.
Syzygy also hopes to work in a midsize theater, but probably not in L.A., Bedoian said. He acknowledged that many people would find Syzygy's policy imprudent. "We keep joking about what it would be like to present our business model to an MBA class."