MUSIC & THEATER
SQUATTERS’ RIGHTS Its origins are - um - hazy, but Ensemble Studio Theatre has been the springboard for some of the biggest names on Broadway. It’s all very much in step with the values of Hell’s Kitchen, writes Simon Kirrane
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hen describing how Ensemble Studio Theatre was founded, artistic director William Carden is candid in his reminiscences. “I think they just came in and squatted in the building … almost. I think they got an abandoned floor, which they shaped into this theater and these offices. It was a very raw space when founder Curt Dempster arrived.” That was in 1968 when Hell’s Kitchen was a rough and ready area and about to get rougher still: “When I became an Ensemble artist in 1978, as an actor, if there were actresses performing here you had to walk them up the street when they left at night. You had to. In the 1980s there were crack vials in the gutters. This was a very rough neighbourhood and this theater has been here the whole time.” Ensemble Studio Theatre is a favorite place for W42ST. It’s certainly not a stuffy theatrical space. With its huge output of plays, there’s almost always something new happening, and its brunches on the first Sunday of every month are great fun get-togethers … it’s like they want theater to be enjoyed or something! We managed to get some time with Carden (Billy to most everybody) in between a production meeting, a performance and a fundraiser. With so much going on, you wonder that the place isn’t just shaken to dust by the activity. Billy admits that, at first glance, the building can look a little, well, tired: “Our digs are somewhat run down but one of the reasons we’re able to do what we do is because our rent is so low. We are able to say, ‘Take this space, work on that play’.
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EST develops new work constantly and that new work is also constantly finding new life when it leaves the theatre.