ACTORS THEATRE DIRECT

Actors Theatre Direct is a multi-channel, on-demand creative content platform developed to ensure world-class theatre continues to thrive and to enrich lives during this turbulent time. Stream Where the Mountain Meets the Sea and Are You There? with a virtual ticket that puts you in the front row from the comfort of your own home! Go to actorstheatre.org/direct/.

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE SEA (Lead pic above)

Setting off from Miami, a Haitian immigrant named Jean takes a once-in-a-lifetime road trip out west. Decades later, his son Jonah heads east, following Jean’s route in reverse — and discovering he’s inherited his father’s love of Appalachian folk music. Separated by time, yet side by side, the two men trace their journeys and the complicated bond they share. With lyrical storytelling and live music, this play vividly imagines how a father and son who longed to connect might come to see each other at last.

ARE YOU THERE?

From the cacophony of telephone party lines, to CB radios on lonely highways, to the glory days of online chat rooms, technology has revolutionized the way we communicate with each other. But is it always for the better? In this collection of boldly original short plays, three writers and this season’s Professional Training Company explore the hightech evolution of our social interactions. Are our devices getting in the way of quality, in-person time with our friends and family? Or could they be another pathway to intimacy?

CATCHING UP with Actors Theatre PATRICK OWEN

by G. Douglas Dreisbach

Great art thrives through conflict and turmoil, and in a way, I think this challenging time is going to lead to so much innovation and good art.

Patrick Owen - Actors Theatre - Chief External Affairs Officer

Actors Theatre of Louisville has been a staple in the Louisville community since 1964, when Actors, Inc. and Theatre Louisville merged. The combined organization was designated the “State Theater of Kentucky” in 1974. Known as one of the America’s most innovative theatre companies, Actors Theatre hosts almost 400 performances annually and welcomes an annual attendance of approximately 150,000 guests. about how the team at Actors is working through the current crisis and what we can look forward to in the 2020-21 season.

This is an excerpt of the full interview. To read it in its entirety, visit Audience502.com.

Douglas Dreisbach: You joined the Actors Theatre team in January, and immediately were introduced to this current situation. How have you, and the entire Actors team, been dealing with everything?

Patrick Owen: It’s been incredibly hard and challenging. Starting with the cancellation of Humana Festival, where artists that were anticipating being here for the full festival had their contracts ended early. But right now, there is a core team that is still here and we are optimistic and hopeful. In a way there is something interesting about being forced into this moment. Everything has changed, and we have to be smarter and more agile than we’ve ever been before to figure out, “What is that new normal?”

DD: That day, when Actors and the stages around the world went dark, what were some of your first thoughts? Do you think they set you on the right path?

PO: I do feel like we are on the right path. Because I’m so new, I was so excited that the Humana Festival was going to give me this great opportunity to meet so many of the Actors Theatre family, and meet folks that are core supporters, that have been subscribers and ticket buyers and donors for such a long time. I hosted a few small groups for drinks before the shows that did run, and there was a great energy. Soon after, there was a great deal of sadness. Since then, it seems like there’s something new every day that we have to take in and understand and figure out. But I think everything we’ve done has been in the right direction, both locally with arts leaders and arts groups here in Louisville, as well as nationally through some of the groups we are a part of.

Great art thrives through conflict and turmoil, and in a way, I think this challenging time is going to lead to so much innovation and good art. There will come a time when we can gather again, and that’s exciting.

A scene from Are You There?

DD: Also included in the 2020-21 season is the Ali Summit. Can you expand on what that is?

PO: The Ali Summit is one of our most exciting projects. It is a play that will be in the Humana Festival next year by Idris Goodwin. He is writing the play through this whole community engagement effort, where the play is essentially built around the moment in time when several other major African-American sports figures were asked to meet with Muhammad Ali to find out if he was really a man of his convictions. Was he saying he wouldn’t fight in war, or was he just trying to get out of going to the war? They met with him and made the decision to have his back when he came out with that. Idris is working with a lot of community groups... to help him write the story through a number of workshops.

DD: What is the best way people can support Actors Theatre during these times?

PO: Just donating to us, of course, is going to be exceedingly helpful. Let’s not live in the fear of what’s going on, but lean into it and know that we’re going to come through this. We need all the financial support we can get right now, but it’s not just a donation. It’s also not asking for refunds, and that is a big help within itself.

DD: Why do you think the arts are so important to our community and individuals?

PO: Theatre is how we tell our story. That’s how we understand who we are, and it’s how we get through times like this. If you think about all the folks sheltering at home, what are they turning to for diversion? They’re going to Netflix or they are sharing stories through Facebook. Families are coming together and doing these wonderful music videos about being cooped up together or singing. Art is absolutely essential in telling those stories.