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| Don Bluth speaks to Gil Benbrook photo: Don Bluth Front Row Theatre |
(to read the first part of my conversation with Don Bluth, where he talked about his experiences working for Walt Disney Animation and how he started producing live theatre productions in his Scottsdale living room, click here)
So after putting on shows in your living room, you now have the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre, which is located right off the Shea Exit on the 101. How long did it take you to find the space for the theatre?
"It took four or five months, but it took a whole year after we had the lease for the place for the city to give us the permission to perform, as 'live theatre' seemed to scare them a bit."
What do you find different in directing and producing live theatre vs animation?
"I just love how the experience of seeing something live changes an audience. Something magic happens to people when they pretend to be something they aren't and something magic happens to the audience when they watch them do that. It inspires, it teaches, it does all kinds of good things for people. It is something that is in the moment and something where the audience feels the emotion of the story in a different way than if they were watching a movie. So I much prefer the theatre over movies. Well, except for animation, as I still believe that animation is total magic."
What do you find yourself using in live theatre from what you learned in your animation experience?
"I'm very much an animator first, so many times when I block a show I'm thinking of the characters as characters I would have drawn. I learned 'shtick' and subtext in animation where a character is doing one thing but he's thinking and communicating another thing which is the subtext. In acting all the time I see where subtext is left out, where the director hasn't even thought about it. Everyone says their lines but what does the line mean? And I think that's the most important thing as it gives the audience the chance to discover something. And it's in discovery that you learn. Helen Hays once said 'it's giving a performance, not taking one' so if you can give the audience something that they can take home with them your performance is much better. There are various levels of acting, the highest being the one where you do have an emotional connection and not just indicating and I find a lot of amateur talent are just indicators. I have so much experience in animation with animators who 'mug' or pull faces and do funny little things with their characters but they never move you with thinking the character is truly alive and that the character has thoughts and feelings. Disney took a big chance when he made Snow White he said 'we're not going to just make Silly Symphonies anymore but we're gonna make a full length feature and make people cry.' All of Hollywood united against him and said it wouldn't work but when it opened they were all there, daring it to work, and strangely enough they all applauded and the entire animation industry was born based on that one film. When you see that evil queen about to kill Snow White you forgot those are drawings and I think with actors on stage you have to forget who they are and they have to make someone feel something and if it's not that then it's indication, which is bad acting, bad animation and bad theatre. Good acting is hard to do, as you have to have the ability to move people."
"I've seen two productions of the show that had big elaborate effects but as I sat there I never felt anything. And that surprised me because I wanted to. They were beautiful productions but I didn't feel anything. It is a beautiful story about a family that is shattered and pulled apart and Mary Poppins comes in and mends it and pulls it back together again. Well that should be a moment of joy and if it's done right should bring tears to your eyes. I want the audience to deeply feel something about the importance of family. It's actually a similar story to what happens to the family in An American Tail."
You also have A Wonderful Life coming up in December. Why do you think that story resonates with so many people?
"It's also about a family who is struggling and has to pull the family back together again and they do so with the help of a guardian angel."
Much like Mary Poppins.
"Exactly, and Mary Poppins is just like an angel, a magical figure that comes in and heals, I think the stories that really resonate with people are stories that deal with keeping the family and your loves ones close together and stopping the schism that happens when families fight. I come from a family with issues so this all resonates with me. I think the strongest note you can portray in a play is that people have the ability, and don't be shy about this, to love one another and to forgive. "
"I love when George goes to the bar and says 'I'm not a praying man but I need help.' When he reaches out for help, up to that point he's always used his own resources, but at some point all of us have to reach out and say 'I can't do this. I need help.' and that's usually the moment when things start happening, when you're able to say I need help. Looking back I realized that for the early part of my career I was an SOB. I was bossy and not very good to some people. So I had this happen to me when we went to Ireland and I realized it wasn't me that was making all of this happen but I was just a conduit through how the work happened and that I needed help from others to make that happen."
Most of your shows have beautiful backdrops that you paint yourself. What can you tell us about the process of creating those?
"I have a rig set up in my garage, but I must confess that I sometimes hate painting them because I have a ladder set up that I have to climb and move. I love them when they are done but it's very exhausting to paint them. I always think the visual impact of what you're looking at is as important as the acting and that they all come together to form a whole."
"I think people like to come to see a show they are familiar with. Maybe it's nostalgia, or something that was a part of their past. We've got The Producers coming up in January and then we've got Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers. We're figuring out what youth production we should do as when we have auditions we usually have three girls show up to every boy so we can't exactly do a show like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat since Joseph has 11 brothers! We are hoping to do five musicals and five straight plays. Bullets Over Broadway is a great play that not a lot of people do and we also have How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. We are also thinking about doing Inherit the Wind, which isn't exactly a comedy, but I think it's such a good show."
What are your favorite musicals or plays?
"Les Miserables is probably my favorite. I love the story It touches upon every nerve that humans have, trying to love, trying to give. and the person who won't forgive. The wonderful part in it is when Javert realizes that he's been wrong and he crumbles. It is a great story that says something. Most musicals become silly to me if they don't say something, Grease does nothing for me. Some are just bubble gum."
But sometimes bubble gum sells.
"I know that but I go for the ones that have some meat in them. But ones like Once on a Mattress or Bye, Bye Birdie don't really say anything, but they are still fun shows. Man of La Mancha I think is a great show."
How difficult is it to pick the shows in your season?
"It's very difficult, We want to do shows that other theatre companies aren't doing, or haven't done in a while but we also know that familiarity sometimes sells tickets. When we did Wizard of Oz there was only one person during the entire run who had never seen the movie. Just one. That amazed me."
"Well show business is two words and the business side unfortunately is just as important as the show, or art side. We decided for the upcoming 2016 season to offer a promotional subscription deal that we are calling Club 500, Basically 500 subscribers will get a discounted rate of just $120, or $12 a ticket, for all ten shows in our 2016 calendar year season. We know everyone loves a deal and they are basically only paying half of the single ticket price. It's a really great deal."
For more information on shows at the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre, to order tickets, or to become a member of Club 500, call the box office at 480-314-0841 or visit www.donbluthfrontrowtheatre.com
Upcoming Don Bluth Front Row Theatre productions:
Mary Poppins (runs through November 7th)
It's a Wonderful Life (November 19- December 30)
The Producers (January 7-February 13)
Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Feb 25-Mar 26)
Bullets Over Broadway (May 5-May 28)
How to Succeed In Business without Really Trying (Jun 2-Jul 9)
Private Lives (Jul 21-Aug 6)
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