KELLY COLEMAN
Our town is full of some of the most interesting, talented, and invested individuals one can find. It is never surprising to meet locals who once upon a time “visited” Vero Beach, fell in love with it…and then stay for a portion of their life time. It is our locals who give so much to the fabric of our life, dedicating their work and their vision to the community… building and supporting legacies in our very midst and sharing the good life here in ‘true’ beach. Such is the case with the leadership -and the audience, that supports Riverside Theatre.
Allen Cornell is starting his 31st season as Riverside Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director and his 6th season as CEO. With a never ending and ever increasing mission to engage and thrill every audience through the theatre experience, Mr. Cornell is moving forward with his vision for Vero’s professional producing theatre. Highly decorated as an award winning director, designer and playwright, Allen and the theatre’s dedicated Board of Directors recently announced the upcoming 2014-2015 theatrical season. With six productions planned for the two stages at Riverside, our prominent theatre known as the largest producing theatre in a small town in America is preparing to keep up its pace, quality and excellence by delighting audiences at every show this coming season.
Currently a LORT C level theatre (League of Theatre Residents), Riverside is moving toward LORT B status by the end of the current season. As box office revenues have increased, so has the continued responsibility to produce and provide an exceptional theatrical experience. With much going into the process of building a new season line-up, Mr. Cornell is always considering what the Vero community will respond to. “They are not necessarily my personal choices, but they are choices made while considering the number of tickets we need to sell in order to survive financially as well as plays that appeal to a broad audience. We have discovered a combination of work on our main stage dedicated to musicals is the most successful route as far as filling seats. On the second stage however, the broader consideration being to challenge the audience,” he explains. The main stage is then dedicated to works that many theatre goers have perhaps seen before. Riverside is then challenged to produce the play in a way that makes each production their own, to find a way to do shows and makes it an all new experience for people. Trying to find that secret combination of theatrical works that sound good to all different types of people, but that the staff can also sink their teeth into over the course of the season can be tricky.
Having done audience surveys through the years, Riverside solicits theatre goers for feedback. Cornell is frequently approached by many with suggestions for Riverside. He also does a considerable amount of research when he feels that a certain production is needed or requested in order to understand what it is about. “You never quite know how it is going to end up, as feedback and suggestions come in from all over the place. I try to read the input to see by the level of enthusiasm in response to a certain title whether or not the public is going to get excited about seeing it.” Working over a year in advance of the coming season, choices, lists and surveys are already in the works. Also influencing the secret combination of winning plays are the directors and choreographers available for certain projects. At times, decisions may even come down to a particular actor who would be fantastic in a particular role and then a show is built around that given performer in that role. Getting the rights to produce shows is also critical to being able to bring the production to Riverside as the licensing agency that governs the rights to a show needs to make those rights available in order to make the production possible.
As a matter of priority, Cornell believes it is important to have a relationship with his audience and to offer a broad spectrum of experiences. Serving in the CEO capacity for the business of Riverside Theatre as well as its creative leader in the role of Producing Artistic Director, he wears several hats at the same time. A large segment of the Riverside audience consists of the patrons who support the theatre financially. “I always think of my job as being the one who is the facilitator of what would make their investment and experience at the theatre the richest.” Serving as both a sounding board for what our theatre supporters want as well as a conduit of new and less likely experienced choices, he narrows the myriad of options into what ultimately has served to advance the mission of Riverside continually through past seasons. For example, finally obtaining rights to West Side Story, this large scale production which has been at the top of everyone’s list will take the Stark Stage during February and March of 2015 and will undoubtedly sell many tickets as it is delivered in a way that makes it a new experience for avid theatre goers. Underneath the Lintel, on the other hand, is a fairly obscure play that will be performed on the Waxlax Stage in January-February of 2015. It is known in the business for its quality, but may be somewhat unfamiliar to the audience. Cornell explains, “The second stage audience comes looking for something new – something they haven’t seen before…something that is going to engage them with a kind of first time immediacy.”
Regardless of the stage or the size of the production, the fact that we have two experiences to choose from is the best of both worlds as the Stark and the Waxlax stages and the productions they each support compliment each other. Cornell hopes, “…that people will come to Riverside to see what we do because we are going to do a good job. Perhaps they will be totally surprised. People should just be theatre goers and support the theatre. Don’t worry about the title or anything else… just come and see what ends up on stage. Come to see the work that the theatre is producing. How they go about their work – and then gauge it afterwards as to whether it is worth your time or not.”
Some of the ways that you can expect Riverside to continue to make productions unique is through the production’s visual design and the important component of casting. This past season, the cast selected for the production of South Pacific was about as good and as unique as you are going to find. “The fact that David Pittsinger agreed to come to Riverside and work in the role of Emile de Becque in South Pacific again (post Broadway) was indeed quite wonderful. Bringing an incredible amount of experience in this role and putting him on stage with a new cast and a new Nellie Forbush – the chemistry, the role as I directed it, the set he had to work with – it all worked together to create a new experience for theatre goers and for him as well,” explains Director Cornell. Indeed, it was an all time fabulous production charged with abundant chemistry between one of the opera and theatre world’s finest and what is most probably a new rising young theatre star, Heather Botts. It was a magical first hand experience seeing actors interpret their role under the superior direction of Riverside’s chief Artistic Director.
Excited equally about every new show that Riverside pours creativity into and ultimately produces, Cornell and the theatre staff recently announced the new 2014-2015 season line-up. The new season begins in October with a musical called The Bikinis showcasing songs from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. January through April include productions of Crazy for You, Underneath the Lintel, West Side Story, Side By Side By Sondheim, and finally the 2010 Tony Award winning show, Memphis. Cornell says, “I love the process starting from the time we choose the show to opening night.” In his dual role, Cornell is always thinking about the institution of Riverside as a whole …down to the finest detail on the stage from an artistic standpoint. Faced with a multitude of questions as he wears both hats of CEO and Producing Artistic Director, Allen is always asking himself, “How will this advance the art of Riverside Theatre? Is this going to help us move the theatre forward artistically and is this going to help us financially – it is a good decision. If it isn’t going to do that, then I consider doing it another way.”
Riverside Theatre has grown from a $3.5 million dollar budget to over a $7.0 million dollar budget in the last five years. The overall scale of the operation has doubled since Allen Cornell has assumed both roles. Constantly gauging each decision against the return the theatre stands to earn in response to that decision, he also gives much credit with gratitude to the large group of financial supporters that contribute each season to Riverside programming. “We have so many amazing supporters who have helped us financially to create the programming we have today. This started with the Patron Producer Program. That was an idea that grew from being in a community that has a deficit of corporate supporters, but we do have a lot of individuals in Vero Beach that have the financial resources to help. We have invited them to be a sort of volunteer investor in our product.”
Not only do the Patron Producers help Riverside financially, but they participate and engage in the theatre’s process of putting the shows together. Invited to attend auditions, rehearsals, cast gatherings, conversations, and meet and greets, a Patron Producer has the opportunity to become intimately involved with the people who are producing the work. Mr. Cornell has well earned pride and enthusiasm for instilling a sense of ownership in the theatre’s work to these generous patrons. “This is their theatre and they are a part of it and they play a very vital role – it is not just their financial support, but their opinion and enthusiasm that helps fuel what we do. That has spread throughout the community,” he shares. It is a very unique idea and a program that Riverside’s leadership feels could only work the way it does in a town like Vero Beach.
Key board members who took the reins 4 years ago on Allen’s Patron Producer idea and made it come to life with the award-winning musical 42nd Street, might not have imagined at that time it would become the biggest hit the theatre has ever had. It was at this point that a new beginning or turning point in the theatre’s history occurred. “The enthusiasm that show created throughout the organization and the community for Riverside launched everything that we have done since. It was an amazing thing to see,” recalls Cornell. The Patron Producer program has grown since the 2009-2010 season from 16 patron producers to 55 patrons for the new 2014-2015 season.
With a business plan that is now working, the next step in the evolution of Riverside Theatre is to create new plays in the endeavor to carry forth the legacy of our local theatre. Riverside is currently busy investing money into composers and writers while researching potential projects that would be initiated here in Vero Beach. Many shows from Broadway’s stage have roots in regional theatres. “Our reputation as a producing theatre has drawn a lot of attention in New York to potential producers that would be interested in partnering with us to create some new materials,” shares Cornell. Ascertaining material that would work in Vero Beach and would be right for Riverside’s audience is what the Producing Artistic Director does best and he feels that if a show goes over well in Vero Beach, there will be a huge market outside of Vero. In his estimation, the Riverside Theatre audience is a very discerning, knowledgeable and a credible barometer for determining whether a show has strong market appeal.
Building a financial legacy for the theatre is the other aspect that Riverside leadership is always focused on. Increasing the endowment for the institution and having planned gift giving so that the theatre can perpetuate itself and carry forward all of the hard work that has been accomplished is of the highest priority.
Our small town theatre goers are, perhaps more than ever, on the threshold of another all new, all inspiring season and time for Riverside Theatre. With high standards, hopes, and dreams supported by a working business plan, funding and superior leadership, we are by most standards on the edge of a time and a season that will be a golden era of our theatre’s legacy. There is an abundance of amazingly talented people spending long, difficult hours talking and planning and then finally doing everything possible to execute the plan so that at the moment the lights dim there is a reaction in the audience that is profound. Cornell says, “I love the idea of figuring out how we can improve upon what we are already doing. Because at the end of the day all I care about is when people come through the doors to see what we do here – that they walk away feeling they have had an extraordinary couple of hours that enriched their life. I want people to be engaged…to be thrilled with what they see on the stage…to wonder, how did they make me feel that way.”
For additional information on Riverside Theatre and the new 2014-2015 season, visit http://www.RiversideTheatre.com. Season ticket holders must renew their membership by the end of March to hold their current seats. New season ticket holders are being accepted starting April 1st.
Indian River Guardian 