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Jim Hartzell plays many a role at Possum Point Players. He’s chairman of the Artistic Committee, a subset of the Board of Trustees for Possum Point Players. He’s also on the Reading Committee, which recommends the season, and this spring he’ll direct dinner theater.
He filled us in on what goes into planning Possum Point Players’ recently announced 2012 season, and what patrons can expect from upcoming shows.
Q How long has “Waiting for Godot” been in the works? It looks like a venture for your younger thespians. What does doing a classic like this do for them as performers?
A Jim Debastiani began discussion with several students last summer. Debastiani is a member of the Board of Trustees and the liaison on the Artistic Committee for On-The-Edge (co-producers, along with Possum Juniors and their liaison Tara Megee) and an Artistic Committee member who is our lighting chairperson. According to Jim, it actually teaches him about as much as it does his actors, all students. He says they get into long discussions about characterizations as well as situations prompted by the show itself.
Q It seems as if you’ve kept to fairly lighthearted fare this season. Some of the shows obviously have some more serious themes or moments, but overall it’s not too heavy. Was that a conscious decision?
A No, it was not a conscious decision. Darkness or lightness would only come into play, and only for our main stage season, once that season is scheduled for voting and we find that it is particularly heavy in one direction.
In terms of main stage shows, our largest single guiding factor is appeal. We give strong consideration to shows which we feel will be the most profitable in terms of ticket sales (though only about 45% of our revenue comes from ticket sales.)
We also look for a balanced season. We are heavily guided, in that respect, by the fact that our “themes” are: Comedy, Musical, Dinner Theater, Drama and Christmas show. We try to keep other factors in mind, such as strength of show, variety, size of cast, difficulty of staging and casting, etc. So, the fact that a season may appear lighthearted as opposed to dark is, for the most part, coincidental and secondary to which shows appeal to us based on all our criteria.
In terms of shows other than main stage (“Waiting for Godot,” a collaboration between Possum Juniors and On The Edge, for example), they will reflect the desire and talent of the individual group’s leadership and are not intended to define our season in terms of overall feel.
Jim Hartzell plays many a role at Possum Point Players. He’s chairman of the Artistic Committee, a subset of the Board of Trustees for Possum Point Players. He’s also on the Reading Committee, which recommends the season, and this spring he’ll direct dinner theater.
He filled us in on what goes into planning Possum Point Players’ recently announced 2012 season, and what patrons can expect from upcoming shows.
Q How long has “Waiting for Godot” been in the works? It looks like a venture for your younger thespians. What does doing a classic like this do for them as performers?
A Jim Debastiani began discussion with several students last summer. Debastiani is a member of the Board of Trustees and the liaison on the Artistic Committee for On-The-Edge (co-producers, along with Possum Juniors and their liaison Tara Megee) and an Artistic Committee member who is our lighting chairperson. According to Jim, it actually teaches him about as much as it does his actors, all students. He says they get into long discussions about characterizations as well as situations prompted by the show itself.
Q It seems as if you’ve kept to fairly lighthearted fare this season. Some of the shows obviously have some more serious themes or moments, but overall it’s not too heavy. Was that a conscious decision?
A No, it was not a conscious decision. Darkness or lightness would only come into play, and only for our main stage season, once that season is scheduled for voting and we find that it is particularly heavy in one direction.
In terms of main stage shows, our largest single guiding factor is appeal. We give strong consideration to shows which we feel will be the most profitable in terms of ticket sales (though only about 45% of our revenue comes from ticket sales.)
We also look for a balanced season. We are heavily guided, in that respect, by the fact that our “themes” are: Comedy, Musical, Dinner Theater, Drama and Christmas show. We try to keep other factors in mind, such as strength of show, variety, size of cast, difficulty of staging and casting, etc. So, the fact that a season may appear lighthearted as opposed to dark is, for the most part, coincidental and secondary to which shows appeal to us based on all our criteria.
In terms of shows other than main stage (“Waiting for Godot,” a collaboration between Possum Juniors and On The Edge, for example), they will reflect the desire and talent of the individual group’s leadership and are not intended to define our season in terms of overall feel.
Q “Nana’s Naughty Knickers” looks hilarious, with a unique premise. It also seems as if it might have a fairly broad audience. Was it your goal to bring in a younger or cross-generational audience?
A In terms of “Nana’s Naughty Knickers,” we were looking for dinner theater fare; it is usually comedy or murder mystery, has a small cast and is not, generally speaking, a difficult set show. Although the set for “Nana’s” is somewhat complicated, it is indeed a comedy and it has a cast of eight. We also considered that it provides an opportunity for a few of our senior members to take on leading roles. We believe it will appeal to both young and old, but we also think it will attract the attention of an even greater percentage of our older age patrons.
Q As a member of the reading committee, could you tell me a bit about why these shows stood out to you?
A The shows we have selected for the 2012 season stood out to me because I think they all have the potential of large draws. The shows themselves are well known amongst the theatrical crowd, and the pedigree of “I Remember Mama,” “White Christmas” and “City of Angels” should attract the attention of those who, while not knowing a particular show, can research its reputation and, hopefully, be impressed enough to come and see it. I believe “Nana’s” speaks for itself, as even your quotes attest: “looks hilarious, with a unique premise.” I believe that is the case with “I Hate Hamlet” as well. I think we have an outstanding season planned.
