 California girl Ari
Laura Kreith, (pictured here third from the left) the new Director at Henlopen Theater Project, didn’t
even have a real clear idea where Delaware was when she applied for a
job here. But that didn’t stop her from instantly falling in love with
Rehoboth Beach.
And Kreith, the young,
energetic producer-director who’s taking the reins at HTP comes to
town with big plans and a background that includes running her own
successful theatre company on the West Coast.
Originally planning on
a career as a diplomat, Ari found that theater was just as good at
building bridges and helping people understand each other. Her
California company concentrated on new works, because “I love to build
trust with the audience and take them on new journeys,” she says.
Now that she’s in
Rehoboth, she hopes to replicate her success here with HTP’s recently
announced three-show season.
The first two shows,
Songs for a New World and Out of Mind, both to be directed by Ari, have
already been cast in New York, where they will be rehearsing. While her
plays of choice tend toward “intelligent, quirky drama,” she likes
the first show, a musical, for its themes and intimacy. The four-actor
musical by Jason Robert Brown presents stories in music about people who
have to be strong and take a stand.
Ari’s appreciation
for musicals has grown, in part, through the influence of her fiancee, a
musical director.
The second show, Out of
Mind is a collection of comic plays, with themes about people searching
for identity and who they love.
While neither show has
explicitly gay themes, Ari notes that they both ask “how do you make
sense of who you love and how do you find out who you are.”
The third play of the
season is The Guys, described by Ari as a tender and intimate play
dealing with honoring the emergency workers at the World Trade Center on
9/11.
“A lot of people here
have ties to New York,” Ari says, “and it feels right to bring this
play here this summer. The play answers a lot of questions about what it
was like in New York during that horrible experience.”
Recently released as a
film starring Sigourney Weaver, Ari says The Guys is a play that
probably works better on stage than on film. “You have to have the
intimacy of live theater, “ she says.
Just prior to joining
HTP, Ari had headed East for some New York and International theater
experiences. She spent a summer working on a new translation of
Chekov’s The Three Sisters, which she then directed in Manhattan. She
also directed the European premier of a musical by Richard Rodgers
grandson at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
“The actors were from
all over the U.S., and it was a wonderful experience,” she says.
She now makes her home
in Brooklyn, N.Y. but she’s becoming more and more comfortable here at
the Delaware shore.
“I knew this was
going to be a wonderful experience from the minute I interviewed with
the Board at HTP,” she says. “It was the most fun I ever had at an
interview.”
As for the actors she
will be bringing to town this summer, they include David Alan Basche,
who has had roles on TV’s mega-hit C.S.I., and Frasier, among others.
Alysia Reiner, who had
a featured role in the film Kissing Jessica Stein will also be here.
Looking forward to her
premier season at HTP, Ari is excited about bringing a new trio of
productions to HTP’s sixth Broadway at the Beach season. She’s
anxious to begin building a relationship with her new audiences and
introducing them to exciting works.
“I prefer to tell the
kinds of stories that a community wants to hear,” she says. “Theatre
is about compassion and you go to identify with someone different than
yourself,” she says. “I want people to step aside from the familiar
and trust HTP to provide shows that they know they will enjoy.”
As for her own feelings
about being chosen to lead HTP, Ari is delighted. For a young women,
she’s already had extraordinary success in leading a theatre company
and doing new works.
She sums up her delight
in her profession this way:
“In California I used
only my first and last name professionally, making my identity gender
neutral. More recently, I’ve been using my middle name, Laura. I want
to say to some 17-year old girl who wants to produce and direct that
it’s a realistic goal.”
Keep your eye on
energetic and enthusiastic Ari Laura Kreith. She’s all set to take HTP
on an exhilarating journey.
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