This morning was a joy! Abigail Adams (Artistic Director of People's Light & Theatre), Lee Devin (Senior Dramaturg), and Samantha Bellomo (Artistic & Education Liaison) hosted us for brunch at Abigail & Lee's beautiful house. With their dog, their cats, and their big backyard, Junior (Amy & Brad's dog) was in heaven while we all spent time together inside.
We talked a lot about the history of People's Light and about the challenges that they have faced in growing from a small company into the substantial organization they are now. It was very interesting talking about the challenges they have faced in keeping their resident company of actors and all that means financially (health care and Actor's Equity rules make it complicated), business-wise, and in regards to season planning.
In regards to education, audience relationship building, and business processes, we connected to their ideas on many levels, and like Trinity Rep, we saw a lot to be hopeful about in the ways that they have made their company grow and succeed.
This is a picture of Lee and the food they so generously prepared for us!
Robert, Samantha, Randi, and Abigail having brunch
Next we drove north to Bloomsburg, PA, to visit the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. Bloomsburg is a small town in Central Pennsylvania where in 1978 a group of dedicated actors settled down and began their theatre company. It's actually a great story, for just as we're traveling the US and talking to theatre companies before we launch the foundations of our company, the Bloomsburg Ensemble did the same thing when they were first forming... only instead of traveling the US, they traveled England and Europe and met with theaters there (be assured that England and Europe are certainly in our tour plans too... once we win the lottery).
We had a great time with Gerard Stropnicky, Elizabeth Dowd, and Daniel Roth. They started off by showing us their theater (converted from an old movie house... their company logo is actually an image of the historic light fixtures in the theater), taking us to their rehearsal spaces, and then sitting down with us at the local ice cream shop to tell us about their history and experiences. The history of Bloomsburg Ensemble is a true inspiration to all of us. Our company's are fueled by very similar beliefs and we are so inspired at all that they have accomplished over the past 35 years.
With a small population (almost 13,ooo) and a location out of the range of some of the bigger Pennsylvania grants, they have done an amazing job of connecting with their community and staying financially alive through some really tough times. If you are ever near Bloomsburg, you must take the time to stop at this historical theatre. We are so honored that we were able to meet these theatre legends and trailblazers for community centered- ensemble theatre along our travels. Keep up the phenomenal work BTE!
Tonight was such a relief, after lots of travels we were able to eat outside at our RV campground and finally have a campfire under the stars (at the beginning of our trip we had lofty plans of having campfires at a lot of our stops where we could kick back and talk about our discoveries... after a month it finally happened!).
Tomorrow morning we'll be up early and in the cars on our way to Detroit, Michigan and Randi's family there!
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