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The Final Frontier
With the opening of the Center for the Arts in beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyo., Off Square Theatre Company finds a new home, a new artistic director, and an opportunity to build a regional reputation
These days it is not uncommon for optimistic young actors,
directors or theatre technicians to leave college, or possibly high school
for that matter, without at least a few professional opportunities available
in the city or region in which they reside.
In large theatre cities, young actors start auditioning in middle school,
hoping to land roles in professional productions: “I’d give my Wii
to win the role of Tiny Tim.”
Eager young stage managers or directors might actually land gigs with semi-professional
theatres, while others grab coveted internships with professional or regional
theatres. For sure, this is one of the big advantages of living in a big city
with lots of art: opportunity.
So what does a young theatre artist do when home, the place of his or her
childhood, has little or no opportunity to continue in the craft? What do
you do when professional theatre, for the entire state, consists of a couple
summer stock venues?
Well, if you are John Briggs, you take one final glance in the rearview mirror
and then you push the pedal to the floor.
“I was artistic director of both the Opera House and Dirty Jack's Theatre
[in Jackson Hole],” remembers Briggs. “In 1974, I decided to leave
Wyoming because there was simply not enough professional theatre to support
either my financial need or my need to grow.”
And so the Cheyenne native decided to leave the safe place where he grew up.
The emptiness in his stomach was simply too much to ignore. He craved more
as an artist. Wyoming soon became a distant memory, and the world would be
his stage.
The Journey Begins
Breaking away was easier than Briggs anticipated. He spent the next two years
touring the country doing the dinner theatre circuit before deciding to move
to New York.
Strangely enough, as he began to establish his acting career, something clicked
in his head that pushed him to follow another path. He wasn’t necessarily
leaving acting behind, but adding another layer to his theatre skill set.
Briggs points out, “In 1979, I co-founded Merrimack Repertory Theatre
in Lowell, Mass. I knew then that I would always work as both an arts administrator
and performing artist.”
It was this move that opened the doors of opportunity. Briggs found an exciting
new world in such positions as associate director, artistic director and associate
producer. His new field landed him at the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas,
New Stage in Mississippi, the Burt Reynolds Institute of Theatre Training
in Florida, Theatre Three in Dallas, the Florida Shakespeare Festival in Miami,
the Cumberland County Playhouse in Tennessee, and First Night Atlanta.
One might think that moving into arts administration would be the death of
artistic expression, but this was not the case for Briggs.
Juggling arts administration and performance became second nature as he truly
became a theatrical jack-of-all-trades. Along the way he added yet another
skill to his theatrical resume: playwright.
Briggs co-wrote the Broadway musical “Play Me a Country Song,” the
Off-Broadway adaptation “Shogun Macbeth,” published by Samuel French
(being revived in 2008), and wrote the musicals “Crazy Love,” “Dracula,
A Rock Opera,” and “Illyria.”
Briggs was making the most of his flight from Wyoming.
An Offer He Couldn’t Refuse
Unbeknownst to Briggs, while he was out running around the country administering,
writing and performing theatre, his home state was taking some giant steps
forward in the arts.
“I saw the notice in ARTSEARCH for an artistic director for Off Square
Theatre Company,” Briggs recalls. “I had no idea that there was
a professional theatre company in Wyoming, much less in my professional theatre
birthplace.”
Perhaps most importantly, the Off Square Theatre Company, which had
been established in 1998, was looking for someone to lead them into a next
phase of the young theatre company’s life. The cool phase, the one where
OST was to become the resident professional theatre company in a new multi-million
dollar arts complex being built right in the heart of beautiful Jackson Hole,
Wyo.—the very town in which Briggs cut his teeth as a theatre professional.
To Briggs it seemed like a perfect fit when he submitted his resume for the
artistic director position. The board of OST soon felt the same way.
“In retrospect, it’s ironic that the Off Square Theatre board conducted
an expansive national search resulting in over 80 applicants,” says David
Kornblum, Off Square Theatre board president. “John was one of the first
to apply, and we could have simply stopped looking after receiving his resume
because he is incredibly qualified for the job. We are so happy he has returned
to Wyoming to join the Off Square Theatre Company.”
All the years of wrestling with budgets and staffing conflicts, the thousands
of hours spent pushing plays from development to the stage, the stresses of
negotiating union contracts and much, much more were paying off.
Coming Home
So the deal was sealed. In October of last year John Briggs returned home
to Jackson Hole, Wyo., in dual roles as producing artistic director and artistic
director of OST.
“Returning to Jackson as a theatre professional is the happiest circumstance
I can imagine,” Briggs confesses. “Of all the places I've worked,
either in Wyoming or across the United States, Jackson Hole is my favorite.
I love the altitude, I love the magnificent beauty of the town and region,
I love the lifestyle and most everything else about the town.”
The fact that there is a beautiful new multi-million dollar theatre as part
of the equation probably doesn’t hurt either.
The new $30 million Center for the Arts provides Off Square Theatre Company
a 500-seat theatre designed in collaboration with architects John Carney and
Stephen Dynia.
The proscenium theatre has the technical flexibility to accommodate drama,
dance, film, and musical performances. It is equipped with a full 42-line
counterweight fly system and solid industry-standard lights and sound. The
complex also offers OST a large hall to accommodate rehearsal and educational
needs. The lobby of the Center boasts a glass front with breathtaking views
of Jackson Hole’s Snow King Mountain.
Briggs is delighted with the new theatre, which will allow him the luxury
of expanding his company’s offerings as his audience grows. The theatre
offers 525 total seats, 200 of which are on the orchestra level and 325 in
the balcony. For more intimate productions, only the orchestra level will
be used.
“This theatre is totally inventive,” says architect John Carney.
“You can turn the lights off in the balcony and watch a production in
a 200-seat theatre without being aware that the balcony even exists.”
To celebrate the opening of the new complex with the public, the Off Square
Theatre Company decided to put their new theatre through its paces by presenting
the classic musical “Peter Pan.”
To ensure maximum impact with the audience, Briggs hired Flying by Foy, one
of the preeminent stage flying special effects companies, to help its actors
soar across the stage.
“I chose that show because it would challenge the new facility and because
it would make an enduring statement about what Off Square Theatre plans to
offer in the years to come,” Briggs says.
The opening of the new theatre was a rousing success, as was OST’s production
of “Peter Pan.” “The audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive,”
reports Briggs. “They are still talking about it.”
OST is now poised to launch an exciting new era of theatre in Wyoming. They
have already increased their yearly budget from $400,000 to $1 million since
Briggs’ arrival.
“We have a golden opportunity to create one of the finest regional theatres
in the country,” says Briggs. “I have seen tremendous change in
Wyoming embracing the arts and, as a result, creating more opportunities.
I would like for kids to have a shot at pursuing a theatre career without
having to leave the state.”
So the return home for John Briggs seems to be the stuff that makes up a happy
ending in a fairy tale, not unlike “Peter Pan.”
And what are the lessons to be learned from the adventures of a young man
forced to leave home to find the art he craved? Only John Briggs can tell
us for sure, but my best guess is that he will tell you to follow your heart
and don’t get too disillusioned when your career path takes an unexpected
shift to the left or right. That change of direction might add layers to your
skill set and land you in the dream job you wanted all along. And after all,
isn’t it the journey that makes us what we are and will become?
Briggs shares one of those unexpected events: “I opened ‘Romeo and
Juliet’ the first season of Merrimack Repertory Theatre. One evening
three large, loud men wearing bowling shirts came to see the production. They
had been drinking. I informed the box office manager that if there were any
problems to call the police. At the end of the performance, the loudest and
largest of the men walked up to the box office manager and said, ‘She
shouldn't have died.’ Then he and his friends walked off into the night.
I have never forgotten how powerful the theatre can be and that anybody can
be touched by what we do.”
To read the complete and compelling interview with John Briggs, artistic director
of Off Square Theatre Company, visit www.dramabiz.com
and click on “Web Exclusives.” Want
more theatre profiles? Visit the DramaBiz Magazine archives at www.dramabiz.com/archives.php
or visit the forums to chat more about theatre at www.dramabiz.com/forum.
