“What I did over my summer vacation.”
“If I buy the Tudor House, and build you a theatre, will you make it your permanent home?” I stared into the blue eyes of the man, who I had seen many times at our performances of the last six years. I don’t remember the exact words I said, I only remembered that I answered in the affirmative, because I was still mentally wrestling with the veracity of this proposition. “I’ll be back at six o’clock to see if you’re serious,” said the man with the blue eyes.
“If I’m serious”, I thought. If you’re serious was more the question in my mind. I looked at my friend, Dutch, who witnessed this conversation, he just raising his eyebrows, and looked as puzzled as I did.
You see, I was about to call it quits, throw in towel, hit the showers, call it a day.
We have been running a theatre in the mountains of San Bernardino called, the Lake Arrowhead Repertory Theatre Company for the last seven years. It was more than a hobby or a sideline. It was an obsession, a passion, a way to gratefully give back to the beautiful community that embraced us, when we came up the mountain, searching for a calmer, better life for our kids.
We had produced over 40 plays in four different theatre locations at during that time. We worked with some absolutely great, fun and inspiring people. But our children were now grown up, on their way to college and it was time to get back to the big city and to the industry we love, and replenish our savings account. Then, this older man cheery man with blue eyes, walked in.
No I didn’t believe him. So many people have come to me over the years with wild proposals, this was just probably one of them. However, at six o’clock that same day, he came back to make sure I was serious and one week later, he owned the building and invited me over to see it. That was in June.
That summer was an exhausting, exhilarating summer that stretched into early October. It was full of sanding and staining and learning codes for Building and Safety, Health Department; how to design and shop for and build a professional kitchen. I was a season of selecting, purchasing and hanging brand new RGB/LED’s from newly fashioned lighting bars designed specifically for the tall cathedral ceiling. It was a summer to design websites, ticketing systems, hire chefs and waiters, order china, silver, tables and chairs specially made and shipped from China (what do you mean they won’t be delivered till after we open!!???). It was a time to call on the talents of wonderful friends to design a stage, have curtains made, build an enormous turntable, audition actors for our first musical (no, I don’t know where we’re going to put the orchestra – I know, we’ll put them onstage – of course they’ll fit……..I hope..I thought we ordered the projector, we did, okay.. why isn’t it here? We open in two days…), you know, all the normal stuff.
It was October 4th, and the Tudor House was officially opening with LARTC’s first musical production: Jason Robert Brown’s The Last 5 Years. – it was magical. The next few months were filled with an original adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles , an original adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, Le Petit Cabaret, our own adaptation of A Christmas Carol, A Festival of Original One-Acts, Old Fashioned Radio Plays, Lend Me A Tenor, and Vanities, plus JP Houston’s American Parlor Songbook, plus a series of concerts, and musical events and what has been called ‘the best New Years Eve party ever’
A year has gone by, my own version of endless summer has ended, and it’s time to get back to town, and get back to work.
In school, I without exception, hated writing essays on my summer, but this one was fun. I learned to dream bigger than reality allowed, work tirelessly to create something good for more than just me, risk looking like a fool, and live a life-long dream.
That’s what I did on my summer vacation.
Chuck
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
