| The Specifics on The Generic | | Print | |
| Written by Clyde Berry | |
| Wednesday, 12 July 2006 | |
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Page 11 of 20
Has the Generic had a hard time getting talent/directors/tech with the staff changes?Directors -- were you able to get the talent and technicians you needed?TECH I would imagine so. The attitude and actions of the Generic’s board and current management, Ms. Boarman’s dismissal in particular, have inspired a great deal of discontent among many technicians and artists. Almost all of my friends and associates, some of whom draw quite a bit of water in Hampton Roads’ artistic community, have either said they will not work at the Generic again, had no interest in working there to begin with, or have simply not been back. DIR A Always, artistic director always helped in that and the technical director, Patty Ellison who was on staff was great for the years I worked there. I often bring people in who I worked with before. DIR B I was not pleased with the set builder. {They} were very laxed in getting the set done in a respectable amount of time. Tech week did not run as smoothly as it should have due to set construction. The run of my show went extremely well. DIR C I had difficulty securing talent for one role ..had to recast twice. Had to scramble to find artists in the area. Technicians were readily available. BOARD 1 No; new people bring in other new people it has expanded the actor/tech/director pools… Patricia Wray I don’t perceive it that way. The thing about changes in staff, particularly with non profits is that when someone has been at the helm for a number of years, it’s not unusual to see a large amount of turnover. It’s difficult and not unusual. It does take a while to get the right person in. Its different than the corporate structure for a non profit. I asked Ms. Wray more about volunteers in particular...Patricia Wray There probably is a drop in that. We have heard that we could be more hospitable, and we were trying to work on that with having bottled water, coffee, and a refrigerator. We may not have had our bigger push into attracting and keeping volunteers. We’ve had problems when someone painted the dressing room walls. I consider that to be a big thing, tradition is very important in theater and that was sort of a taboo that was broken. We are going to make an effort to please our volunteers and make sure it is a more hospitable place to work. That is a prime goal of ours. |
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On a lighter note, thanks to all this free , controversal publicity about the Generic and The Adjustment, Denis Malone now has one of the stupendously inflated egos I have ever seen. So these stupid blogs do have their uses after all. See Denis float! Lighten up, it's only a dream.--Hank Generics are being very cautious these days about public controversy. Why? They are under litigation from the former Artistic Director, Stacy. Which is even more interesting since Ms Stacy also sued Theatre IV in Richmond for even more frivolous reasons before she came to the Generic. One can only wonder why they (Ms Xander et al) didn't check out her resume with her former employer (Bruce at Theatre IV). It is of no surprise to me that The Generic Theater gave no acknowledgement or recognition to the final show of the season, the one responsible for the majority of trafficking and controversy it received. This is the exact reason why The Generic Theater will always be a struggling theater instead of a revealing power and dominant force in our community! I don't know anything about the Generic theater nor any of the people involved, but I will say one thing. Are you sure it isn't an audition site for a reality show about the angst of a local theater? --C See I couldn't have made that posting. I don't even know how to work these darn things! Hmm?! INDEED! I am Terry Jernigan and I have recieved several phone calls asking if I was the the Terry Jern who submitted a slanderous blog on Tuesday 18 July 2006 against The Generic and persons involved. No I am not. For the record I support the Arts in all forms in Hampton Roads and I have been a fan of The Generic Theatre since origins in the early 1980's. I am also a suporter and fan of my personal friend Christa Jones. I am excited at what she will bring to the Generic Theatre and what The Generic will offer the whole of Hampton Roads. Hmm?! INDEED! I am Terry Jernigan and I have recieved several phone calls asking if I was the the Terry Jern who submitted a slanderous blog on Tuesday 18 July 2006 against The Generic and persons involved. No I am not. For the record I support the Arts in all forms in Hampton Roads and I have been a fan of The Generic Theatre since origins in the early 1980's. I am also a suporter and fan of my personal friend Christa Jones. I am excited at what she will bring to the Generic Theatre and what The Generic will offer the whole of Hampton Roads. Hmm?! INDEED! I am Terry Jernigan and I have recieved several phone calls asking if I was the the Terry Jern who submitted a slanderous blog on Tuesday 18 July 2006 against The Generic and persons involved. No I am not. For the record I support the Arts in all forms in Hampton Roads and I have been a fan of The Generic Theatre since origins in the early 1980's. I am also a suporter and fan of my personal friend Christa Jones. I am excited at what she will bring to the Generic Theatre and what The Generic will offer the whole of Hampton Roads. For the education of your writers and readers: The first actress of the season had to drop out due to personal affairs that now need her undivided attention- absolutely no firing was involved whatsoever. 'The Pillowman' had to be removed from the season simply because the publisher has not yet released amateur rights to the produciton. Hmm?! of course the board at the generic has a personal approach to the theater's running. it is well known that to be a board member one is expected to contribute financially to the theater. so-called 'checkbook meetings.' Well, where do I begin? This article says everything and yet nothing. The beginning of the end of The Generic occurred with the unfortunate death of Gerry Rowe. He was the guiding light and a powerful person who was able to rein in the Board of Directors. His end brought the theatre into the tailspin it currently suffers from. Steve Harders, a magnificant Artistic Director, was constantly harassed by the board, but luckily his brilliance and talent was recognized and protected by Mr Rowe. A small example of the Board's 'logic'-during the inception of 'the Broken Jug', Steve's personal adaption of the German playwright, the board demanded that a play without intermission wouldn't sell any candy bars or soda, so against Steve's will the play was split in two. Pettiness personified. This, and many other examples which won't be cited, only prove that if the Board of Directors, including Ms Wray want to point the finger of blame, remember you have four more fingers pointing back at yourself. Stacy, though, was a funny situation. The divine Miss X pushed her AD candidacy through, hoping to controlher, and Stacy turned right around and accused Miss X of pre-casting. The fox outfoxed! By the way, that space was used by TCC years before the Generic located there under the Dept of Dance, music and theatre.--Chip |