Portland Actors Conservatory's (PAC) inaugural Alumni Performance Program production, Stay for the Cake, offers much more than just witty lines and Bakery Bar delectables if you do, in fact, stick around. A quirky cast of recent alums, known as The Montgomery Street Players, created, wrote, directed, designed, and now perform their first collaboration—three one-act plays offering a unique and wry view of the creative process. Beyond sheer entertainment value, the performance has challenged alums to continue to hone skills learned in the two-year intensive Conservatory program. Engaged in all elements necessary to pull off a production, the group should be proud of its efforts. Opening night on October 30 showcased the best of the best. The show runs weekend evenings through November 15. To read more about the show—including 25 compelling reasons why you should attend, see: http://www.portlandactorsconservatory.blogspot.com/. Please note that the 25 Years in Action! celebration lasts much longer than this performance. This weekend, prior to the Saturday night show, an alumni panel will present commentary on professional acting career paths, or Life After PAC. The 25th anniversary program will continue for the entire year, with monthly offerings on key topics to engage actors and the community, like a history of the Firehouse Theater that PAC calls home.
For those not in the know, PAC is an actor training platform that offers a course of study close in caliber and rigor to an MFA, as well as ongoing classes, workshops, a regular season of three to four performances, and a popular summer program. Located in a historic downtown firehouse near the PSU campus, the school is now (finally!) nationally recognized with recent accreditation, a process that took years. "We are in celebration right now," notes artistic director and founder, Beth Harper, who launched her dream of providing a premier academy well over two decades ago by first holding classes in an old dentist office. By 1994, it was clear that her students wanted more in order to foster and support their desires in becoming even more professional, more deeply wedded to their craft. The full-time two-year program was born to fulfill this need.
The core of the not-for-sissies program (this year's first full-time accredited day program students spend 30 to 33 hours a week in class—that's not counting homework, lab, rehearsals, and other performance prep, in addition to getting their laundry done and possibly eating a meal or two) is actually a multi-disciplinary approach to the theater. Students are empowered beyond learning good acting as they design sets, work the front of the house, learn lighting and stage management skills. Philip Cuomo, associate director, elaborates. "We want our students to succeed outside of PAC, so they need to become equipped with a variety of theater skills, skills needed to produce a play, not just the acting." To help meet this deliverable, the second year of the program requires each student will take on two acting roles, and one crew role. Exceptional students are recommended to take on the role of stage manager for their crew position. Because that position is so crucial to the success of a performance, and requires a keen eye for detail, effective communication skills, and a natural ability to manage, it's no surprise that most of the Montgomery Street Players excelled as stage managers during in their second year of study. Cuomo continues, "Not only does PAC provide professional actor training, but it teaches students, now actors, to create work for themselves. You can't wait around for it." Saturday's alum panel will most likely address this key point.
The collaborative spirit is part of the deal, too. Students find themselves immersed in intensive study with a small cohort (typically 12 to 20 per full-time class) for a long period of time. Those not up to the task either self-select out, or are asked to leave the program which "isn't cold hearted. It's important not to waste anyone's time. It's important to honor a strong fit," offers Harper. Stay for the Cake exemplifies this collaboration. Written by alum Scott Rogers, the creative energy of each of the Montgomery Street Players was unleashed and harnessed throughout rehearsals. The authenticity of the content and the performers not only draws the audience in, but also perhaps blurs the lines between viewer and performer. "We wanted to explore, to put on a good show, to have fun." Each of the plays was written by the start of the new year (2009), but it took until April to truly mobilize the project. Various administrative issues—casting, directing—took additional time, but then "the core players somehow found critical mass and came together in a committed way to do the show, to give something back to PAC. It's our love for the place and our time here," Rogers states unapologetically.
Keeping that flame alive, the heart of this amazing grassroots program, fueled by instructors and students alike, is the artistic director's biggest inspiration. Harper notes that her excellent staff also ask of themselves what they consistently ask of their students. "They are all working artists, putting theory into practice. It's called living arts for a reason."
What does the future hold for PAC? Now that the accreditation process has ended (at least for the two-year program, now fully accredited with National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST); MFA accreditation is now on the horizon), the school is enjoying a boost in enrollment, which means it's also bursting at the seams at its current location. Cuomo notes the immediate need to "stabilize and sustain the two-year program, fine tune the infrastructure to offer an MFA" and then seriously consider physical expansion.
"My continued struggle," Harper says, "is if we are who we said we were going to be." All signs point to yes, and that's something to celebrate.
Stay for the Cake
Friday, Saturday, Sunday Nights at 7:30 pm
October 30 through November 15
Panel discussion: Life After PAC
PAC alumni Leanne Littrell, Joe Healy, Maria Aparo
Saturday, November 7 at 6:30 pm preceding Stay for the Cake performance
See www.actorsconservatory.com for additional programming throughout the 25th anniversary year, and to learn more about its programs and faculty.
