I’ve covered a lot of music and art related stuff on Grandevelt in this blog, but this is the first time I’ve written about a theater troupe in the area. This is mostly because until recently, with the exception of the Great Arizona Puppet Theater and the random one-off show, the First Friday areas have been low on live theater.

Daysleeper visited Damon Dering and his Nearly Naked Theater a while back, and there are several other small companies doing good work in small spaces, but none of them are right in the heart of the visual arts district like @rtists Theater Project’s (@Pro) new home Soul Invictus (on myspace) is located at 1022 NW Grand.

@Pro offers a mixture of theater, live music and cabaret acts, as well as some visual arts.

I’ve been to the space before, but never seen the small square room in the back decked out for live theater. The play was one of my favorites from the American Absurdist canon: Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story.” Albee is perhaps most famous for his screenplay of “Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolfe,” and “The Zoo Story” has the same kind of desperate game playing that makes Albee’s work so great nearly 60 years later.

_{Photo courtesy of Soul Invictus (myspace.com/soulinvictus)}
Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story,” performed by
members of @Pro at Soul Invictus.

The two-man one act play was a good fit for @Pro. The audience seating was funky and cool. The first row consisted of thrift store couches and the rest broken down into traditional rows and table seating, all with mismatched chairs you might find at a family reunion.

I sat near the back, which meant I was a mere 10 feet from the stage, and there were maybe 20 people in the house, which was more than half full. The play is conducive to black box performances as the only set requirement are two park benches and a vaguely park-like atmosphere, so the smallish stage didn’t hinder the performance.

The acting was good, taken down a notch for most of the production due to the small size of the house. If the two actors had been projecting and over-gesticulating like people have to do in a house of 1,000, the show would have been hard to watch, but they kept the acting in the human realm.

@Pro co-founder James Asimenios played the contented Sunday reader Peter, who’s quiet time will never be the same after he meets up with Jerry, played strongly by Brian Klien. Jerry’s a kind of anti-hero who’s fractured life comes bleeding through the cracks of his wounded psyche when he tries and fails to communicate with even the most base creatures.

I’ll spare you the plot points, but I will say that Jerry’s dysfunction spreads to the uptight Peter and a psychological, territorial two-piece chess game ensues and the outcome leaves both very wounded in very different ways.

The writing is so strong it would be hard for anyone with a grasp of the spoken word to mess it up, but these experienced actors made the language come alive and made the moments feel real. I realize there is a lot of black comedy in the piece but Klien almost made Jerry too sympathetic, too charming for my taste. Jerry is likeable, but he’s also dangerous. And while mostly only a danger to himself, he is a powder keg of possible tragedy, not just a kooky eccentric.

One other tiny note in an otherwise very enjoyable show – and this may be something technical that will change in the future – but the house lights remained on in the audience for the entire show, which sometimes took me out of the moment. Also, though I understand the need for press photos, @Pro photographer Ian Wender sat in the first couch row in front of me and took photographs at pivotal moments in the action.

Other than these small things, I found the production very enjoyable and I am happy that Grand Ave. has a real troupe of players in @Pro and a place to stage them at Soul Invictus.

I spoke with Artists Theater Project’s Master of Hoopla & Revels, David Salcido, about the company, the space, the show and things to come.

AZNightBuzz: Tell us about @PRO and Soul Invictus.

David Salcido: @PRO basically started as a road trip by three Hedwig fans to Las Vegas: Scott Pierce, James Asimenios and another who is no longer with the troupe. Driving up to Vegas in full drag and seeing the show in an intimate environment, they decided that they really wanted to mount the show themselves when they got back. They purchased the rights, set up a schedule at Tinseltown Tavern and a legend was born. At that time, there really wasn’t any plan to do anything else beyond “Hedwig & The Angry Inch,” but it was such a wildly successful show, and ended up doing a two-night extension in Tucson. That’s when I – and a couple of others – entered the scene.

To make a long story short, we decided to follow Hedwig up with “Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical,” which then led to “The Santaland Diaries” and, in turn to “Koko: The Island Adventures Of Miss Koko Neufchatel” by a local Valley playwright. Once the season was completed, we knew that we had something here. Problem is, the costs of mounting these productions are high and we ended up losing money on each successive one. The plan had already been put in place to remount “The Santaland Diaries” in one of the downtown bars, but beyond that, we really didn’t know whether or not we were going to continue as a troupe. A new plan obviously had to be formulated.

The creative folks who constitute this “tribe” are very fond of saying, “when the need is great, the universe provides.” That has been proven time and time again for us. Soul Invictus basically fell into our lap late last October. One of our members, Tristan Gregoire saw that the space was up for rent and contacted the landlady, Beatrice Moore. He then approached Scott and myself to go down and check the place out. Needless to say, we fell in love with it immediately. I was already familiar with the space, as it was rented for a time by my good friend Casey McKee. After that, another friend, Mike Miskowski, rented it for a while. Scott, on the other hand, had been involved with another Valley play a year earlier and rehearsals had taken place in the building now occupied by the Paisley Violin. He still remembers standing out in the back yard and saying, “some day we’re going to be working in that space.” As I said, the universe provides.

One of the things that Beatrice was adamant about was that she didn’t want another “quiet artist” in the space, who would only be opening it up from time to time to coincide with the odd First Friday Artwalk and Art Detour. We promised to bring life to the street with theater, performance and music, something which excited her greatly. Again, to make a long story short, we rented the space and have been in operation since the First Friday in November 2005. Each month we’ve showcased emerging artists and local bands on our stage and each month the space grew and became more complete. It also provided a new home for @PRO, which was just exactly what we needed. We just finished our debut performance, Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story” and it was a big success for us. The buzz has been growing. We now have two more plays planned, “Rain Damage,” a play written by myself, in April and a remount of “Hedwig & The Angry Inch” in May. That will complete our second season and we’re already talking about what we’ll be doing for next season. That, in a nutshell, is how it all came about.

AZNB: Where has @Pro put on plays?

DS: “Hedwig” was done at Tinseltown Tavern in Scottsdale, then down in Tucson at Hotel Congress. The second show, “Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical,” was done at the 3rd Street Theater, on the corner of Moreland and 3rd Street in Phoenix, then again in Tucson at the Hotel Congress. “The Santaland Diaries” brought us back to Tinseltown Tavern, which then was closed down a week after we closed. The fourth production, “Koko,” was done in the outdoor gardens of the Alwun House, then traveled to Los Angeles for a three week run at the infamous Cavern Club Theater in Silverlake. During the summer, we mounted “Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom” and “Sleeping Beauty or Coma” by Charles Busch, at the Space Theatre on Central. “The Zoo Story,” as I said before, was our first production at Soul Invictus. Our next two will be performed there. As will future productions.

AZNB: What does Soul Invictus mean?

DS: Literally, it means “The Unconquerable Spirit.” We chose it because we’re a bunch of tenacious bitches who don’t know how to take no for an answer. We spent the better part of our first season trying to explain ourselves and embroiled in mini-dramas with other alternative theater troupes who felt that we were infringing on their territory. We, however, like to believe that the sandbox is big enough for everyone and have taken every chance to extend the olive branch to other troupes. The first real success was casting Damon Dering, the Artistic Director of Nearly Naked Theatre in “Koko.” We’ve also rented out our space to Stray Cat Theatre for rehearsals and are now talking with another new troupe about staging one of their productions early in May, right after “Rain Damage” closes. It’s been a long hard road, but we’re all very pleased with the progress we’ve made.

AZNB: Please tell us about some of your favorite past productions and what you are looking forward to in the next few months.

DS: I think we all have our favorites, but none that supercede any other. They were all learning experiences and allowed us to work some truly amazing actors and technical people. A personal favorite for me was “Debbie Does Dallas”, because it was so out there. A marketer’s dream. Others might point to “Koko,” because it was such a spectacle. “Hedwig” is always a huge favorite, which is why it’s being remounted. I feel very safe in saying that we’re proud of each and every show we’ve done. As for the future, the universe provides. We’ve got some very interesting stuff in the works, but we’re keeping our cards close to the chest right now, until we can get rights squared away and make sure that everything is in order. I’m hoping to make an announcement at the same time that the other troupes make theirs.

AZNB: Soul Invictus is being presented as a gallery and cabaret, what kind of visual art can one expect and what does the cabaret part mean?

DS: The artwork, like the productions we will be mounting, will change from month to month. Sometimes paintings, sometimes photography, sometimes sculpture, sometimes audio-visual installations. Whatever appeals to our admittedly twisted sensibilities. As for the cabaret, you’ve been there. We have couches set up, along with small tables and chairs, to make the environment more comfortable than your standard theater. Also, because the space is so intimate, it allows for us to break that fourth wall as much as possible, so that we don’t have people sitting detached in a darkened theater, like they would be at a movie or in their own homes watching a dvd. This is in-your-face theater at its best. So far, the response has been phenomenal. Many people told us that they have never seen anything like The Zoo Story, even those who have seen it performed before. The story of Jerry and the dog has never been so immediate. That’s exactly what we want. How better than to present it in a cabaret setting?

AZNB: How many shows does @Pro do in a season and how often do you have other events in the space?

DS: We’re not really sticking to any kind of schedule like other troupes do. It’s really only a coincidence that we’ve had four plays each season, but who knows what the future brings. After May, when “Hedwig” closes, we’d rather not go “dark” but it’s a bad time for theater, which means we’ll be exploring other avenues.

AZNB: You also have music on events like First Friday, would you care to talk about this?

DS: First Friday Artwalk is where it all began for us. Literally, in some respects, as I was on the original committee to start it up way back in the early ‘90s. As I said before, when we opened our space it was for First Friday in November and we’ve made sure to have something interesting each First Friday since then, whether it be fire spinners, naked body painting or bands like The Rhythm Dragons rocking the house. There’s no reason to change that.

AZNB: When @Pro was looking for a home was it important to find a place on Grand or Roosevelt Row?

DS: Not necessarily. That was just a bonus that we were immediately aware of. Right now we’re smack in the middle of Grand Ave., which couldn’t be more fortuitous. We’ve got the Paisley Violin right next door and Four White Walls right across the street. We’re working with each of them to cross promote and cross pollinate. The eventual plan is to have something going on as often as possible in each space so that people can come down at any time and catch something creative. It’s a long process, but a promising one.

AZNB: I noticed a Gay/Lesbian/Transgender motif with the selection of touring artists and with many of the choices for plays, is gay-themed art a deliberate focus of @Pro and Soul Invictus?

DS: What can I say, @PRO was founded by a trio of drag queens with a major hard-on for musical theater. That’s got to play into it when we’re sitting down to make our choices. Also, as part of our mission statement, we’re all about tearing down walls and crossing boundaries. You have to admit, with all the crap that’s happening in the country right now, especially with the Religious Right mounting their hate campaign against the GLBT community, there’s never been a more pressing need for entertainers who are out and proud enough to present works which might not ordinarily be seen.

I can say for myself, my play “Rain Damage” has been making the rounds of all of the alternative theater troupes for the past eight years. None would touch it. Whether or not it was “too gay” or not, has never been broached, but I’m very happy that it will be produced through @PRO in our new home. For one thing, the cast we’ve put together is phenomenal. The sound and lightening directors are tops in their field. This will be theater like you’ve never seen it before. I would like to point out, however, that many of our troupe members are straight. Right now, we’re about half and half, but that dynamic changes every time we add more people. We take all comers, so long as they’re creative and want to think outside of the proverbial box. Tired cliche, I know, but in this case we’re actually doing it and that makes us very proud.

AZNB: Is @Pro a professional theater company? Do the actors get paid and is the company a part of any union?

DS: Hah! That’s funny. I don’t think there’s a union in existence that would have us. In fact, there are those who would argue that we’re not even an alternative or community theater, because we don’t do things the “right way.” Whatever. What we are is a bunch of radicals who got together, rented a barn and decided to put on shows. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we’ve got some very business-oriented minds at work here, too, and that’s helping us become more viable for the future. Right now, we’re all paying for productions out of our pockets. Whether or not that changes in the future, remains to be seen, but for now, we’re all just happy to be pursuing a dream.

AZNB: What percentage of the plays that @Pro does are original? Are you open to original pieces and how would a playwright submit work?

DS: Good question! In our first season, we did the world premiere of “Koko” to great response. This year, we’ll be presenting my play for the first time. We’ve got a couple of ideas gelling for the future, because we keep getting approached by budding playwrights who have been trying to find a troupe without an agenda that might be willing to give them a chance. We also have solicitations up at our Web site, www.artiststheatreproject.org for just this thing.

I’m going to be honest here, it’s also much cheaper for us to do new plays, because the rights for many of the shows we’d like to do are pretty expensive and the demand for them, amongst other small alternative companies, is fierce. It all works out for us in the end. We love new plays.

AZNB: About “The Zoo Story” – I thought the production was very well done and both of the actors were very good. I have but one question: At the very end when Peter runs offstage down the middle isle and is presumed to be running away through the park, why did the director have him slam the door of the theater? I think that took away from the moment because I found myself imagining some solitary door standing in the middle of the park that Jerry runs through and slams.

DS: Well, here’s the deal, we’re in a very small space, with little room in the wings for big exits. One thing we noticed, however, is that having Peter run through the audience brought home the fact that the fourth wall had indeed been breached. When that door slammed, the audience jumped and the spell was broken. It was basically a way to turn necessity into a show stopping experience. Whether it “worked” or not is left to the individual and I’m sure there are those who will be arguing it for some time. That’s fine by us. The last thing we want is for people to file out of the cabaret without any inclination to think about what they’ve just seen. We want people to talk about it. There’s no such thing as bad press. Just talk! We’ll take care of the rest. I hope it wasn’t too distracting for you, but I’m sure you see what we’re working with here.

AZNB: How many people can be seated? Are the couches a permanent part of the seating and how has attendance been?

DS: We can seat 40 people comfortably. Of course, I use that word liberally, because we’ve had some complaints about the hard chairs. All I can say is, we’re working on that. I was with Planet Earth Theatre during its beginnings, when the chairs were hard and the space had no air-conditioning. All I can say is, there are a lot of people who will go out of their way to support struggling theaters and we love each and every one of them. Incidentally, we had 33 people the night you attended, which is pretty good for a first show. We never had less than half, which is phenomenal, and we actually had a couple of sold out nights, both on Saturdays.