Eight, presented by Alliance Repertory Company, Bryan Kopta, producing director, continues Thurs. and Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 2 & 5 pm; through Dec. 20. Tickets: $15. Andrew Benne Studio, 4930 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; 818.284.6799 or alliancerepertory.org.
Royana Black
It’s been two years since Alliance Repertory Company (ARC) has had a home. “It feels really good to be doing something again, no matter what happens,” says an excited producer/actress Royana Black. ARC is celebrating its re-emergence at a new North Hollywood home with the world premiere of a series of one-act plays entitled Eight.
After two decades of operation, ARC lost its theatre in Burbank in February 2007 and has spent over two years revamping the group and looking for a new home. But this process wasn’t an easy one. “We pretty much lost everyone in the interim,” says Black. “At one point we were only two people.” Black remembers ARC got the eviction notice the day before her birthday and quickly lost communication as people became involved in other projects. ARC tried to produce nomadically but found it undoable, so the search for the right place began. “It was frustrating. We had to take a step back and decide what was good for the company. We would get lazy and stop for a while but when we finally got the push we needed, we moved forward at a rapid pace.”
After putting a post on Craig’s List, Black received a response she describes as fate. The man who responded was Andrew Benne, a former student of Edward Kaye-Martin, a founding member of ARC. He had a space and was looking for partners. “It was the perfect twist of fate. Everything fell into place.”
After 21 years in Burbank, ARC is in the heart of the revitalized NoHo Arts District. “The energy here is very different from that in Burbank. This area is evolving into its own creative scene. We’re glad to be a part of it,” says Board Chairman Darrell Bryan. Benne shares the same goals as ARC and the company claimed its new space on September 1, 2009. Benne was then chosen to direct two of the one-acts in Eight. With a new space and a new director ARC was on the rise and immediately began auditioning people. “If we have strong members, we can survive anywhere.” says Black, “It was looking for the right creative people to get us back on our feet.”
Danielle Taddei and Bryan Kopta
There are currently 30 active members in ARC, 18 of which are onstage in Eight. “We are doing the shows in rep and there are twice as many people onstage so many of our wonderful members can be seen,” says Black. Although not all members are onstage, everyone in the company is involved in the show in some capacity, whether through design, producing or working backstage. ARC is dedicated to doing new and experimental works. “We basically want to get it out there and seen by people,” says Black.
For the past 10 years Black has worked in conjunction with M.Z. Ribalow’s New River Dramatists Company. The company is a unique support system for playwrights. The company annually flies 10 playwrights out to North Carolina where playwrights are able to see cold readings done and receive honest feedback about their work. Then they have time to rewrite and present again.
When Black knew ARC had a home, she sent out a mass e-mail to New River playwrights, asking for their work. And the response she got was stunning. “So many people sent me wonderful pieces and I just had so much to choose from,” she says. “Right now I have 50 or 60 plays in my apartment that have never been published or produced.”
Elise Kerr and J.D. Goldblatt
Black chose four one acts by New York writer Adam Kraar that meshed well and addressed the needs of the company. In return, Black made it a priority to do the plays as written. “It’s so common for directors to change a couple words here and there but if playwrights are gracious enough to give us their work,” says Black, “it is important for ARC to do the play the playwright wrote, not the one we think should have been written.”
She has made sure the directors are working with Kraar and Chicago-based Michael Bassett, the playwright of the other four one acts, to achieve a synchronicity crucial for success. “Problems always arise when you act alone. I am trying to keep everyone on the same page,” says Black. So far that has been Black’s biggest job as a producer but she feels it is “going very well.”
Richard Perry and Melissa R. Randel
Although Black has taken on much of the responsibility as the designated producer of Eight, she has not done this alone. “The board members are really producing this show and they are amazing,” she says. “And of course there is a lot of drama because we are all actors but the fact we get along 90 percent of the time is a miracle.”
There are big plans for ARC’s future. They hope to do as many plays in rep as possible, new works, socially relevant and challenging to their company and their audiences.
Feature image of Royana Black and Michael Doonan and production photos courtesy of Alliance Repertory
Article by Greta McAnany
