ASOLO REP LE ADERSHIP
MICHAEL DONALD EDWARDS
LINDA M. DiGABRIELE
Personal and powerful memories of the pandemic are so intertwined with having to shut down the theatre. I remember the looks on everyone’s faces as they realized what was happening. I remember Frank Galati bursting into tears. I remember the dismay on the faces of the staff who realized layoffs were coming. I remember our incredible board of directors encouraging us to push ahead. And I remember Linda and I looking at each other and recognizing we were jumping off a cliff together. However, the demands of helping, along with Linda, to steer the ship of Asolo Rep has also been a kind of personal gift.
It’s December 18 and my husband and I are driving to the theatre for the opening of We Need A Little Christmas, the first show on the Terrace Stage. I’m anxiously looking at the outside thermometer – 55 degrees and falling! I worry people won’t come, or if they come, they’ll get too cold and leave. The actors will have to perform under such challenging conditions.
Producing Artistic Director
Even more personal was the passing of American Theater Icon, Terrence McNally. He was the first friend that Covid took. I cannot help but think of the thousands of people who have experienced greater catastrophic loss. We’ve spent so much time thinking about the institutional and cultural crisis the pandemic represents, it’s hard to comprehend the profound personal loss. Even with all the challenges and anxiety, finally I must say: we have been so fortunate. We have been so busy, so deeply supported and we have been able to make real discoveries about the inner resources we, as a company and as individuals, did not realize we had. Those inner resources have been put to the test. At the final rehearsal of We Need a Little Christmas, I vividly remember Mike Rodgers presenting us all with t-shirts emblazoned with the word “Pivot.” Many of us dissolved in tears as we realized that captured everything about what we had achieved as well as what was facing us. The way we look at what we are doing and how we are doing it has profoundly shifted because of our experience of the pandemic and the struggle for justice that has swept our country. Hair is a clarion call to let the sun shine in. It seems even more urgent to make an Our Town that captures and embodies who we are now. It has been a joy to deeply connect with the intelligence, the insight, and the profound philosophical thinking of Thornton Wilder. His play is a challenge to honor the fragility of what it means to be human; to value what is most important: friendship and love and connection to the natural world.
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Managing Director
Getting to this moment has been an incredible journey. Could we really build a brand new theatre and create a safe environment for everyone? How could the actors perform together, where would they rehearse, get into costume? What about the four unions’ rules and regulations? How many seats could we safely place and how many could we really fill? There was a real financial risk, building the structure and renting huge, rock and roll style sound and lighting equipment. We were operating with half our normal staff, having sadly needed to furlough and lay off so many. Could our reduced team pull this off? We arrive and watch the seats fill up. It’s a great crowd and the Asolo Rep team is almost giddy with anticipation. We are performing! And it’s beautiful and heartwarming and fun. The actors’ delight in having a real audience is palpable. As the projections dance across the full front of the building and the actors’ voices soar into the night, the applause and cheers of the audience are wonderfully robust, despite being muffled by gloves and face masks. Nobody leaves. I feel immense gratitude: to our stalwart board of directors, who supported every choice; to our incredibly generous donors, who quickly stepped forward to provide support; and a staff and creative team that have been unafraid to take on every challenge. They rapidly learned new skills, plumbing the depths of their amazing talents, and reimagined how we produce theatre for our community, both live on stage and with online engagement. And most of all, I’m grateful to Michael Donald Edwards, who has the vision and deep resolve to take the harder, but important and necessary, road. I have been proud to work with Michael and all these courageous individuals, and feel deeply the care and dedication from everyone involved. Sustained by this commitment and creative energy, we move confidently forward, knowing together we are ready to take on whatever the next challenge may bring.
