A thinking person's theater company
A revolution in theater
By Craig Shafer

Envisioning an evolving audience: Virginia Wilcox and Justin L. Waggle are partnering in a pioneering venture they hope will challenge regionally established sensibilities about what live theater can be. The pair, with technical support from the Great American Melodrama, is currently planning their second show after some success with a one-actor performance of "Scaramouche Jones," this past March.

Theatrevolution. Is this theater revolution? Or, theater evolution? Ask either founder of the newest theater company on the Central Coast and their answers will be ambivalent.

"We like the fact that people see what they want to see," said Virginia Wilcox, who is half of the founding members of the new company. The other half of this team that is trying to change theater on the Central Coast is Justin L. Waggle.

The pair met at a theater company in Santa Rosa, which is also where they met Eric Hoit, artistic director of the Great American Melodrama, during a production of "Honk! The Musical." Wilcox and Waggle arrived on the Central Coast in 2005 after being cast together in the Melodrama's "Christmas Carol."

"While we were rehearsing for the Christmas show," Wilcox remembered, "Justin had this idea that we should do 'Scaramouche Jones.' We've been wanting to do it for a long time." With the blessing of Hoit, who allowed them to use the Melodrama on off nights, Theatrevolution was born.

Waggle said at the heart of the company is the belief that theater should tackle the idea of a shared humanity and communicate with its audience directly while breaking down psychological barriers. He admits that it's a big idea.

But Wilcox added that's what theater, when it's at its best, does. But for the most part, they've observed theater that strives always for a bigger, faster, louder, and funnier spectacle, and loses that essential human connection somewhere along the way.

"A lot of the times in the process as an actor, you don't talk about how can we make this more heartfelt, more accessible, more touching, more real," Wilcox said.

In their inaugural production of "Scaramouche Jones," there was plenty

of touching and heartfelt story as Waggle captivated the audience with the journey of a 100-year-old clown. Parts of the play were not pretty, but the innocence of the character and the commanding solo performance kept the audience spellbound for 90 minutes. Though it only played for four performances, for Waggle it was a dream come true.

"I have this vision or dream that every little piece that we do, or everything that we try in theater, can somehow change people's perspective," he said.

Wilcox said a great night of theater doesn't end with the final curtain. Instead it should spark discussions between theatergoers that lasts for days, or weeks, as scenes, plots, and characters are rehashed, reexamined, and dissected, in an effort to get at the core of the play. She feels the experience should affect each individual differently.

"The theater company formed because we really wanted to do 'Scaramouche Jones,'" Wilcox said, adding, "It spoke to us in all those human ways, and it was something we really wanted to share. So what we're hoping is that our next project, which we're looking at, speaks to us in that way. We want to do pieces that we are passionate about, and we desperately want to share."

And as the company's name implies, the pair wants to evolve with each production and not set up a rigid structure.

"We're doing what everyone else [in theater] wants to do," Waggle said, referring to their freedom to do the kind of shows that appeal to actors and serious theatergoers.

"We're not here to cater to the masses or create theater that everyone is going to love and not be offended by," Wilcox added. "We just want to create theater that we think is worth doing and worth showing. Hopefully people will respect that and want to come and want to be challenged by the theater we do. We're about exploring ideas, about making people think."

Coming from the Bay Area where alternative theater is commonplace, the pair is confident that every community has a segment of its population willing to experience theater that is both challenging and entertaining at the same time. It could just be a matter of time and word-of-mouth before Theatrevolution finds its niche.

Still trying to land on a title for their second project, the thespians are basking in the glow of a supportive artistic community that has embraced their vision and welcomed them to the Central Coast.

Planning for the long term, Waggle has launched a Web site he hopes will in turn translate into solid financial support and allow the couple to continue producing theater. Monologuesearch.com is a database for actors who can use assistance in searching monologues for auditions. By filtering for various criteria such as age, genre, sex, and time period, the site can narrow down monologue options in a fraction of the time it would take to leaf through play after play. Launched just this last summer, the site has more than 2,000 members and is growing daily.

As Monologuesearch.com grows into a commercially viable Web site, Waggle and Wilcox expect Theatrevolution's future to become more secure, allowing them to continue to present plays that connect to their audience on a truly personal level.

INFOBOX: Evolving actors

For more information on the newest theater company on the Central Coast, visit www.theatrevolution.com.

Actors searching for that perfect monologue for their next audition should visit www.monologuesearch.com.

Arts Editor Craig Shafer gave "Scaramouche Jones" a standing ovation. He can be reached at cshafer@santamariasun.com.

Citation:

Shafer, Craig, "A revolution in theater," Santa Maria Sun, http://www.santamariasun.com/index.php...art (accessed April 7, 2007).