LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Profile: |
by Fay Jacobs |
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. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 13, No. 4, May 2, 2003 |