By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Talking with Heath Diehl, the president of the Black Swamp Players, this reporter suggested off-handedly that the troupe should name its home theater 115 E. Oak Street, the Work in Progress Theater.
A quip yet fitting.
The Players enterprise has always been a work in progress, in a way, and no more so then since it averted, just after celebrating its 50th anniversary, the final curtain.
Now the troupe has its own theater, though never officially named. And the troupe’s troop of volunteers has made impressive progress turning the former childcare center that started out as a church, into not just a serviceable theater, but one that offers many possibilities to enhance its productions.
That flexibility was showcased in the past two seasons, and audiences can expect more tweaks and experiments this season.
Diehl said he was involved in almost every production in some capacity and attended almost every show. That’s true he noted of the other board members as well.
“After every show we’d have people come up to us and say, ‘I love this show, and I love the new direction Black Swamp is taking.”
As expressed last season, the troupe remains dedicated to presenting lesser, or little produced works, or in the case of its playwriting competition, giving the first fully staged versions of plays.
“This next season, for me, it’s the first season we’ve made zero concessions to the Black Swamp Players of the past,” Diehl said. “All these shows to lesser or greater degrees are not shows people are familiar with.”
They’ll still be echoes of classics, including adaptations of two classics to open and close the regular season.
The Players are offering a variety of season ticket packages. Click for information and to purchase.
Scheduled productions for the Players’ 2023-2024 Main Stage season are:
“Nora: A Doll’s House” by Stef Smith, Sept 15-24. This is a feminist adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic “A Doll’s House,” directed by Diehl. An interesting twist is that the three male roles are being played by brothers, Trevor, Ryan, and Kyle Walsh.
“Puffs” by Mack Cox directed by Bridget Drew, Nov. 11-19. This is another view of a very popular literary magical world and a young heroic magician, whose name is not to be mentioned.
“The Moors” by Jen Silverman, directed by Fran Martone, Jan. 12-21. The play, about three sisters who live on the moors in England during the Victorian period.
“War Paint,” a musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, March 15-24. Set in the 1930s and 1940s it’s about the rivalry between cosmetic giants and female entrepreneurs Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein.
“Life Sucks,” by Aaron Posner, a contemporary take on Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” May 10-19.
After the regular season, the Players will stage “Jennifer’s Birth” by Rich Orloff, which is described as “a heart-wrenching comedy,” July 12-21, directed by Lane Hakel.
“Jennifer’s Birth,” Diehl said was chosen from a pool of 308 scripts submitted for the competition in playwrighting competition in 2022. Someone posted the call for submissions on the website NYCPLaywrights. The flood of scripts came from around the world, Diehl said, and almost all were good. It was a labor of love to read through all the submissions, he said. Orloff is an award-winning NewYork based playwright, who has had a number of his plays produced. “Jennifer’s Birth” has been given readings, but this will be its first full production.
Diehl said that the Players are tweaking the contest. They will not charge a fee to submit a manuscript, and that will allow them to offer a $300 honorarium to the winner.
They also express a preference now for plays that are set in the region and address social justice issues.
“We really have tried to pick plays that are going to push our audiences to think about news ideas,” he said. They want plays that connect with the audience. “We want everyone to feel welcomed in our theater because we’re a community theater.”
The troupe has enlisted new talent to its ranks in on-stage, back-stage and administrative roles. “What we’re trying to do is to give everybody who wants a place at BSP a place.”
Diehl as president leads a board that’s a mix of BSP long-timers with newcomers.
The officers are: Diehl, president; Sara Lipinski Chambers, vice president; Emily Keegan, treasurer, and Leah Creek, secretary.
Board members are: Teresa Batterson, Steve Bishop, Cyndy Brookover, Annelise Clifton, Nikki Fetters, Lane Hakel, Samantha Heater, Inge Klopping, Karen Noble, and Emily Standinger
And new faces are appearing in the seats. “I would see people I’d never seen before,” Diehl said. People I wouldn’t recognize from around town, and I think that was really exciting.”
Diehl added: “Our attendance has been consistently rising since we’ve moved into the new building which is exciting That’s in part people wanting to get out after a period of pandemic restrictions.
“It’s also people realizing we’re doing something different and interesting,” he said.
The flexibility of the theater’s space is also a plus. “It gives you a different theater experience every time you walk in,” he said. “It gives us options that makes our space more intimate.”
Sometimes there’s the traditional stage set up, but other times the audience is thrust into the action. “The story enters into their world,” Diehl said.
“For me as a director it gives me more options for telling the story.”
Thanks to an infusion of state money, the theater’s renovation has moved apace with an addition that houses rest rooms with hot water.
“The theater proper is fantastic,” Diehl said. “But there’s always work to be done.” The Players need to get word out that they still need local donations. “There’s this belief a that we got all this money from the state, so we don’t need more money.”
The next phase would be for a small parking lot and a small building that could serve as a scenery shop in the back. Beyond that are the issues familiar to anyone who owns an older building – a new roof, new gutters, a paint job.
“It’s always a work in progress.”
