Henry Woronicz in the rain with Oregons own Renaissance man Essay Example For Students

Henry Woronicz: in the rain with Oregons own Renaissance man Essay Henry Woronicz is all wet. Literally. Hes sitting in the Oregon Shakespeare Festivals open-air theatre in the middle of a summer thunderstorm, getting drenched, watching a dozen soggy actors slosh through the opening scenes of As You Like It. It is opening night and the seats around him are full; the heavy drone of raindrops falling on hundreds of plastic ponchos drowns out the sound of the actors voices. A decision has to be made: To cancel or not to cancel? This is just one of the hundreds of decisions Woronicz will make this day, a not atypical day at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oreg. As the organizations new artistic director, Woronicz oversees more than 400 employees, nearly 1,000 volunteers, four theatres in two cities (an eight-month repertory season in Ashland, a six-month season in Portland) and an annual budget of over $11 million. You might think he would have to be a veteran administrator or numbers-cruncher to handle this load, but hes neither. Instead he is an actoran actor carefully refashioning himself into a new breed of actor-manager. If the actor-manager model can thrive anywhere in the American theatre today it should be at the OSF, which has a long history of performers at its helm. Angus Bowmer, who established the festival in 1935, was a noted Shakespearean, as was his successor, Jerry Turner, before he gave up acting to direct. Turner stepped down last year, after 20 years as producing and then artistic director. Enter Woronicz with 15 solid years of classical acting experience under his belt, and no intent to retire soon. He is currently considering taking another crack at the role of Hamlet in the summer of 1994probably his last, as he nears his 40s. Woronicz looks more like his actor-half than his manager-half: casual in his customary jeans and white sneakers, bearded, with a profile worthy of the noblest of Shakespeares kings. Sitting in his office just above the Ashland green, he relates the story of his professional life with actorly eloquence. After graduating from a small liberal arts college in Massachusetts in the mid-70s, Woronicz spent two years with an itinerant, seat-of-its-pants childrens theatre, writing scripts, making costumes, arranging bookingsand trotting the boards up to three times a day. Then he hooked up with the Boston Shakespeare Company, volunteering at first, but soon working for (minimal) pay. He stayed six years, gaining his first extended exposure to Shakespeare. I did something in the neighborhood of 20 Shakespeare plays with the company, Woronicz says. By the time I was 30, I had played Hamlet, Richard III, Petruchio, Leontes, Benedick, Banquo, Romeo a wide, wide variety of roles. We were doing 42 weeks of Shakespeare, six nights a week. Thats where I slowly evolved into a classical actor. Boston Shakespeare was in effect a graduate school for Woronicz, who had bypassed traditional actor-training programs. To this day, hands-on experience remains his preferred mode of learning. As he puts it, I learn best by doing. Thats really been the case with this job. Being an artistic directortheres no book for it, no school. You just kind of dive in. Winning over his critics Woronicz couldnt have known he would make such a big splash when he first arrived at OSF in 1984. That season he played Henry VIII and Autolycus in The Winters Tale to critical acclaim, but soon left to pursue opportunities at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1986 he returned to OSF to act and to direct, signaling a career change that would be of momentous long-term importance to the institution. .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 , .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .postImageUrl , .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 , .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876:hover , .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876:visited , .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876:active { border:0!important; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876:active , .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876 .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufe04ae164bd7ca96fdf1bde9f3cce876:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: NEA vetoes unleash protests, walkouts EssayWhen then-artistic director Turner announced his intent to step down, some members of OSFs board were reluctant to consider Woronicz for the job. He candidly admitted at the time that he had had minimal administrative experience, but eventually won over his critics with his enthusiasm and his commitment to the festivals traditions. I told them I was not interested in coming in and tearing apart the model. I think I represented change at a certain pace, within the structure that Angus Bowmer had created. As one might expect from an actor-manager, Woronicz envisions the OSF of the future as an artist-friendly place. The festival should be more than just a play factory, he insists. It should provide creative time for artists and artisans outside the rehearsal process. The models are the RSC, the Royal National, Theatre du Soleil, the Berliner Ensemblecompanies that invest the time to really work on their art. To that end he has supported the establishment of numerous actors studios, where company members can work with professionals on voice, movement, Shakespearean technique and so forth. Anything but boring Despite these advances, the selection of Woronicz as artistic director has been characterized by some in the profession as a conservative move by a board more interested in stability than in artistic risk taking. This interpretation has been fueled by the perception that OSFs critical reputation has lagged behind its popular success in recent years. As the Oregonians Bob Hicks told the Seattle Times, the OSF is one of the rare theatres that can wind up being too successful, pulling in big audiences but lacking that artistic edge that makes great drama. He added, Henry is well-liked and respected for what hes trying to do. But hes green as an artistic director, so well all just have to wait and see what happens. Many of Woroniczs colleagues are confident that the wait will be worthwhile. David Ira Goldstein, freshman artistic director at the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson and Phoenix, says, What I find encouraging about Henry is that he is trying to empower actors. Hes dedicated to actor training, and has brought a spirit to the company thats delightful to see. Thus far, at least, no one can complain that Woroniczs brief reign has been boring. This past spring, he instigated a controversial shakeup of the festivals satellite theatre in Portland, bringing it more tightly under his control. And in June, he presided over the much ballyhooed opening of a $7.6-million addition to the festivals outdoor theatrethe institutions biggest capital project in 23 years. The newly renovated theatre was inaugurated on June 26, with a generally well-received production of Othello staged by Jerry Turner. The infamous underwater version of As You Like It flooded the stage the following Sunday. That night, Woronicz could be seen through the downpour conferring with people seated to his right and his left. Finally he rose and splashed up the aisle, signaling to actors and staff that the show would not go on. That was the last major decision he had to make that day. Worries about saturated costumes and ticket refunds would wait until the next morning. The OSFs new artistic director may be one of the last true Renaissance men in the American theatrehe acts; he directs; he manages one of the biggest theatrical institutions in the country. But even Henry Woronicz cant stop the rain.